Rutherford County, North Carolina
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 28 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1972. Most listings are in or near Rutherfordton, Forest City, Bostic.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for North Carolina is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Rutherford titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP10 of 28 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
28 listed properties
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBRutherford was formed in 1779 (1779-02-12) from Tryon.
RUTHERFORD created from TRYON (extinct).
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusRutherford County population from 1790 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1790 | 1800 | 1820 | 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7,808 | 10,753 | 15,351 | 19,202 | 11,573 | 15,198 | 25,101 | 31,426 | 45,577 | 46,356 | 45,091 | 53,787 | 62,899 | 64,444 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Cowpens National Battlefield | Park unit | 31.6 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS96 cemeteries and 15 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 80 of 96 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Adaville Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Antioch Church Cemetery |
| Beam Cemetery |
| Bethany Church Cemetery |
| Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Big Springs Church Cemetery |
| Bills Creek Baptist Cemetery |
| Bostic Cemetery |
| Briscoe Family Cemetery |
| Brittain Cemetery |
| Broad River Church Cemetery |
| Calvary Cemetery |
| Calvary Church Cemetery |
| Camp Creek Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Cane Creek Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Cane Creek Church Graveyard |
| Caroleen Avondale Henrietta Cemetery |
| Carson Chapel Cemetery |
| Centennial United Methodist Church Cemetery |
| Cliffside Cemetery |
| Cool Springs Cemetery |
| Corinth Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Dobbins Cemetery |
| Doggett Grove Cemetery |
| Duncans Creek Church Cemetery |
| Fairview Cemetery |
| First Broad Church |
| Floyds Creek Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Fork Creek Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Fortune Cemetery |
| Gilboa Cemetery |
| Glover Cemetery |
| Gold Hill Cemetery |
| Golden Valley Cemetery |
| Goodes Creek Cemetery |
| Grassy Knob Church Cemetery |
| Grays Creek Cemetery |
| Green Hill Cemetery |
| Harris First Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Hopewell Cemetery |
| Huntley Family Cemetery |
| Jerusalem Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Kistlers Chapel Cemetery |
| Liberty Hill Cemetery |
| Little Huntley Church Cemetery |
| Little White Country Church Cemetery |
| Matthews Church Cemetery |
| Miller - Twitty Cemetery |
| Montford Cove Church Cemetery |
| Mount Hebron United Methodist Church Graveyard |
| Mount Lebanon Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Mount Olivet Church Cemetery |
| Mount Pleasant Cemetery |
| Mount Pleasant Church Cemetery |
| Mount Pleasant Church Cemetery |
| Mount Pleasant Church Cemetery |
| Mountain Creek Cemetery |
| Mountain Creek Cemetery |
| Mountain View Baptist Church Cemetery |
| New Bethel Baptist Cemetery |
| Oak Springs Church Cemetery |
| Piedmont Church Cemetery |
| Piney Mountain Church Cemetery |
| Piney Ridge Church Cemetery |
| Pisgah United Methodist Church Cemetery |
| Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Pleasant Hill Cemetery |
| Providence Cemetery |
| Race Path Cemetery |
| Riverside Baptist Church Graveyard |
| Rock Springs Cemetery |
| Round Hill Church Cemetery |
| Round Hill Church Cemetery |
| Rutherford County Memorial Cemetery |
| Rutherfordton City Cemetery |
| Saint Francis Episcopal Church Cemetery |
| Saint Johns Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Salem Cemetery |
| Scruggs Cemetery |
| Shiloh Baptist Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 15 of 15
| Name |
|---|
| Bob |
| Cuba |
| Esmeralda |
| Gage |
| Golden |
| Harmon |
| Jeter |
| Mack |
| Mount Pisgah |
| Nanito |
| Nanney |
| Otter Creek |
| Shehan Crossroads |
| Tate |
| Trio |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker 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 Rutherford County, North Carolina
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