Connelly Springs

History

The first settler on record in the area was William Lewis Connelly, a colonel in the North Carolina militia, for whom the town was named. In 1838, Colonel Connelly built a log home and operated a way station where fresh horses could be made available for the stagecoach line that ran from Salisbury to Asheville. He also took in boarders who were looking to spend a night during a long journey. During this time, a settlement grew up around the way station, which was then known as Happy Home, and a post office was established. In 1885, the area was found to have a mineral spring, thought to be beneficial in healing a large number of diseases. Mrs. Elmira Connelly opened her spring to others, and before long people were arriving by horse and wagon, and by train, to cart water away in five-gallon demijohns. The popularity of Mrs. Connelly's mineral spring led to the construction of the Connelly Mineral Springs Hotel, a 50-room hotel that was built along the railroad tracks, and near the mineral spring discovered by Mrs. Connelly. As the town grew, it became known as Connelly Springs, and was incorporated as such on May 4, 1920.

Geography

Connelly Springs is located in eastern Burke County. It is bordered to the west by the town of Rutherford College and to the north by Rhodhiss Lake on the Catawba River. Interstate 40 forms part of the southern boundary of the town and leads east to Hickory and west to Morganton. U.S. Route 70 is the main local road through the town. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,746
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  2,270
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  2,121
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,109
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,867
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,836
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,661
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,627

Most recent

• M 2.73 — 2025-08-14
  7 km N of Columbus, North Carolina
• M 2.65 — 2021-08-17
  6 km N of Morganton, North Carolina
• M 2.79 — 2021-02-12
  8 km SW of Banner Hill, Tennessee
• M 2.56 — 2021-02-04
  1 km SSW of Sparta, North Carolina
• M 2.81 — 2020-10-25
  3 km ENE of Sparta, North Carolina
• M 2.63 — 2020-10-01
  16 km W of Sparta, North Carolina