The history of Mount Holly:
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Then:
In 1705 King George II got land grants for the area that would come to be known as Mount Holly. Almost one hundred years later in the year 1838, a post office in the area was built this post office was named Woodlawn and that was the original name of Mount Holly. (Mount Holly, 2014) The Woodlawn store/post office, known as the Hoffman-Rhyne Store, served as the town's store, post office, and meeting headquarters.(Beatty, 2011) It was the location where the first meeting on the creation of Gaston County took place. (Beatty, 2011) The town of Mount Holly is found in Gaston County. During this time the county had been big in making cotton. In 1874 two brothers, A.P. and D.E. Rhyne, decided to open the county's fourth cotton mill in partnership with Ambrose Costner. (Griffin, 1994) The mill was named "Mount Holly Cotton Mills. The same brothers who owned the mills helped fund the first church in downtown Mount Holly, Good Shepherd Lutheran, in 1881 which is picture above. Citizens of the town now had a place of worship instead of meeting to worship at the Woodlawn store/post office. (Beatty, 2011) On March 4, 1889 the town became an officially incorporated town with the name Mount Holly. (Beatty, 2011) There are two different stories on how the town got it's name of Mount Holly. The first story is that the two brothers, A.P. and D.E. Rhyne, decided to name the town Mount Holly because it was similar to Mount Holly, New Jersey. The idea was that some of the orders for the Mount Holly Mills in New Jersey would end up being sent to Mount Holly, NC instead since the two were so similar in name, Mount Holly, NJ and Mount Holly, NC,only one letter off! (Griffin, 1994) The second story goes that A.P. Rhyne's wife noticed how many holly trees were around the area and she loved them. A.P. Rhyne decided to name the town Mount Holly after all the holly trees. (Griffin, 1994) The town begin to grow once the cotton mill was built and needing workers. It became a small mill town with only one single school house. The town built its city hall in the early 1920's. The city hall served as both city hall and the fire department. (Millican Pictorial History Museum) As the town began to grow so did it's business and more buildings continued to be built. A town that once was a single building that held its general store, post office, and town meeting spot grew into an actual small town. The town can thank its commercial growth to the opening of the cotton mill. The town is rich in history with three historical sites, all churches, that are visited often: "Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, built in 1881; C.E. Hutchinson House and Augusta Rhyne Cannon, 1894; Dellinger-Nantz House, 1899." (Mount Holly Fast Facts, 2013)
Now:
Mount Holly continues to grow. As one can see in the pictures above the town has change immensely. In the 2010 Census the town's population was at 13, 656. (United States Census Bureau, 2010) The downtown region features both new and old buildings. The town has kept all of its historic glory featuring the old brick buildings but with a new businesses. The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd still stands and was expanded in 1988 because of it's growing congregation. (Our History, 2014) The town's city hall was recently moved to where the police station is located. The building was completely remodeled and is now a big building that holds many of the towns events such as city meetings, budget meetings, weddings, festivals, etc. The old city hall building that can be seen in the "Then" section of this page is still the place that citizens go to pay water bills, but all other business has moved to the new building. The downtown sidewalks were completely redone in all brick to encompass a feel of an historic town. (E. Koone, personal communication, 2014) The town went from one single roomed school building to have it's own elementary, middle, and high schools. There are two elementary schools--Pinewood and Ida Ranking elementary; one middle--Mount Holly Middle School; and two high schools--East Gaston High School and the newest addition Stuart Cramer. The city slogan is now "connecting community and nature". This slogan came about after the United States White Water Rafting Center was built and open to the public in 2006. (Mount Holly, 2014) It is located right outside of the city lines and is a huge attraction for people in the are. The town is continuously growing but will never forget its roots. It was a town that was once only three buildings, now takes up a(V. Koone, personal opinion, 2014)
Quick Video on a "snapshot" of Mount Holly present today:
Source: City of Mount Holly. (2014, January 1). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.mtholly.us/