Alexander County, NC
| Alexander County, North Carolina | ||
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The Brushy Mountains in Alexander County
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 Location in the U.S. state of North Carolina |
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 North Carolina's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1847 | |
| Named for | William Julius Alexander | |
| Seat | Taylorsville | |
| Largest town | Taylorsville | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 264 sq mi (684 km2) | |
| • Land | 260 sq mi (673 km2) | |
| • Water | 3.7 sq mi (10 km2), 1.4% | |
| Population | ||
| • (2010) | 37,198 | |
| • Density | 143/sq mi (55/km²) | |
| Congressional district | 5th | |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | |
| Website | alexandercountync |
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Alexander County is a county in North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,198. Its county seat is Taylorsville.
Alexander County is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Alexander County was chartered in 1847 by the North Carolina General Assembly. It was formed from portions of what were then Iredell, Caldwell, Wilkes counties. The county was named for William Julius Alexander who was a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Commons. This Piedmont area was settled primarily by farmers, many of Scots-Irish descent.
Alexander County was established in 1847, the year of the first sale of land in the county seat (Taylorsville). With the proceeds from the sale, the county built the first courthouse on the present site. When the American Civil War began, Alexander County was fourteen years old. The 1860 population was 5,837; yet Alexander County ranked high per capita in the number of Confederate soldiers it sent to the war. Taylorsville is the namesake of either John Louis Taylor, Carolina agriculturist and political philosopher, or General Zachary Taylor, the twelfth president of the United States.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 264 square miles (680 km2), of which 260 square miles (670 km2) is land and 3.7 square miles (9.6 km2) (1.4%) is water.
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