Area Information

Lake Norman History
Lake Norman in North Carolina is the largest man-made lake in NC, and is located in the northern part of Mecklenburg County, just 18 miles northwest of Charlotte. It is sometimes called an “Inland Sea,” with over 520 miles of beautiful shoreline.

The Lake Norman area actually consists of several small towns and communities surrounding the lake and Lake Norman State Park. It is now one of the most rapidly growing and popular areas in North Carolina.

The Great River was named after the people who lived by it, the Catawba Indians, known in their own language as the Kawahcatawbas, “the people of the river.” As the settlers began moving into the fertile lands along the Catawba, they brought with them diseases from Europe that the Catawbas had no resistance to, and in less than 175 years, their population dwindled from over 5,000 to less than 400.

These settlers built their cabins and farmed the land beside the Catawba River, but before long they were drawn into battle against the British Crown. In 1781, General Cornwallis proclaimed Charlotte to be “a damned hornet’s nest of rebellion.” At the battle site at Cowan’s Ford, General William Lee Davidson, along with a band of Catawba Valley farmers were able to slow the advance of General Cornwallis. Early in the battle, General Davidson was shot and killed at the river bank. A monument honoring Davidson is located near the present site of Cowan’s Ford Dam, but the exact location of his demise is under the waters of Lake Norman.

After the United States became an independent nation and the Civil War left the people demoralized in spirit, the people along the Catawba were simply existing. Ambitious James B. “Buck” Duke, president of the American Tobacco Company,
saw a future in the textile industry in the Carolinas, using the waters of the Catawba
to generate power needed to provide clothing for a growing nation. Buck and his brother, Ben, set out to learn everything they could about hydroelectric power.

Dr. W. Gill Wylie, who had already experimented with hydroelectric
power in South Carolina with his Catawba Power Company, soon
began discussions with the Duke Brothers while tending to their illnesses. Wylie introduced the Dukes to William S. Lee, a brilliant
young engineer who was designing the Catawba Power Company’s
dams and power plants. Wylie needed funding, and Duke needed
power. Duke, Lee and Wylie were looking at the larger picture ?
Electricity would attract business and industry to the region.

The Southern Power Company was formed and William S. Lee’s dream
of transforming an entire river valley into a hydroelectric system was coming true. In 1927, the Southern Power Company became the Duke Power Company, and by 1928, ten dams were completed with a dozen powerhouses, making the Catawba “the world’s most electrified river.” William Lee’s grandson, Bill Lee III, had the honor of designing and completing the one final dam which would be the largest undertaking
of all, creating not only the largest lake in the Duke Power system,
but the largest lake in the Carolinas.

Homes, family farms, and entire towns would end up under water.
The village of Long Island, once a bustling river town with three textile mills, would be completely submerged. Some land owners refused to
sell their land, but traded it for land along the future lake. Those who
kept it long enough did very well indeed.

Lake Norman Public Lake Access
Lake Norman State Park
State Park Rd, Off 1-77 at Exit 42, Troutman, (704) 528-6350

Hager Creek Access Area
I-77 North to Exit 33, then Left on Williamson Rd,
Left on Brawley School Rd and Right on Mckendree Rd

McCrary Creek Access Area
Across NC 150 from Pinnacle Access Area

Pinnacle Access Area
I-77 North to exit 36, then West on NC 150 Four Miles

Stumpy Creek Access Area
2 Miles West on Hwy 150 from the I-77 Interchange 
Right on Perth  Rd.  1.5 miles on Left

Beatties Ford Access Area
NC 16 North, Right on Unity Church Rd

Little Creek Access Area
Hwy 16 North, Right on Webbs Rd,
Left on Burton Lane
Long Island Access Area
Hwy 150 West, Right on Sherrills Ford Rd,
Right on Long Island Rd

Ramsey Creek Park
18441 Nantz Rd, Cornelius, (704) 896-9808

Blythe Landing
15901 Hwy 73, Huntersville, (704) 896-9808