Huntersville, the first Lake Norman town north of Charlotte, was renamed from Craighead to Huntersville in honor of landowner and cotton farmer Robert Boston Hunter. The town incorporated in 1873, and fertile land and a rail line promoted quick growth. Cotton mill Virgin Manufacturing Company and a brickyard that supplied bricks for many homes in older sections of town were thriving businesses.
Even before Huntersville was established as a municipality and named for one of its founding fathers, steam engines carried passengers on rails that still run parallel to N.C. 115. Farmers grew cotton on their large plantations and prominent schools attracted families from near and far. In later years, textile mills brought more jobs and residents to the area.
As the town grew larger, so too did its business community. The Virgin Manufacturing Company, a cotton mill, encouraged the development of Huntersville’s “mill town” on the east side of the railroad tracks.
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