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I have lived in Huntersville my entire life. We actually trace my family’s history back for eight generations. When folks hear this, they ask, “What was life like before the lake?” That question inspired me to research the history of the area. This new feature is the result of those questions. I plan to write many articles about “Life Before The Lake” and post them on www.Lknconnect.com’s website.
Lake Norman was completed almost 70 years after the idea was introduced by an engineer from South Carolina, who was working on a project to form the world’s first hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls. The Lake Norman project was implemented in 1905 with only $50,000 in startup funds provided by James “Buck” Buchanan, Duke of North Carolina’s tobacco company. The original company was called the Catawba Power Company. It is known today as Duke Energy.
On a muggy September day in 1959, North Carolina governor Luther Hodges set off the first charge of dynamite for the Cowan’s Ford Dam project. As a 4-year-old, I remember attending the ceremony that was held near Southlake Christian Academy, on Hager’s Ferry Road. The dam channeled Catawba River waters into the largest lake in North Carolina: Lake Norman.
Lake Norman was the largest of Duke’s lakes, covering over 32,000 acres of surface, spanning four counties, and 520 miles of shoreline.
In February of 1781, Lord Charles Cornwallis, pursuing Nathanael Greene, engaged in a sharp fight at Cowan’s Ford on the Catawba River. The Battle of Cowan’s Ford claimed the life of North Carolina militia commander General William Lee Davidson, the namesake of Davidson College, the town of Davidson, and Davidson County, NC.
Sources:
North Carolina Office of Archives & History. nd. “Battle of Cowan’s Ford Essay.” Available: https://www.ncmarkers.com/print_marker.aspx?id=L-22
Jacobs, Cindy. 2008. Around Lake Norman. Arcadia Publishing.
https://www.cmstory.org/history/timeline/default.asp?tp=5&ev=65
The Beatties Ford Bridge carried the pre-Lake Norman route of Highway 73 across the Catawba River. It, along with other bridges across the river, was demolished during the construction of Lake Norman.
Sources:
Stenhouse, J.A. 1952. “A map of historic Mecklenburg and lands, which were once a part thereof” [cartographic material]. Originally published as part of Exploring Old Mecklenburg, James Alan Stenhouse, 1552.
In 1961, the gravestones of the Cornelius Family Cemetery, which the waters of Lake Norman would have flooded, were relocated from its original location to the Rehobeth United Methodist Church Cemetery in Sherrills Ford, NC. The cemetery contained eight graves, all belonging to members of the Cornelius family. Gravestones ranged in date from 1827 – 1886.
Sources:
Duke Power Co. 19–? (nd). Relocation of Various Cemetery from Area Inundated by the Waters of Lake Norman. Published by Duke Power Co.
As mentioned, LKNConnect.com aims to report the history of “Life Before The Lake.” We will be researching the past of the towns around the lake and would like to hear from you about your family’s history of the area. Feel free to contact David Beard at [email protected].
We have attempted to credit all sources for these articles. Much of the information is reported in multiple publications. You can find archived articles at www.Lknconnect.com.
Journalist and historian Chuck McShane provided information for this article. Chuck traced the triumphs and troubles of Lake Norman from the region’s colonial beginnings to its modern incarnation.
Information for this, and upcoming articles on LKNConnect.com, comes from Chuck’s book A History of Lake Norman, published by The History Press, Charleston, SC 29403, Copyright, 2014 by Chuck McShane.
Follow LKNConnect.com for future, short articles from his book, or it can be ordered from your favorite on-line bookstore.
