Statesville, NC news and local guide

In 1788 the legislature divided Rowan County and named the new county for James Iredell, an associate justice of the first U.S. Supreme Court. A year later it chose the Fourth Creek Congregation as the county seat, and the town, established by act of the legislature in 1789, became known as Statesville. The 1800 census listed it as "States Ville," with 95 inhabitants, 68 free white people and 27 enslaved people. By 1858 Statesville was growing quickly, and it soon led the state in tobacco and tobacco products, along with whiskey making and a large trade in roots and herbs. Its leaders had begun pushing for a railroad to connect the town with the rest of the country as early as 1833. On August 27, 1891, a passenger train derailed on the 300-foot Bostian Bridge near town and seven cars fell from the bridge, killing about 30 people. Sources Wikipedia: Statesville, North Carolina