Mount Gilead

History

The region was occupied by the Pedee people, part of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture, from about 980 to 1150 CE. They built the earthwork platform mound and other structures at Town Creek Indian Mound, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and is southeast of Mount Gilead. It is the only Native American site in the state to be designated as a national landmark. In the 21st century, the Pee Dee people are based in South Carolina, where the state has recognized several bands as tribes. Mount Gilead was incorporated in 1899 as the textile industry built mills in the Piedmont region of the state above the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line. They processed the commodity crop of cotton, which had been important to the South since before the Civil War. The textile mills provided jobs to white residents of the region, later also employing blacks and supporting relative prosperity in the region. Since the late 20th century, many textile jobs moved offshore in a restructuring of the industry as it sought lower labor costs. Like many small southern towns, Mount Gilead suffered economic and population decline following the loss of these textile jobs. The town has begun to emphasize the appeal of its historic resources. The Mount Gilead Downtown Historic District has been inventoried and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Mount Gilead was selected to participate in the N.C. Small Town Main Street Program (co-sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation) and received a S.T.E.P. (Small Town Economic Prosperity) grant of $220,000 to help revitalize the downtown area and create jobs, respectively.

Geography

Mount Gilead is in southwestern Montgomery County. North Carolina Highway 73 passes through the center of town as Main Street, leading northwest to Albemarle and southeast to Ellerbe. Highway 109 passes through the town northwest of its center, leading northeast to Troy, the Montgomery county seat, and south-southwest to Wadesboro. Highway 731 passes through the center of town as Allenton Street, leading east to Candor and west to Norwood. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.5 km2), all land. The town sits on a ridge that drains northwest toward Clarks Creek, a tributary of the Pee Dee River, and southeast toward Hamer Creek, a tributary of the Little River, also part of the Pee Dee watershed.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,466
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  1,359
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,146
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,121
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,117
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,055
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,005
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  969

Largest nearby schools

• West Middle
  Middle · Mount Gilead · 309 students · 14:1 ratio
• Mount Gilead Elementary
  Elementary · Mount Gilead · 213 students · 16.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2019-03-26
  8 km E of Archdale, North Carolina
• M 2.58 — 2015-11-15
  10 km S of Denton, North Carolina
• M 2.5 — 2012-07-29
  7 km NNW of Wallace, South Carolina
• M 2.9 — 2011-03-21
  9 km S of Cordova, North Carolina
• M 2.5 — 2006-11-03
  6 km S of Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• M 2.6 — 2006-10-17
  7 km S of Winston-Salem, North Carolina