Lenoir (/lɛˈnɔːr/ LE-nor) is a city in and the county seat of Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 18,263 at the 2020 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

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.

Early history

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.

American Civil War

During Gen. Stonemans final raid in 1865 during the American Civil War, Lenoir was raided both on March 30th and April 15th, in which confederate soldiers and citizens of Lenoir were locked inside the old St. James Episcopal Church building located downtown.

Along with this; multiple Civil War companies were formed with men from Lenoir & Caldwell County, with the likely most renowned being Company F "Hibriten Guards" and Company I "Caldwell Guards" of the 26th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, at the Battle of Gettysburg the Hibriten Guards suffered a one hundred percent loss rate with all eighty-seven of it's men & officers being wounded.

Fort Defiance, home of William Lenoir

National Register of Historic Places locations

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.

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 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, Lenoir 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

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.

Climate data for Lenoir, North Carolina (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1900-present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	80 (27)	83 (28)	93 (34)	95 (35)	98 (37)	102 (39)	106 (41)	105 (41)	101 (38)	96 (36)	88 (31)	80 (27)	106 (41)
Average high °F (°C)	49.1 (9.5)	52.9 (11.6)	60.2 (15.7)	70.1 (21.2)	77.4 (25.2)	84.3 (29.1)	87.5 (30.8)	86.0 (30.0)	80.4 (26.9)	71.1 (21.7)	60.9 (16.1)	52.1 (11.2)	69.3 (20.8)
Daily mean °F (°C)	38.2 (3.4)	41.3 (5.2)	48.2 (9.0)	57.5 (14.2)	65.6 (18.7)	73.5 (23.1)	77.1 (25.1)	75.7 (24.3)	69.6 (20.9)	58.7 (14.8)	48.3 (9.1)	40.8 (4.9)	57.9 (14.4)
Average low °F (°C)	27.3 (−2.6)	29.7 (−1.3)	36.2 (2.3)	45.0 (7.2)	53.9 (12.2)	62.7 (17.1)	66.7 (19.3)	65.4 (18.6)	58.9 (14.9)	46.3 (7.9)	35.7 (2.1)	29.6 (−1.3)	46.4 (8.0)
Record low °F (°C)	−7 (−22)	−2 (−19)	5 (−15)	17 (−8)	29 (−2)	37 (3)	46 (8)	41 (5)	32 (0)	19 (−7)	8 (−13)	−18 (−28)	−18 (−28)
Average rainfall inches (mm)	3.93 (100)	3.33 (85)	4.29 (109)	4.44 (113)	4.38 (111)	4.73 (120)	4.60 (117)	4.48 (114)	4.25 (108)	3.63 (92)	3.33 (85)	4.27 (108)	49.66 (1,262)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	1.3 (3.3)	0.2 (0.51)	0.3 (0.76)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	2.3 (5.8)	4.1 (10.37)
Source: NOAA

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

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.

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. Local nurseries employ around two percent of the local population.

Parks and recreation

Hibriten Mountain

Top of Hibriten Mountain

5.3 mile Greenway system
Mack Cook Stadium
Mulberry Recreation Center
T. Henry Wilson Athletic Park
T.H. Broyhill Walking Park
Lenoir Rotary Soccer Complex
J.E. Broyhill Park
Martin Luther King Center
Zack's Fork Mountain Bike Trail

Teams

Lenoir Youth Soccer Association / Lenoir Force (LYSA Force), a travel soccer team in Lenoir
Caldwell County Youth Football League
Post 29 Youth Baseball
Carolina Express Basketball

Recreation

The Lenoir Aquatic and Fitness Center is open to the public and features an Olympic size swimming pool, indoor junior size swimming pool, water slides, racquetball courts, exercise equipment, a steam and weight room, locker rooms, covered shelters, and a walking and mountain bike training system.
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 with nine holes in 1928, was redesigned by Donald Ross in 1945, and was expanded to 18 holes in 1961.

Hiking

Nearby Hibriten Mountain has a 5.4 mi (8.7 km) hiking trail, climbing 740 ft (230 m) on a gated-gravel road.

Education

High schools

Caldwell Applied Sciences Academy
Caldwell Early College High School
Hibriten High School
South Caldwell High School
West Caldwell High School

Middle schools

Gamewell Middle School
William Lenoir Middle School

K–8 schools

Happy Valley School
Kings Creek School
Oak Hill Charter 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

Media

WKVS, Kicks 103.3 FM, local country music radio station
WJRI, Star 94.7 FM, 100.5 FM & 1340 AM, local adult hits radio station
WKGX, 104.5 FM, 99.5 FM & AM 1080, local classic hits radio station
W218BW, FM 91.5, translator for WETS, East Tennessee State University radio station
News-Topic, local newspaper in Lenoir and Caldwell Counties
The Presbyterian Layman, a publication of the Presbyterian Lay Committee independent of the denomination, is published in Lenoir.

Infrastructure

Highways

US 321
US 321A
US 64
NC 18
NC 90
NC 268

Notable people

Johnny Allen – MLB pitcher, World Series Champion with the New York Yankees in 1932 and All-Star selection in 1938
Claude Baker – composer
Leonard Bolick – bishop of the ELCA North Carolina Synod
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 – former Wisconsin State Assemblyman
Madison Bumgarner – MLB pitcher, three-time World Series Champion with the San Francisco Giants and 2014 World Series MVP
Linda Combs – former U.S. government official
Charlie Cozart – MLB pitcher for the Boston Braves
Lindsay Deal – MLB outfielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Nick Easton – former NFL offensive lineman
Bob Gibbons – high school basketball sports scout
Destin Hall – member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing the 87th district
Jan Karon – New York Times-bestselling author of the Mitford Series and the Father Tim novels
William Lenoir – Revolutionary War General and namesake of Lenoir
Harry Martin – former North Carolina Supreme Court justice
Bob McCreary – former NFL player and entrepreneur
Kary Banks Mullis – biochemist and Nobel laureate; inventor of the Polymerase chain reaction
James Pritchett – actor who played the central character of Dr. Matt Powers on The Doctors soap opera for its entire 1963 to 1982 run
Larry Smith – former NASCAR driver
Carl Story – influential bluegrass musician
Magruder Tuttle – real admiral in the U.S. Navy
Rube Walker – MLB catcher, two-time World Series Champion with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers
Verlon Walker – former MLB coach
Stephanie Powell Watts – author
Louis Round Wilson – University Librarian and first director of the library school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1901–1932
John G. Witherspoon – captain in the United States Coast Guard
George Younce – southern gospel vocalist, known for singing bass with The Cathedrals

Accolades

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

Lenoir, North Carolina facts for kids

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