A History of Catawba County, North Carolina

By: Charles Preslar, Pub. 1954, Reprinted 2020, 556 pages, Index, ISBN #0-89308-282-1 Catawba County was created from Lincoln County in the 1842. It sits in the western portion of the state. The Catawba River Valley was first settled by Germans and Scot-Irish settlers who came to this area in the mid-1700's. This book is not too different from other county history books of this era. With such topics as trade and transportation, labor, farming, politics, and race relations - all important in the development of the county - are carefully discussed. This type of county history book can help one develop ideas or paths to those missing ancestors by showing the customs and traditions of the local residents.