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Lenoir, North Carolina
Main Street in downtown Lenoir
Main Street in downtown Lenoir
Motto(s): 
"Where the High Country Begins"
Location of Lenoir, North Carolina
Location of Lenoir, North Carolina
Country United States
State North Carolina
County Caldwell
Named for William Lenoir
Government
 • Type Council-Manager
Area
 • Total 20.82 sq mi (53.92 km2)
 • Land 20.81 sq mi (53.90 km2)
 • Water 0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)
Elevation
1,171 ft (357 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total 18,228
 • Estimate 
(2019)
17,913
 • Density 860.71/sq mi (332.33/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes
28633, 28645
Area code(s) 828; Exchanges: 757,758,759
FIPS code 37-37760
GNIS feature ID 1021132

Lenoir is a city in and the county seat of Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 18,228 at the 2010 census. Lenoir is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. To the northeast are the Brushy Mountains, a spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hibriten Mountain, located just east of the city limits, marks the western end of the Brushy Mountains range.

Lenoir is one of the principal cities in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The city was named for Revolutionary War general and early North Carolina statesman William Lenoir, who settled north of present-day Lenoir. His restored home, Fort Defiance, is a tourist attraction.

Fort Defiance-27527
Fort Defiance, home of William Lenoir

Nat'l. Register of Historic Places listings

In addition to Fort Defiance, the Caldwell County Courthouse, Lenoir Downtown Historic District, Lenoir Grammar School, Lenoir High School, Mary's Grove, and Edgar Allan Poe House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Awards

Lenoir was one of the recipients of the 2008 All-America City Award.

Geography

Lenoir is located southeast of the center of Caldwell County at 35°54′30″N 81°31′48″W / 35.90833°N 81.53000°W / 35.90833; -81.53000 (35.908438, -81.530012). It is bordered to the south by the towns of Hudson and Cajah's Mountain, and to the southwest by the town of Gamewell.

Lenoir
View of Lenoir from Hibriten Mountain

The city is at the intersection of U.S. Highways 64 and 321. US 64 leads east 42 miles (68 km) to Statesville and southwest 15 miles (24 km) to Morganton, while US 321 leads north 27 miles (43 km) to Boone and southeast 17 miles (27 km) to Hickory.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.7 square miles (50.9 km2), all land. The city is in the valley of Lower Creek, between the Brushy Mountains to the east and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west. Lower Creek flows southwest to the Catawba River valley.

Climate

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1870 446
1880 422 −5.4%
1890 673 59.5%
1900 1,296 92.6%
1910 3,364 159.6%
1920 3,718 10.5%
1930 6,532 75.7%
1940 7,598 16.3%
1950 7,888 3.8%
1960 10,257 30.0%
1970 14,705 43.4%
1980 13,748 −6.5%
1990 14,192 3.2%
2000 16,793 18.3%
2010 18,228 8.5%
2020 18,352 0.7%
U.S. Decennial Census
Lenoir
View of Lenoir from Hibriten Mountain

2020 census

Lenoir racial composition
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 13,147 71.64%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 2,101 11.45%
Native American 37 0.2%
Asian 175 0.95%
Pacific Islander 7 0.04%
Other/Mixed 827 4.51%
Hispanic or Latino 2,058 11.21%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 18,352 people, 7,340 households, and 4,539 families residing in the city.

Parks & Grounds

Recreation

  • The 18-hole Lenoir Golf Club in Lenoir features 6,385 yards of golf, with a course rating of 71.3 and a slope rating of 125, on Bermuda grass. The course opened in 1928 as a nine-hole course, was redesigned by Donald Ross in 1945, and was expanded to 18 holes in 1961.

Hiking

  • Hibriten Mountain shows a wonderful view of Lenoir and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The hike is 5.4 miles, climbing 740 ft. on a gated-gravel road.
Hibriten
Hibriten Mountain
City of Lenoir View from Hibriten Mountain
Top of Hibriten Mountain

Gym

Highways

  • US 321.svg US 321
  • US 321A
  • US 64.svg US 64
  • NC 18.svg NC 18
  • NC 90.svg NC 90
  • NC 268.svg NC 268

Economy

The Broyhill Furniture company, one of the largest furniture companies in the United States and part of Heritage Home Group (KPS Capital Partners), recently closed its headquarters in Lenoir. Furniture in general has historically been one of the city's largest employers. The Bernhardt, Kincaid, and Fairfield furniture companies are based in or around Lenoir. In the 1990s, these companies began changing their business models to reflect consumer trends, and closed several of Lenoir's furniture factories. Recent consolidations of area furniture facilities (Thomasville, Taylorsville, North Wilkesboro, etc.) have netted modest gains in positions in the industry around Lenoir. The medical and education sectors are now the area's largest employers.

Google, Inc. has a server farm, or "data center", in Lenoir. There was controversy over the nature, amount, and potential benefits of economic development incentives that the City of Lenoir, Caldwell County, and the State of North Carolina gave Google in 2007 to induce the company to build the server farm. The less celebrated benefits of the investment have been construction employment and spending, a small-time server farm investment just outside downtown, Dacentec, as well as local charitable and educational endeavors by Google.

Wholesale nurseries, shipping large balled and burlap plants to landscapers in metropolitan areas, have been a strong source of employment in Lenoir over the last 75 years. Companies such as Roger Coffey and Sons Nursery have seen an increase in sales over the last three years. Valley View Nursery is a third-generation nursery carrying on the tradition of shipping high-quality trees and shrubs directly to high-end residential homes across the East Coast and upper Midwest. Local nurseries employ around two percent of the local population.

Education

High schools

  • Hibriten
  • West Caldwell

Middle schools

  • Gamewell Middle School
  • William Lenoir Middle School

K–8 schools

  • Happy Valley School
  • Kings Creek School
  • Oak Hill School

Elementary schools

  • Davenport A+ School
  • Gamewell Elementary School
  • Lower Creek Elementary School
  • Valmead Elementary School
  • West Lenoir Elementary School
  • Whitnel Elementary School

Alternative schools

  • Horizons Elementary
  • Gateway School

College

  • Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute is the community college serving Caldwell County

Infrastructure

Highways

  • US 321.svg US 321
  • US 321A
  • US 64.svg US 64
  • NC 18.svg NC 18
  • NC 90.svg NC 90
  • NC 268.svg NC 268

Notable people

  • Claude Baker, composer
  • Etta Baker, musician
  • Leonard Bolick, bishop of the ELCA North Carolina Synod
  • William Horton Bower, U.S. congressman from 1893–1895
  • Jim Broyhill, former United States congressman for North Carolina from 1962 to 1986 and a U.S. senator from July 1986 to November 1986
  • Ervin M. Bruner, Wisconsin State Assemblyman
  • Claudia Church, country music artist
  • Clinton A. Cilley, former mayor of Lenoir and Medal of Honor recipient during the American Civil War
  • Linda Combs, former U.S. government official
  • Nick Easton, NFL offensive lineman; played at Hibriten High School
  • Jan Karon, New York Times-bestselling author of the Mitford Series and the Father Tim novels
  • William Lenoir, soldier and statesman
  • Harry Martin, former North Carolina Supreme Court justice
  • Bob McCreary, former NFL player and entrepreneur
  • Kary Banks Mullis, Ph.D. biochemist and Nobel laureate; inventor of the PCR
  • William C. Newland, was the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1909–1913
  • James Pritchett, actor who played the central character of Dr. Matt Powers on The Doctors soap opera for its entire 1963 to 1982 run
  • Mark Schwartz, former professional soccer player and college coach
  • Larry Smith, former NASCAR driver
  • Carl Story, influential bluegrass musician
  • Hassan Whiteside, NBA player; attended The Patterson School in Lenoir
  • Parker T. Williamson, minister and author
  • Louis Round Wilson, University Librarian and first director of the library school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1901–1932
  • George Younce, southern gospel musician, known for singing bass with The Cathedrals

Baseball players

Five Major League Baseball players were born or have been residents in Lenoir:

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Lenoir (Carolina del Norte) para niños

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