Houstonville, North Carolina Explained

Official Name:	Houstonville, North Carolina
Settlement Type:	Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:	North Carolina#USA
Pushpin Label:	Houstonville
Subdivision Type:	Country
Subdivision Name:	United States
Subdivision Type1:	State
Subdivision Name1:	North Carolina
Subdivision Type2:	County
Subdivision Name2:	Iredell
Timezone:	Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset:	-5
Timezone Dst:	EDT
Utc Offset Dst:	-4
Elevation Ft:	912
Coordinates:	36.0031°N -80.7661°W
Area Code:	704 & 980
Blank Name:	GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:	1006247

Houstonville is an unincorporated community in the Eagle Mills Township of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. Houstonville is located on U.S. Route 21, 3.3miles north of Harmony. Houstonville was founded in 1789 by Christopher Houston and is the second oldest town in Iredell County after the county seat, Statesville.

History

Captain Christopher Houston (1744-1837), an American Revolutionary War veteran, was instrumental in establishing Iredell County in 1788 and the county seat of Statesville in 1789. He recognized the need for a town in the northern end of the county on Hunting Creek, so he founded Houstonville in 1789. (Houston moved to Tennessee in 1815.)^[1]

Other early settlers in Houstonville include:^[1]

• Captain Thomas Cadet Young (1732-1829), American Revolutionary War veteran, settled in the area in about 1778^[2]
• Captain Placebo Houston (1779-1859), born and died in Houstonville, son of Christopher Houston who married daughter of Thomas Cadet Young^[2]
• Solomon Hayes (1750-1830)^[2]
  • Col Francis Young (1779-1854), veteran of the War of 1812, buried in the Young Family Cemetery just north of Houstonville^[1]

Christopher Houston and most of the original settlers in this area ran small plantations and owned slaves. Christopher Houston owned six and Thomas Young owned 13 slaves in 1790.^[3]

The first post office was established in Houstonville on October 1, 1804 with Christopher Houston as postmaster. This post office was the second post office in Iredell County (after the Statesville Post Office) and served continually until February 9, 1869. A post office was re-established on March 5, 1883 with Mary C. Dalton as post master. This post office continued until November 30, 1955.^[4]

The following historic sites are located in or near Houstonville and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• Ebenezer Academy a log school house established in 1821 and still standing
• Bethesda Presbyterian Church, Session House and Cemetery, established in 1853
• Daltonia, located near Houstonville and built by John H. Dalton in 1858
• Welch-Nicholson House and Mill Site, located near Houstonville and built in 1795

Other notable sites in or near Houstonville include:

• New Hope Baptist Church and Cemetery
• Young Family Cemetery, which includes American Revolutionary War graves, dating from 1797^[5]
• Hayes Family Cemetery, near Houstonville school, Road # 1830^[6]
• Zion Hill African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and Cemetery

References

• Mary Hunter Kennedy Papers #3242, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Notes and References

1. Book: Iredell Piedmont County, with illustrations by Louise Gilbert and maps by Mildred Jenkins Miller . Keever, Homer M. for the Iredell County Bicentennial Commission by Brady Printing Company.
2. The Heritage of Iredell County, 1980, published by the Genealogical Society of Iredell County, PO Box 946, Statesville, North Carolina 28677,, 642 pages with index
3. 1790 Census for Iredell County, North Carolina
4. Web site: All Known Post Offices in North Carolina, 1785 to 1971. Lewis, J.D.. February 20, 2019.
5. Book: Iredell County, North Carolina: A Brief History. Campbell, Sandra Douglas. 15 July 2008. 9781625848956.
6. Cemetery Records, Book 1, Page 577, Iredell, North Carolina Register of Deeds