When I was
asked to write the county overviews, I decided to run through
them alphabetically. In my research, one of the many things that
intrigued me about these North Carolina mountain counties is how
they were created. So I included that information: 'this' county
was split off of 'that' county and so on. The reaction to this
bit of physical genealogy was, "It sounds like the beginning of
the New Testament: 'Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat
Jacob...'." Okay, so I quit.
But Rutherford is the oldest (still existent) county in these
Western North Carolina Mountains — created in 1779. Rutherford
spawned Buncombe County. Thirteen years later Buncombe county
was split off from Rutherford and the genealogy of the mountain
counties was launched.
Life was anything but easy in the 18th Century. Even after the
Revolutionary War was won. Until the mid-19th Century, the First
Broad, Second Broad and Green Rivers were the primary means of
the transportation of goods and even that was limited to small
boats. Finally a road was constructed, then another and wheeled
traffic relieved much of the economic pressure on the residents
of the area.
Agriculture was the mainstay of Rutherford County even though gold
was successfully mined here. In fact, the only private gold mint
in the southeastern U.S. was in Rutherfordton. The gold mining
activity brought in more settlers but was not a significant
contributor to the economy.
So what about now? Rutherford County's location, about one hour
travel time on excellent highways from each of the principal
cities (Asheville, Charlotte, Spartanburg and Greenville) has
been a major factor in the elevation of manu-facturing to the
top spot in Rutherford County's economy.
Health Care comes in as a distant second followed by
construction and retail trade. Tourism is indistinguishable
from all the other also-rans. Does this mean that tourists
should skip this county? Absolutely not!
Rutherford County is like two counties: the western, mountain
portion, and the eastern, industrialized portion. The western
portion has the nationally famous Lake Lure and a lure it is
for, each summer, thousands of tourists descend upon the area.
(continued in column 2) |
(continued from column 1)
There are now several developments around Lake Lure but these
are primarily for the affluent. Just north of Lake Lure is
Chimney Rock with its Chimney Rock State Park. The Chimney Rock,
after which the town and the park were named, is a natural
monolith - like a chimney - and a very popular tourist
attraction.
The US-74 freeway, which connects Western North Carolina to
Charlotte, traverses the county. It also provides a great
gateway for tourists. US-221 provides excellent to the northern
mountains and is well used by tourists.
Rutherfordton, the county seat, has two neighbors: Spindale and
Forest City. Spindale is the home of Isothermal Community
College which, by the way, is also the cultural center of the
eastern part of the county. Forest City, on the opposite side of
Spindale from Rutherfordton, is a town on vitamins. They have
created a very ambitious renewal plan and are actually doing
something about it.
And for those of you who are looking for a new abode, — real estate
here is less costly than many of the other mountain counties.
The weather is mild both summer and winter and the entire area
is very ecologically clean. Asheville will probably be your
launch point in your search for a new home in this mountain
paradise. In WNC-Tour-Guide.com,
our sister web site, you can let you computer mouse lead you to
descriptions of the many attractions and adventures Western
North Carolina mountains have to offer. Then via this NC
Mountain Real Estate Guide, which includes directories of the real estate agencies, you can contact
real estate agents in Rutherford County to
learn what may be available to meet your needs, desires and
budget. Or, fill out our simple form
and we will contact those agencies we feel may be best staffed
to assist you in your search. And, while you're looking, we have
included links to convenient, comfortable
hotels and motels any
of which would delight in being your host. And, yes, you can
make instant, on-line reservations and receive an immediate,
printed confirmation.
So, as they say,
Welcome to
Rutherford! |
