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Interesting Facts
The Taylorsville of 1909 was just like other small towns of that period. Some of the larger towns building codes by 1900 required all buildings in the business district of the town to be of brick.
The sidewalks and some of the streets were brick and flagstone. The streets in the winter in Taylorsville would be muddy with pot holes and in the summer a dust problem, especially after the days of the automobile.The improvement in Taylorsville streets wasn't until 1920 when the state hard surfaced the present Highway 90 to Taylorsville. After a few years, Taylorsville started a program of paving the sidewalks and streets.
The Town of Taylorsville was formed in 1847 along with Alexander County.
As stated in the Heritage of Alexander County, published by the Alexander County Genealogical Society:
A commission of William Dula of Caldwell Co., Dr. James Calloway of Wilkes, Co., Milton Campbell of Iredell Co., and Robert Allen, Reuben Watts and Robert L. Steel of Alexander County were named to select a site as near the center of the county as possible for the seat of justice. The town was named Taylorsville in honor of General Zachary Taylor who at that time was in Mexico engaged in a war.The land for the town was donated by J.M. Bogle who gave 22 acres, William Matheson who gave 13 acres and James James who gave 11 3/4 acres for a total of 46 3/4 acres. Most of the land was woodland and the road from Statesville to Morganton passed to the South of town.
A commission of Alexander C. McIntosh, R.L. Steel, Sion Harrington, J.H. Newland, and George Swain, treasurer, were appointed to layout the town of Taylorsville and sell lots to raise money for the building of a courthouse and jail.
An auction of lots was held August 11, 1847 and 47 lots were sold. The second sale was November 30, 1847 and 10 lots were sold. At a third auction on March 8, 1848, five lots were sold. The total amounted to $6,674.75.
The first mayor was John Watts and was appointed by the commissioners. The boundaries of the incorporated town would be square and each side 160 poles or one-half mile.
The streets that bordered the courthouse square were named North, South, East and West Main Streets. The other four streets were North, South, East and West Back Streets. The map of the original town shows the numbering of the lots. Some of the lots on the boundaries of the town were not full lots and were called fractions of lots in the deeds.
For more interesting information on the history of the Town of Taylorsville, visit the Alexander County Library. The information on this page is from the Heritage of Alexander County (pages 30-33).
