Lenoir

History

Lenoir was established in 1841 and incorporated in 1851. 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. The original settlement of Lenoir was known as Tucker's Barn, after a Tucker family that settled on the north side of Lower Creek around 1765. The homestead eventually served as a voting precinct, a muster ground, a store, and a place for celebrations. When Caldwell County was formed in 1841, a commission was appointed to choose a location for the county seat. One member proposed the south side of Lower Creek (today, the Whitnel area) because of its view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. However, since most of the county's population was on the north side of Lower Creek, the Tucker's Barn site was chosen, where Lenoir is today. During Gen. Stonemans final raid in 1865 during the American Civil War, he passed through Lenoir on March 28 and again on April 15. On March 29, 1865, a small skirmish took place near Lenoir. Along with this; multiple Civil War companies were formed with soldiers from Lenoir and Caldwell County. These companies served in various different regiments within the Confederate States Army. There were also Southern Unionists who supported the Union within Caldwell County, with local Confederate deserters and resisters joining with them as the war went on. Following the Civil War, Clinton A. Cilley, a Union Army Medal of Honor recipient, would settle in Lenoir. He worked as a lawyer, eventually becoming a civic leader, judge, and elected as Mayor of Lenoir. In addition to Fort Defiance, the Caldwell County Courthouse, Lenoir Downtown Historic District, Lenoir Grammar School, Lenoir High School, Mary's…

Geography

Lenoir is southeast of the center of Caldwell County, and is bordered to the south by the towns of Hudson and Cajah's Mountain, and to the southwest by the town of Gamewell. The city is at the intersection of U.S. Highways 64 and 321. US 64 leads east to Statesville and southwest to Morganton, while US 321 leads north to Boone and southeast to Hickory. According to the United States Census Bureau, Lenoir has a total area of , 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. Lenoir has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with cool to mild winters and warm, humid summers. Due to the city's proximity to the Blue Ridge Mountains, temperatures tend to be slightly cooler than areas to the east. -->

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,700
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  2,311
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,159
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,111
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,886
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,712
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,430
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,411

Most recent

• M 2.73 — 2025-08-14
  7 km N of Columbus, North Carolina
• M 2.59 — 2022-10-25
  Virginia-North Carolina border region
• M 2.56 — 2021-11-21
  9 km SSW of Abingdon, Virginia
• 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