• Lake Norman’s deepest point is over 100 feet and the average depth is 25 ft.
• Lake Norman holds approximately 3,400,00,00 gallons of water, having a weight of approximately 13,600,000 tons.
• Lake Norman’s shoreline measures approximately 520 miles, more that the coastlines of North Carolina and South Carolina combined.
• Lake Norman is bordered by 4 counties: Mecklenburg, was named for the home province of King George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte; Catawba named for the Catawba Indians, who actually called themselves Eswataroa (meaning great river); Lincoln named for Benjamin Lincoln, not Abraham Lincoln; and Iredell named for James Iredell, who never saw the county.
• During the Revolutionary War a battle was fought on February 1, 1781 at almost the exact spot where Cowans Ford Dam now sits. Militia General William Lee Davidson, for whom Davidson College is named, was killed in the battle.
• There have been several unusual sighting around Lake Norman, including a mysterious cat-like creature known as the wampus, UFO’s man-sized catfish and an alligator or two.
• The groundbreaking for Cowans Ford Dam was held September 28, 1959. governor Terry Sanford was the keynote speaker at the dedication of the completed dam five years later on September29, 1964.
• The first metal bridge to span the Catawba River in this area was built by James W. Brown & B.A.Troutman of Mooresville and completed in 1911. It was located about 1/4 mile downstream from the present NC Hwy 150 bridge.
• Talk about planning ahead, James B. Duke’s associates began purchasing Catawba Valley Bottom land in 1901 to prepare for future power generation.
• Had Lake Norman not been in place, there probably would have been flooding of the Catawba River Valley in 1970. Severe flooding did occur in 1916 and 1940.
• The Catawba River froze solid enough for horse-drawn wagons to cross on November 27, 1886 and January 19, 1887.
• Lake Norman, the largest man-made lake in North Carolina, covers approximately 32,510 acres and is larger than the Sea of Galilee. The largest natural lake in the state is Mattamuskeet, at approximately30,000 acres.
Campground Road home of ‘Rock Springs Methodist Church Family Campground’ built in 1830’s by farmers for their vacation & camp meetings. Families all came and stayed here for 1-2 weeks. Families still own these rustic shed houses & come first week in August.
Off 150 into Morrison Plantation, an old barn historical remains that was used in the movie, ‘Days of Thunder’.
