gaston county, north carolina gaston county, north carolina gaston county is a county in the u.s. state of north carolina. as of the 2020 census, the population was 227,943. the county seat is gastonia. dallas served as the original county seat from 1846 until 1911. gaston countycountygaston county courthouse flagseallogomotto: "local strengths. global success."location within the u.s. state of north carolinanorth carolina's location within the u.s.coordinates: 35°18′n 81°11′wcountry united statesstate north carolinafounded1846named forwilliam gastonseatgastonialargest citygastoniaarea • total364 sq mi (940 km2) • land356 sq mi (920 km2) • water8.1 sq mi (21 km2) 2.2%population (2020) • total227,943 • estimate (2022)234,215 • density640.3/sq mi (247.2/km2)time zoneutc−5 (eastern) • summer (dst)utc−4 (edt)congressional districts10th, 14thwebsitewww.gastongov.com gaston county is included in the charlotte-concord-gastonia, nc-sc metropolitan statistical area. it is the fifth largest county in the metropolitan area, as of the 2020 census. it is located in the southern piedmont region. of north carolina's 100 counties, gaston county ranks 74th in size, consisting of approximately 364.5 square miles (944 km2), and is tenth in population. the county has fifteen incorporated towns. in addition to fifteen incorporated towns and cities, there are several unincorporated communities such as hardin, lucia, crowders mountain, sunnyside, alexis, tryon, and north belmont. history the earliest european settlers of gaston county were principally scots irish, pennsylvania dutch, and english. in the 1750s, dutch settler james kuykendall with robert leeper, and others constructed a fort at the point at the junction of the catawba and south fork rivers. the fort was built because of ongoing hostilities with the cherokee, but it was apparently never attacked. tensions between the settlers and the native american inhabitants (primarily of the catawba tribe) were eased considerably when the boundary dispute between north carolina and south carolina was settled in 1772, after which most of the catawba settled on a reservation near fort mill, south carolina. most early farms in the area were small, cultivated primarily by white yeoman farmers of english ancestry. north carolina's colonial policy restricted the size of land grants, and in gaston county they tended to be about 400 acres (1.6 km2) each. one of the earliest grants in the area was given to captain samuel cobrin, commander of a local militia company, on september 29, 1750. gaston county was founded in 1846, partitioned from lincoln county. it is named for william gaston, a u.s. representative from north carolina and member of the state supreme court. between 1845 and 1848, gaston county experienced an industrial boom. during this three-year period, the first three cotton mills in the county were established. some sources claim that the first one was established by thomas r. tate on mountain island, near the present site of duke energy's mountain island dam and hydroelectric station. other sources say that the first mill was established by the linebergers and others on the south fork river near mcadenville. most sources agree that among the first three mills in operation in the county was the stowesville mill, founded by jasper stowe and associates in the south point community south of belmont. gaston county still leads all other counties in the country both in the number of spindles in operation and in the number of bales of cotton consumed. the county seat moved from dallas to gastonia in 1911. geography according to the u.s. census bureau, the county has a total area of 364 square miles (940 km2), of which 356 square miles (920 km2) is land and 8.1 square miles (21 km2) (2.2%) is water. it belongs to the southern piedmont physiographic province. most of gaston county is in the drainage basin of the catawba river, except for small areas along the western edge of the county which are in the basin of the broad river. both the catawba and broad rivers are in the greater santee river basin. the catawba forms the eastern border of the county and much of the central part of the county is in the drainage basin of its right tributary, the south fork catawba river. the county is located in the piedmont region of central north carolina, which consists of gently rolling terrain frequently broken by hills, river and creek valleys, and low, isolated mountain ridges. the highest point in gaston county is king's pinnacle, a rocky monadnock which sharply rises over 800 feet (240 m) above the city of gastonia. king's pinnacle rises 1,690 feet (520 m) above sea level, and is part of crowders mountain state park. state and local protected areas/sites crowders mountain state park daniel stowe botanical garden mountain island educational state forest (part) seven oaks preserve trail major water bodies beaverdam creek catawba creek catawba river crowders creek little beaverdam creek mountain island lake rankin lake south crowders creek south fork catawba river south stanly creek stanly creek adjacent counties lincoln county - north mecklenburg county - east york county, south carolina - south cleveland county - west demographics historical population censuspop.note%± 18508,073—18609,30715.3%187012,60235.4%188014,25413.1%189017,76424.6%190027,90357.1%191037,06332.8%192051,24238.3%193078,09352.4%194087,53112.1%1950110,83626.6%1960127,07414.7%1970148,41516.8%1980162,5689.5%1990175,0937.7%2000190,3658.7%2010206,0868.3%2020227,94310.6%2022 (est.)234,2152.8%u.s. decennial census1790-1960 1900-19901990-2000 2010-20142020 2020 census gaston county racial composition race number percentage white (non-hispanic) 153,653 67.41% black or african american (non-hispanic) 39,762 17.44% native american 753 0.33% asian 3,509 1.54% pacific islander 59 0.03% other/mixed 10,139 4.45% hispanic or latino 20,068 8.8% as of the 2020 united states census, there were 227,943 people, 85,705 households, and 55,868 families residing in the county. 2004 as of the census of 2004, there were 194,459 people, 73,936 households, and 53,307 families residing in the county. the population density was 534 people per square mile (206 people/km2). there were 78,842 housing units at an average density of 221 per square mile (85/km2). the racial makeup of the county was 83% white, 13.9% black or african american, 0.3% native american, 1% asian, 0% pacific islander, 0.3% from other races, and 1% from two or more races. 3.00% of the population were hispanic or latino of any race. there are 92,094 males and 98,271 females in gaston county. of these 39,492 are under 15, 23,082 are aged 16–24, 59,096 are aged 25–44, 44,710 are aged between 45–64 and 23,985 are 65 and over. the median age is 36.89 years. the median income for a household in the county was $39,482, and the median income for a family was $46,271. males had a median income of $33,542 versus $23,876 for females. the per capita income for the county was $19,225. about 8.30% of families and 10.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 11.10% of those age 65 or over. law and government gaston county is governed by a seven-member board of commissioners. two members are elected from gaston township and one each from the other five townships of gaston county. they are elected on a partisan basis to four-year staggered terms. those that file for a particular seat must live in the township. however, the vote is countywide or "at-large." the offices of sheriff, district attorney, clerk of superior court, and register of deeds are also elected offices, elected on a countywide, partisan basis. gaston county currently is divided into forty-six (46) voting precincts. the county is administered by a full-time professional county manager. gaston county is a member of the regional centralina council of governments. board of commissioners officeholderpartyterm expires county commissioner (chairman)chad brownrepublican2026 county commissioner (vice chair)bob hovisrepublican2024 county commissionerallen fraleyrepublican2024 county commissionerkim johnsonrepublican2024 county commissionertom keigherrepublican2026 county commissionercathy cloningerrepublican2026 county commissionerronnie worleyrepublican2024 soil & water conservation district board members holderterm expires esther scott (chairperson)2022 david freeman2024 roger hurst2024 danon lawson2022 vacant2022 superior court judges officeholderpartyterm expires senior resident superior court judgedavid phillipsdemocratic2026 superior court judgejustin davisrepublican2030 district court judges officeholderpartyterm expires chief district court judgejohn k. greenleerepublican2024 district court judgecraig collinsrepublican2022 district court judgeangela g. hoylerepublican2024 district court judgejames a. jacksonrepublican2024 district court judgemichael k. landsrepublican2022 district court judgedonald ricerepublican2024 district court judgepennie throwerrepublican2024 other offices officeholderpartyterm expires sheriffchad hawkinsrepublican2026 register of deedssusan lockridgerepublican2024 district attorneytravis g. pagerepublican2026 clerk of superior courtk. roxann rankinrepublican2022 north carolina senate districtrepresentativepartyterm expires 43kathy harringtonrepublican2022 44ted alexanderrepublican2022 north carolina house of representatives districtrepresentativepartyterm expires 108john a. torbettrepublican2022 109donnie loftisrepublican2022 110kelly hastingsrepublican2022 senate senatorpartyterm expires richard burrrepublican2022 thom tillisrepublican2026 house of representatives districtrepresentativepartyterm expires 5thvirginia foxxrepublican2022 courts of law north carolina has a unified statewide and state-operated court system, called the general court of justice. it consists of three divisions: appellate courts, superior courts, and district courts. in gaston county, there is also a small claims court. small claims court handles civil cases where a plaintiff requests assignment to a magistrate and the amount in controversy is $5,000 or less. there is no jury and usually no lawyers. a person who loses in small claims court may appeal for a trial by jury before a judge in district court. magistrates are appointed for two-year terms by the senior resident superior court judge upon nomination of the clerk of superior court. politics historical presidential election returns united states presidential election results for gaston county, north carolina year republican democratic third party no. %no. %no. % 2020 73,033 63.23% 40,959 35.46% 1,506 1.30% 2016 61,798 64.09% 31,177 32.33% 3,456 3.58% 2012 56,138 62.04% 33,171 36.66% 1,174 1.30% 2008 52,507 62.21% 31,384 37.18% 511 0.61% 2004 43,252 67.84% 20,254 31.77% 249 0.39% 2000 39,453 66.67% 19,281 32.58% 445 0.75% 1996 33,149 58.42% 19,458 34.29% 4,132 7.28% 1992 34,714 56.51% 19,121 31.12% 7,600 12.37% 1988 34,775 70.32% 14,582 29.49% 94 0.19% 1984 39,167 73.36% 14,142 26.49% 83 0.16% 1980 25,139 55.61% 19,016 42.07% 1,049 2.32% 1976 19,727 46.13% 22,878 53.50% 159 0.37% 1972 27,956 75.76% 8,462 22.93% 483 1.31% 1968 18,741 43.77% 10,100 23.59% 13,973 32.64% 1964 17,129 45.89% 20,197 54.11% 0 0.00% 1960 21,250 51.39% 20,104 48.61% 0 0.00% 1956 18,159 53.68% 15,671 46.32% 0 0.00% 1952 19,157 51.86% 17,781 48.14% 0 0.00% 1948 6,180 32.58% 8,966 47.27% 3,822 20.15% 1944 6,023 30.47% 13,744 69.53% 0 0.00% 1940 4,294 19.92% 17,262 80.08% 0 0.00% 1936 4,772 21.37% 17,555 78.63% 0 0.00% 1932 5,164 28.36% 12,890 70.78% 157 0.86% 1928 9,702 59.14% 6,702 40.86% 0 0.00% 1924 3,566 34.95% 6,554 64.24% 82 0.80% 1920 5,803 44.81% 7,148 55.19% 0 0.00% 1916 2,542 45.62% 3,019 54.18% 11 0.20% 1912 244 6.22% 2,333 59.45% 1,347 34.33% 1908 1,970 44.69% 2,398 54.40% 40 0.91% 1904 896 31.12% 1,958 68.01% 25 0.87% 1900 1,626 44.98% 1,931 53.42% 58 1.60% 1896 1,625 43.60% 2,069 55.51% 33 0.89% 1892 1,173 36.58% 1,616 50.39% 418 13.03% 1888 1,260 42.90% 1,589 54.10% 88 3.00% 1884 978 41.46% 1,356 57.48% 25 1.06% 1880 1,139 50.69% 1,107 49.27% 1 0.04% in recent years, voters in most of the county have favored republicans, though democrats retain some electoral strength in the city of gastonia. transportation and infrastructure major highways i-85 us 29 us 74 us 74 bus. us 321 us 321 bus. nc 7 nc 16 nc 16 bus. (business route) nc 27 nc 150 nc 161 nc 216 nc 273 nc 274 nc 275 nc 279 rail service gaston county is served by amtrak, with a stop in gastonia. freight rail service is provided by the norfolk southern railway, csx and patriot rail. the norfork southern main line passes from west to east across the county, passing through kings mountain, bessemer city, gastonia, ranlo, lowell, cramerton and belmont. from gastonia, a branch line leads south to crowders. csx rail lines pass through the northwestern and northeastern corners of gaston county. in the northwest, a line between lincolnton and shelby passes through cherryville. in the northeast, a line between lincolnton and charlotte passes through stanley and mount holly. progressive rail operates state-owned trackage between gastonia and mount holly with a spur extending to belmont. airports charlotte-douglas international airport is a major, full-service airport with passenger flights. it is across the catawba river in mecklenburg county in charlotte. the city of gastonia owns and operates gastonia municipal airport, which is a general aviation airport with a single runway, runway 3/21, an asphalt runway that is 3,779 feet in length. economy piedmont lithium is a mining company currently in the process of proving economic mineral recovery of lithium in gaston county. after five years of surface prospecting, the company began drilling many sample cores in 2021 across 2,300 acres (930 ha) of land it owns or has mineral rights to the county proving economic viability of mining lithium for the boom