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Rowan County, North Carolina

Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.

—newspaper titles
—digitized titles
75historic places
—earliest paper
1753formed
146,875pop. 2020
18cemeteries
—CW battlefields

At a glance

Summary

The National Register of Historic Places includes 75 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1970. Most listings are in or near Salisbury, Cleveland, Spencer.

Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.

Newspapers

Library of Congress

Newspaper directory data for North Carolina is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Rowan titles at the Library of Congress.

National Register of Historic Places

NPS NRHP

40 of 75 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.

75 listed properties
PropertyCityTypeListed
Back Creek Presbyterian Church and CemetereyMt. UllaBuilding1983
Barber FarmClevelandDistrict2003
Bernhardt HouseSalisburyBuilding1992
Bernhardt, George Matthias, HouseRockwellBuilding1982
Bost, Henry Connor, HouseSouth RiverBuilding1982
Boyden High SchoolSalisburyBuilding1996
Braun, Michael, HouseGranite QuarryBuilding1971
Brooklyn-South Square Historic DistrictSalisburyDistrict1985
Cannon, Ella Brown, HouseSalisburyBuilding2021
Chambers, Maxwell, HouseSalisburyBuilding1972
China Grove Roller MillChina GroveBuilding1983
Christ Episcopal ChurchClevelandBuilding2011
City Motor CompanySalisburyBuilding2022
Cleveland SchoolClevelandBuilding2019
Community BuildingSalisburyBuilding1970
Corriher Grange HallFive PointsBuilding1982
East Spencer Graded SchoolEast SpencerBuilding2018
EastoverSalisburyBuilding2011
Ellis Street Graded School Historic DistrictSalisburyDistrict1999
Fisher, John, HouseSalisburyBuilding2024
Fulton Heights Historic DistrictSalisburyDistrict1999
Grace Evangelical and Reformed ChurchRockwellBuilding1972
Granite Quarry SchoolGranite QuarryBuilding2001
Griffith-Sowers HouseSalisburyBuilding2009
Grimes MillSalisburyBuilding1984
Grubb-Sigmon-Weisiger HouseSalisburyBuilding1999
Hall Family HouseBear PoplarBuilding1982
Hambley-Wallace HouseSalisburyBuilding1997
Henderson, Archibald, Law OfficeSalisburyBuilding1972
J.C. Price High SchoolSalisburyBuilding2010
Kerr MillMill BridgeBuilding1976
Kerr, Gen. William, HouseEnochvilleBuilding1982
Kesler Manufacturing Co.-Cannon Mills Co. Plant No. 7 Historic DistrictSalisburyDistrict1985
Knox Farm Historic DistrictClevelandDistrict1983
Knox-Johnstone HouseClevelandBuilding1993
Livingstone College Historic District (Additional Documentation)SalisburyDistrict1982
Livingstone College Historic District (Boundary Increase and Decrease)SalisburyDistrict2025
Long, Alexander, HouseSpencerBuilding1972
Lyerly Building for BoysGold Hill TownshipBuilding1989
McCanless, Napoleon Bonaparte, HouseSalisburyBuilding2014
McCanless, Walter, HouseSalisburyBuilding2005
McNeely-Strachan HouseSalisburyBuilding1972
Monroe Street SchoolSalisburyBuilding2004
Mount VernonWoodleafDistrict1980
Mount Zion Baptist ChurchSalisburyBuilding1985
North Long Street-Park Avenue Historic DistrictSalisburyDistrict1985
North Main Street Historic DistrictSalisburyDistrict1985
Owen-Harrison HouseMill BridgeBuilding1983
Phifer, John, FarmClevelandDistrict1990
Ramsay, Sr., John E. and Jean Anne Ferrier, HouseSalisburyBuilding2025
Rankin-Sherrill HouseMt. UllaBuilding1982
Salisbury Historic DistrictSalisburyDistrict1975
Salisbury Historic District (Boundary Increase I)SalisburyDistrict1988
Salisbury Historic District (Boundary Increase II)SalisburyDistrict1989
Salisbury Historic District (Boundary Increase III)SalisburyDistrict2000
Salisbury National CemeterySalisburySite1999
Salisbury Railroad Corridor Historic DistrictSalisburyDistrict1987
Salisbury Railroad Corridor Historic District (Boundary Increase)SalisburyDistrict2003
Salisbury Southern Railroad Passenger DepotSalisburyBuilding1975
Salisbury VA Hospital Historic DistrictSalisburyDistrict2022
Shaver Rental Houses DistrictSalisburyDistrict1988
Sherrill, John Carlyle and Anita, HouseMount UllaBuilding2009
Shuping's Mill ComplexFaithBuilding1982
Southern Railway Passenger Car Number 1211SpencerStructure2022
Southern Railway Spencer ShopsSpencerSite1978
Spencer Historic DistrictSpencerDistrict1984
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church and CemeteryWoodleafBuilding1982
Steele, John, HouseSalisburyBuilding1994
Stigerwalt, John, HouseBostian HeightsBuilding1984
Temple, Edgar S. and Madge, HouseSalisburyBuilding2021
Third Creek Presbyterian Church and CemeteryClevelandBuilding1983
Thyatira Presbyterian Church, Cemetery, and ManseMill BridgeBuilding1984
Wiley, Calvin H., SchoolSalisburyBuilding1988
Wood GroveBear PoplarBuilding1982
Zion Lutheran ChurchRockwellBuilding1972

Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.

County formation

Newberry AHCB

Rowan was formed in 1753 (1753-03-27) from Anson, Orange, unorganized territory.

ROWAN created from ANSON, ORANGE, and unorganized territory; western boundary limit was indefinite.

Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

Population by decade

Census

Rowan County population from 1790 to 2020 (Census historical series).

147k79k12k179018001840188019101920196020002020
17901800182018401860188019001920194019501960198020002020
15,82820,06026,00912,10914,58919,96531,06644,06269,20675,41082,81799,186130,340146,875

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.

Cemeteries & historical places

USGS GNIS

18 cemeteries and 21 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.

Cemeteries — 18 of 18 listed
NameLatLon
Antioch Cemetery35.61646-80.4342
Bethel Cemetery35.68791-80.36255
Chestnut Hill Cemetery35.65924-80.48468
China Grove Cemetery35.58726-80.55751
Christiana Cemetery35.59741-80.42673
Dixonville Cemetery35.66013-80.472
Green Lawn Cemetery35.55819-80.59172
Memorial Park Cemetery35.6784-80.4791
Morgan Cemetery35.5518-80.27894
Old English Cemetery35.67001-80.46941
Rowan Memorial Park Cemetery35.71791-80.49534
Saint Peters Cemetery35.56742-80.3662
Salisbury National Cemetery35.66101-80.47381
Salisbury National Cemetery Annex35.6842-80.49275
Shiloh Cemetery35.62435-80.46233
Union Hill Cemetery35.67774-80.49058
West Lawn Memorial Park35.55985-80.59201
Wittenberg Cemetery35.61708-80.452
Historical populated places — 21 of 21
NameLatLon
Allin35.50347-80.322
Blackmer35.67653-80.63395
Chowansville35.73486-80.71868
Dobbins35.71597-80.58201
Frohock Mill35.65708-80.51701
Garfield35.54597-80.37867
Grimes35.58847-80.54562
Harts35.57764-80.69562
Houston35.67569-80.72285
Lock35.61097-80.5184
Mill Hill35.52014-80.71951
Millerton35.52514-80.24561
Miranda35.59403-80.65312
North Barringer35.54764-80.45228
Pool35.54125-80.337
Rendleman35.58236-80.3895
Rowan Mills35.73875-80.70312
Smith35.69125-80.42867
Steel35.67875-80.45506
Unity35.75986-80.64618
Whiteheads Mill35.69292-80.47061

Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.

Historical markers

HMdb link

Marker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.

Search HMdb for Rowan County, North Carolina

Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.