The town is named for Gen. William Lee Davidson, a local Revolutionary War hero who died in the battle of Cowans Ford in 1781 and the namesake of Davidson College, the town’s small liberal arts school founded in 1837 by Presbyterians.
Still a college town that locals often call a village, Davidson embraces a Main Street, know-your-neighbors way of life. Many folks have lived here for decades, while others have moved here for the small-town atmosphere, tranquility and easygoing pace.
Mooresville
Across the Iredell County line above Davidson, Mooresville continues Lake Norman’s east-side building boom. Known as Race City USA for its abundance of NASCAR teams and shops, Mooresville’s population doubled in the 1990s. Today the town has about 21,000 residents – a number that continues to grow by more than 1,000 each year.
The biggest change in Mooresville is the completion of home-improvement retailer Lowe’s 400,000-square-foot corporate campus, which houses the company’s headquarters. Economic developers have called the Lowe’s campus the most significant industrial project ever built in southern Iredell County.
Residentially, Crescent Resources continues to develop The Point, a Nantucket-style community at the tip of Brawley School Road with a private golf course designed by Greg Norman, a clubhouse and swimming pool. Several of the cedar shake and stone houses overlooking the lake cost more than $3 million.
By 2012, Mooresville also hopes to have the commuter rail North Meck line running from Uptown Charlotte through Lake Norman towns and the south Iredell corridor.
Lake Norman Regional Medical Center recently moved from its former location in downtown Mooresville into a new 117-bed facility at I-77, Exit 33. The complex, which also includes a physicians’ office building, has been the catalyst for a development boom at the interchange.
Recreation in the Mooresville area includes Queen’s Landing, home of the Catawba Queen and Lady of the Lake, Mississippi paddle wheeler replicas that cruise Lake Norman year-round for lunch, dinner and sightseeing. Queen’s Landing also features a family entertainment center with two 18-hole mini-golf courses, bumper boats, a restaurant and deli/bar.
The Lazy 5 Ranch features more than 750 animals, including giraffes, buffalo, antelope, deer, elk, camels, reindeer, long horn cattle, zebras, llamas, pigs and goats. There’s also a petting zoo, playground and picnic area.
Equally family friendly is Carrigan Farms, a pick-your-own Mooresville farm that grows strawberries, peaches, asparagus, apples, pumpkins, tomatoes, corn and other seasonal vegetables.
NASCAR race shops draw thousands of visitors a year who can see cars being built, trophies, photographs and other memorabilia. Local race shops include those of Gibbs, Penske and Earnhardt. The N.C. Auto Racing Hall of Fame is a museum dedicated to stock car, Indy and drag racing. Visitors see more than 35 cars, including winners driven by Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace and Davey Allison.
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