Hickory, North Carolina

In the 1850s, beneath a huge hickory tree, Henry Robinson built a tavern of logs. The spot was known as "Hickory Tavern." In 1870, Hickory Tavern was established as a town. Three years later in 1873, the name was changed to the Town of Hickory, and in 1889 to the City of Hickory.[6]

The first train operated in the area of Hickory Tavern in 1859. The first lot was sold to Henry Link for $45.00 in 1858. His house is now known as "The 1859 Cafe", a restaurant (closed in 2011).[7] The community of Hickory was the first for many things in North Carolina, including the council-manager form of government it adopted in 1913. Hickory was also one of the first towns to install electric lights in 1888 and a complete sewerage system in 1904.[8]

In 1868, Dr. Jeremiah Ingold, pastor of the German Reformed Grace Church, established Hickory's first school, the Free Academy.[9]

In 1891, Lenoir–Rhyne University (then Highland Academy) was founded by four Lutheran pastors with 12 initial students.[10]

Hickory is home to one of the oldest furniture manufacturers in the United States that is still located and operated on the original site. Hickory White, formerly known as Hickory Manufacturing Company, was built in 1902 and has been in continuous operation ever since. During World War II, the factory made ammunition boxes for the U.S. military instead of furniture.

Hickory was known in the years after World War II for the "Miracle of Hickory". In 1944 the area around Hickory (the Catawba Valley) became the center of one of the worst outbreaks of polio ever recorded. Residents who were then children recall summers of not being allowed to play outside or visit friends for fear of contracting the disease. Since local facilities were inadequate to treat the victims, the citizens of Hickory and the March of Dimes decided to build a hospital to care for the children of the region. From the time the decision was made until equipment, doctors, and patients were in a new facility, took less than 54 hours. Several more buildings were quickly added. A Red Cross official on the scene praised the project "as the most outstanding example of cooperative effort he has ever seen."[11]

The city also came to national attention when the remains of Zahra Baker were found leading to a police investigation where Zahra's stepmother, Elise Baker, was found guilty of second-degree murder. The Zahra Baker All Children's playground, located in Kiwanis Park, is named in her honor.

Hickory is located in western Catawba County at 35°44′16″N 81°19′42″W (35.737682, −81.328372),[17] and extends westward into Burke County and Caldwell County. Interstate 40 passes through the southern part of the city, leading east 68 miles (109 km) to Winston-Salem and west 75 miles (121 km) to Asheville. U.S. Route 70 (Conover Boulevard) is an older east-west route through the city. U.S. Route 321 passes through the western part of the city, leading northwest 43 miles (69 km) to Boone and south 36 miles (58 km) to Gastonia.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.8 square miles (77.2 km²), of which 29.7 square miles (76.9 km²) is land and 0.08 square miles (0.2 km²), or 0.31%, is water.[5]

Hickory is the largest city within the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area). The MSA includes Catawba County, Burke County, Caldwell County, and Alexander County, with a combined population – as of the 2010 Census – of 365,497.[18]

In addition to Hickory, the MSA includes the cities of Lenoir, Morganton, Conover, and Newton, along with a number of smaller incorporated towns and cities.

Several unincorporated rural and suburban communities located nearby include Bethlehem, Mountain View, and St. Stephens.

As of the census[3] of 2010, there were 40,093 people, 18,719 households, and 9,952 families residing in the city. There were 18,719 housing units at an average density of 640.4 per square mile (227.9/km²). The racial composition of the city was: 74.9% White, 14.3% Black or African American, 11.4% Hispanic or Latino American, 3.2% Asian American, 0.19% Native American, 0.06% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 3.08% some other race, and 1.46% two or more races.

There were 18,719 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 23.3% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,236, and the median income for a family was $47,522. Males had a median income of $31,486 versus $23,666 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,263. About 8.4% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

364,759 people live within 25 miles (40 km) of Hickory; 1.8 million people within 50 miles (80 km) of Hickory.[21]

The City of Hickory operates under a Council–manager form of government, the first city to do so in North Carolina.[22] The City Council is composed of six aldermen and a mayor. The City Manager is appointed by City Council and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the city. The city employs over 650 staff across 45 departments, divisions, and offices to carryout its governmental functions.

Wagon-making know-how, proximity to expansive forests, and excellent transportation via two intersecting railroads provided fertile ground for the emergence of the furniture industry.[23] Likewise experience with textile manufacturing and easy access to power drove new industries in both fiber-optic cable[23] and pressure-sensitive tape.[24] Forty percent of the world's fiber optic cable is made in the Hickory area.[25]

Adhesive tape manufacturer Shurtape Technologies and network infrastructure provider CommScope are based in Hickory.

The furniture industry in Hickory is not as strong as in the decades previous, but still a primary component in the area economy. HSM (company) (formerly Hickory Springs, founded 1944) is a leading manufacturer of mattress coils. It is estimated 60% of the nation's furniture used to be produced within a 200-mile (320 km) radius of Hickory.

The Hickory area is marketed as a data-center corridor[26] and is home to large data-centers operated by Apple and Google. Apple's billion-dollar data-center campus just south of Hickory is one of the world's largest.[27]

Hickory is home to the corporate headquarters of third-party logistics provider Transportation Insight, a member of North Carolina's top revenue tier of privately held businesses.[28] In 2015, the company relocated its headquarters to the historic Lyerly Full Fashioned Mill in downtown Hickory.[29][30]

Intersection of 1st Avenue NE and NC 127 near Downtown Hickory

Hickory is home to the Hickory Crawdads, a Class-A South Atlantic League minor-league baseball affiliate of the Texas Rangers. The Crawdads play in L.P. Frans Stadium, located in the western portion of the city, near the Hickory Regional Airport.

Hickory is also home to the Hickory Motor Speedway, nationally known as the Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars. The speedway was opened in 1951 and features a 1/2 mile track with seating for approximately 5,000 spectators.

Lenoir-Rhyne University, whose teams bear the nickname "Bears", participates within NCAA Division II athletics in the South Atlantic Conference. The university's athletics program includes teams in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, triathlon, and volleyball.[31]

Lake Hickory was created on the Catawba River in 1927 with the completion of the Oxford Dam 11 miles (18 km) northeast of Hickory. The dam parallels the NC Highway 16 bridge over the Catawba River between Interstate 40 and Taylorsville. It is 122 feet (37 m) high, with an overall length of 1,200 feet (370 m). The spillway section of the dam is 550 feet (170 m) long.

Lake Hickory was named after the City of Hickory and runs along its northern edge. The lake covers almost 4,223 acres (17.09 km²) with 105 miles (169 km) of shoreline. Full pond elevation is 935 feet (285 m). Lake Hickory is a reliable source of water for the Cities of Hickory and Conover and the Town of Long View, while also functioning as a recreation hub for boating, fishing, and other water based activities.

Duke Energy provides five public access areas on the lake in cooperation with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

• The Hickory Daily Record is published 7 days a week.
• Focus Newspaper is a free weekly publication, distributed every Thursday in print, online, and mobile app. Focus features local news and events, movie reviews, original columnists, places to go and things to do.[32]
• WHKY, 1290 AM, is a radio station that features a news-talk format.
• WAIZ, "63 Big Ways", 630 AM, is a radio station that features music from the 1950s and 1960s. Its branding is an homage to the former "61 Big Ways" radio station (now WFNZ) in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• The local television station is WHKY-TV, channel 14.
• The Claremont Courier is a free newspaper distributed every month throughout Catawba County

Hickory has been named an "All-America City" three times. The All-America City Award is given annually to ten cities in the United States. It is an award that represents a community's ability to work together and achieve critical local issues. Hickory won this award in 2007, as well as, 1967 and 1987.

The Hickory metro area has been named the 10th best place to live and raise a family in the United States by Reader's Digest and the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton MSA has been named the third best MSA in the country for business cost by Forbes.[33]

In 2014, Smart Growth America identified the Hickory MSA as being the country's most sprawling metro area.[34]

Hickory has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:[47]

• Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany

• Hickory Aviation Museum
• Henry Fork (South Fork Catawba River tributary)
• Valley Hills Mall

• Official website
• Hickory travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Hickory Public Schools