Cabarrus County

Cabarrus County

Cabarrus County was formed on December 29, 1792 from Mecklenburg County. It was named after Stephen Cabarrus of Chowan County, speaker of the North Carolina House of Commons.

The county was settled mainly by Germans on the Eastern side and the Scotch-Irish in the Western area of the county. There was a need to choose a location for the county seat to develop facilities for county government but the Germans and Scotch-Irish each wanted the county seat to be in an area close to their populations and were unable to come to an agreement. Stephen Cabarrus wrote to the citizens pleading with them to come together in peace to choose a location for their county seat. A central area of the county was chosen in 1796 and aptly named Concord, a derivative of two French words “with” and “peace.” Representative Paul Barringer introduced a bill into state legislature to incorporate Concord and this bill passed on December 17, 1806.  The town of Concord was begun on land owned by Samuel Huie and wife Jane Morrison Huie.

The Cabarrus County School System services all of the county with the exception of parts of Kannapolis, which operates its own school district. The system is generally regarded as one of the better school districts in the state with high student achievement and low instances of violence and other problems.

The county is also home to Barber-Scotia College, the Cabarrus College of Health Sciences (a four year college), and a branch of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.  UNC Charlotte, although in Mecklenburg County, is actually located near Harrisburg and is easily accessible to Cabarrus residents via [Highway 49]

Cabarrus County citizens are served by the Cabarrus County Public Library system which comprises four library locations and a fifth location to be built in the town of Midlan.

Essential services, including Carolina Medical Center-NorthEast with a 24-hour emergency department and trauma center, are available in Concord.

The state’s largest tourist attraction, Concord Mills Mall, is located in Cabarrus County. The Great Wolf Lodge is located near the mall on the opposite side of Interstate 85.

The county is home to Reed Gold Mine, site of the first gold discovery in the United States in 1799.

Self-branded as the Center of American Motorsports, Cabarrus County is rich in NASCAR history.

The western part of the county is home to a large racing complex in Concord, including Charlotte Motor Speedway, which hosts three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events a year, The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and zMAX Dragway, which now hosts the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series twice a year. Concord Speedway (formerly Concord Motorsport Park), located southeast of Concord in Midland, hosts weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series races in the early spring through fall.

The county is also home to several major race shops, including Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports, and Chip Ganassi Racing in Concord, Stewart-Haas Racing in Kannapolis, and JTG Daugherty Racing and Wood Brothers Racing in Harrisburg.

A state of the art and first of its kind wind tunnel, Windshear, opened July 18, 2008 in Concord. It offers aerodynamic testing facilities to NASCAR and Formula One racing teams and automobile manufacturers.