Author: Andrew Duppstadt, DNCR
This article is scheduled to appear in Recall, the magazine of the North Carolina Military Historical Society, and is published here with permission.
North Carolina established McDowell County in 1842, carving it out of Rutherford and Burke counties in the west-central part of the state. The name pays tribute to Colonel Joseph McDowell, an officer in the American Revolution. The present-day town of Marion developed around the site chosen for the county seat, located near the geographic center of the county.
Inhabited initially by the Cherokee and Catawba peoples, the area now known as McDowell County first saw Europeans with the arrival of Spanish explorers from the 1566 Juan Pardo expedition. Other European settlers followed later, including Joseph McDowell’s father, John McDowell, who received a land grant in the area in 1748. Today, all 100 of North Carolina’s counties, including McDowell, remain home to American Indians.
During the American Revolution, McDowell led troops at the Battle of King’s Mountain, and following the war, practiced law, served in the state legislature, and became an early trustee of the University of North Carolina. Joseph McDowell married, had three children, and died at age 37 in what was then Burke County. The historical record often confuses him with his cousin, also named Joseph McDowell, and a combatant at the Battle of Kings Mountain.
Today, McDowell County encompasses 445 square miles, has a population of roughly 45,000 residents, and borders Mitchell, Avery, Burke, Rutherford, Buncombe, and Yancey counties. The Broad and Catawba rivers flow through the county, and the county is home to several state and federally protected natural areas and parks. The county seat of Marion (population approximately 8,000), named for South Carolinian Revolutionary War figure Francis Marion, and Old Fort are the only two incorporated towns in the county., However, several other unincorporated communities and townships exist. The county is home to DNCR’s Mountain Gateway Museum and portions of Lake James State Park, as well as McDowell Technical Community College.
For more information and to learn more, visit: https://www.ncmilitaryhistoricalsociety.org/