Johannes Hahn:
A short geography lesson
Hickory is not the county seat of Catawba County but many of its citizens feel
it should be. Its population is roughly 40,000 people but if you were to study
the census (male and female) of zip codes you would find the total is estimated at 73,000 by the US 
Census Bureau. Hickory has three zip codes: 28601 (the northern half), 28602 (the southern half )and 28603
(post office boxes).
When North Carolina was first settled, it was cut roughly into quarters. The northwestern corner was Rowan County in1753 and the southwestern half was Anson. The Catawba River made a rough horseshoe, with the upper curve over the top of the dividing line. See http://www.rootsweb.com/~nccatawb/coform01.htm Part of Anson County was carved out to make Mecklenburg County, home of Charlotte, in the west was Tryon County in1768,lining up side by side with Mecklenburg and Anson. To the north, still, was Rowan. By 1777 the area had consisted of Burke, Catawba, Wilkes, Surry (1771) and Rowan (1753). To the south was Rutherford and Lincoln (1779), Mecklenburg (1762) and Anson was left a small area from 1750.
Catawba County was incorporated in 1842 and maps can be seen of various stages of formation since 1700 at http://www.ncgenweb.us/catawba/countyfm.htm, separating from Lincoln County.
The southeast part of Burke was added to Lincoln in 1782 and another portion added to Lincoln in1784. Hickory had a post office in 1860, established under the name Hickory Tavern and the Town of Hickory was chartered in 1870. In 1876 the name was changed to Hickory and in 1889 it was restructured as the City of Hickory.
When you get to the births, marriages and deaths of Johannes' descendants, you may be puzzled why some are born, married or died in Lincoln (Catawba) County and some just in Catawba County. If you look at the dates, it's easy to figure out. Catawba County wasn't incorporated until 1842; prior to that it was one of the other counties from which it was descended. That's why the maps will be so helpful.
| This page was compiled by Linda H. Setzer,. Write to Linda Setzer lhsetzer@@embarqmail.com (remove one @ before sending). |
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