Concord And Cabarrus County Revisited

Around 1760, Scottish emigrant John Patterson left Philadelphia with a group of adventurous pioneers for the North Carolina Piedmont. Along the banks of Coldwater Creek in what was then Mecklenburg County, Patterson found fertile land for crops, timber to build a home, adequate game for his table, and friendly natives, with the exception of traveling bands of Cherokee. Cabarrus County has a rich history beginning with the first gold discovered in the United States. Today, it is home to NASCAR's Charlotte Motor Speedway complex; a first-class shopping mall, Concord Mills; an impressive convention center; and a world leader in biotechnological research with the opening of the North Carolina Research Campus, located in downtown Kannapolis.

This humorous and historical compilation of anecdotes and vignettes is a valuable selection of Helen Arthur-Cornett's best work from her tenure as a writer for the Charlotte Observer and offers readers, whether "old-timers" or newcomers to the area, a warm and informative perspective on the history and folklore of Cabarrus County, North Carolina. We meet a delightful cast of characters whose stories offer a glimpse into the inner workings of a small town and tell of a truly independent way of life. Jacob Shinn discovering gold in a cotton field; the death of "Little Miss Stonewall;" the legend of Hamby Hill; these are just some of the stories that bring the history of the county to life. Spanning over a century of Concord's most memorable characters and events, this delightful collection is sure to inform and entertain, while at the same time, preserving the valuable work of Helen Arthur-Cornett and the history she seeks to protect and share.

Henry Ledbetter was probably born in England in about 1625. He probably emigrated as a child and settled in Virginia. He married and had about eight children. He died before 1700 in Charles City County, Virginia. Descendants and relatives lived mainly in Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri and Texas.

Located in the rolling hills of North Carolina's Piedmont, between the Yadkin and the Catawba Rivers, Cabarrus County was once a haven of lush vegetation and wild animals. Early immigrants-mostly of German and Scotch-Irish descent-arrived with a strong pioneering spirit to carve out of this wilderness a place to call home. The rich and fertile soil was ideal for agriculture, while the shiny yellow rocks proved to be "worth their weight" when correctly identified as nuggets of gold. Today, Cabarrus County and its county seat, Concord, are considered home to more than 100,000 residents.