The history of Statesville’s name is vague, but it was originally named “the states vil.” In January 1789, just after North Carolina joined the United States, Statesville was founded by an act of the General Assembly. The area was originally known as the Fourth Creek Settlement and was established as a “site for the courthouse and stocks.” The site was in the midst of a settlement of Scotch Irish Presbyterians. The entire area had been part of the Rowan County some 30 to 40 years earlier. By 1790, the first courthouse was built of logs, on a lot purchased from Fergus Sloan next to the Fourth Creek Presbyterian Meeting House. That courthouse site, at the intersection of Broad and Center Streets, is now called The Square. The lots surrounding the log courthouse were soon sold at a public auction for other businesses, and growth of downtown Statesville had begun. Some two miles north of Statesville, Fort Dobbs was built in 1755 to defend the settlers’ western frontier. It was built as a barracks for the militia and as a protection against the Indians and French. Statesville was Incorporated as a city in 1847.

In 1858, the Western North Carolina Railroad was the first railroad to reach Statesville as it linked Salisbury to Asheville. Shortly After the Western service began, the Atlantic, Tennessee & Ohio Railroad (ATO) started running the Statesville to Charlotte line. Originally there were two depots for the two separate lines, but both were burned down in the late 1800’s during the Civil War. They were both rebuilt. 

For Statesville, the greatest period of growth came between the 1860s and the 1930s. The railroad brought in finished and raw goods and exported products to be sold in other cities. People were now more connected to the rest of the country, and the trains brought visitors to town, as well. At the turn of the century, Industries were based around three primary products: herbs, tobacco and liquor. Herbs were shipped from the Wallace Herbarium (site #22) on Meeting Street to all parts of the world. Liquor and tobacco money built many of the downtown buildings. 

Today Statesville has five National Register of Historic Place Districts: Broad Street/Davie Avenue, Mitchell College, Academy Hill, South Race Street and the Downtown Statesville Commercial District.