Page 23 - Burke County NC 2024

Meytre Grist Mill
species, giving rise to renowned crafters such as
Drexel-Heritage and Henredon. Smaller companies
like Morganton Furniture, Table Rock Furniture, Knob
Creek Furniture, and Wright Table also prospered.

Our county’s slogan is Nature’s Playground: two
major state parks, Lake James and the South
Mountains all provide a wide range of outdoor
recreational activities. Perhaps you are aware that
prominent scenes in several mountain-esque dramas
were filmed here, such as The Hunger Games and
of Gen. Daniel Last of the Mohicans.
Morgan, a
Revolutionary War
Burke County’s hero whose regiment We continue to excel in manufacturing and furniture
production. Revitalized downtowns with beautiful
won the Battle of murals and sculptures, new breweries and wineries,
Cowpens. It was later and many other entrepreneurial businesses help to
Beginnings the 19th century as settlers from
shortened to Morganton.
make Burke County a cherished destination.
Burke County grew rapidly in
the north traveled the Great Wagon
Road, and later the Southern Railroad, to
B urke County was established in 1777 and is Morganton starting in the 1830s, and the town was
seek their fortunes. Stagecoach lines ran through
named for Thomas Burke, a North Carolina
incorporated in 1839.
delegate to the Continental Congress. The
county encompassed much of western North
Carolina. As the population grew, additional counties The eastern part of the county in the 1800s became
home to religious refugees – the Waldensians – who
were established, reducing Burke County to its fled their homeland in the Cottian Alps in Italy to
present size. escape persecution, founding the town of Valdese Burke County is the ancestral land of both
in 1893.
A frontier settlement originally known as Alder the Catawba and Cherokee Indian nations
Springs was the county seat for Burke. A state bill In the early 1900s, Burke County became renowned
renamed Alder Springs Morgansborough in honor for furniture production due to the diversity of tree Source: NCpedia.org, North Carolina Government and Heritage Library

burkecountychamber.org History 19