Gastonia

Sister cities

• Gotha
• Santiago de Surco

History

Gastonia is named for William Gaston, a jurist and United States Representative from North Carolina. The Loray Mill strike occurred in Gastonia in 1929. The role of organizers for Communist Party-affiliated National Textile Workers Union (NTWU) alienated religious leaders in Gastonia, who denounced the organizers' ideology, undermining support for the strike. The strike collapsed after the death of Gastonia's police chief, Orville Alderholt, led to a murder trial of several militants including NTWU chief organizer Fred Beal. Beal was convicted in the killing but fled to the Soviet Union. The strike largely failed in attaining its goals of better working conditions and wages, and the American labor movement was never able to gain a foothold among textile workers in Gastonia. The strike, however, became for a while an international cause célèbre, figuring in several novels published in the 1930s. The City Hospital-Gaston Memorial Hospital, Craig Farmstead, Downtown Gastonia Historic District, First National Bank Building, Gaston County Courthouse, Gastonia High School, David Jenkins House, Loray Mill Historic District, Robinson-Gardner Building, Third National Bank Building, and William J. Wilson House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.44%) is water. }}

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,806
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  7,596
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  7,388
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  7,202
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,913
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,507
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,361
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,244

Largest nearby schools

• Piedmont Community Charter School
  Other · Gastonia · 1,906 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• Ashbrook High
  High · Gastonia · 1,303 students · 23.3:1 ratio
• North Gaston High
  High · Dallas · 1,134 students · 21:1 ratio
• Hunter Huss High
  High · Gastonia · 1,120 students · 24.3:1 ratio
• Forestview High
  High · Gastonia · 1,081 students · 20:1 ratio
• Stuart W Cramer High
  High · Belmont · 964 students · 18.9:1 ratio
• South Point High
  High · Belmont · 955 students · 18.4:1 ratio
• Cramerton Middle
  Middle · Cramerton · 909 students · 19.3:1 ratio

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 3 — 2014-12-15
  13 km NNW of Cedar Rock, North Carolina
• M 2.5 — 2012-10-29
  5 km SSE of West Marion, North Carolina
• M 2.5 — 2010-10-28
  2 km NW of Pacolet, South Carolina
• M 2.9 — 2007-12-07
  7 km N of Columbus, North Carolina