Denver, formerly known as Dry Pond, is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Lincoln County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Denver had a population of 2,697.

Known as “Dry Pond” until 1873, it was renamed “Denver” (after the capital of the then territory of Colorado) as a marketing and growth strategy directed towards the emerging railroad industry. The name change was championed by D. Matt Thompson, a local principal. The town was incorporated as such from 1877 until 1971, when the town lost its charter and was reincorporated back into Lincoln County.

Geography Denver is situated on North Carolina State Highway 16, west of Lake Norman. It is about north of uptown Charlotte and southeast of Newton. Denver's northern border is the Catawba County line.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Denver CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.14%, are water.

Denver's ZIP code is 28037. The elevation is above sea level.

Demographics

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Denver had a population of 2,697. The median age was 42.0 years. 21.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 87.3 males age 18 and over.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,137 households in Denver, of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.1% were married-couple households, 16.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 1,206 housing units, of which 5.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.4%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 2,357 87.4% Black or African American 93 3.4% American Indian and Alaska Native 14 0.5% Asian 30 1.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 5 0.2% Some other race 67 2.5% Two or more races 131 4.9% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 156 5.8%

2000 census The census of 2000 for Denver's zip code 28037, shows a total population of 13,030, with a median age of 41 years. The racial makeup was 83.9% White, 5.8% African American, and 1.5% other races. There were 5,052 households, 77.5% being family households. The average household size was 2.56 people. 82.9% of the residents had a high school education or higher, and 20.4% had a Bachelor's Degree or higher.

70.7% of residents over 16 were employed, with 84.7% of those commuting to work alone in a vehicle. The largest employers were Manufacturing at 20.2%, 'Transportation and warehousing, and utilities' at 11.6%, and Construction at 10.0%. The median household income was $52,304. 3.7% of families were below the poverty line. The median house value was $162,000 with 75.8% having a mortgage, contract to purchase, or similar debt.

History

Period of foundation The community of Dry Pond derived its name from a small pond, which once stood at what is now the corner of Highway 16 Business and Campground Road, now the site of the local First Federal branch. The pond would dry up in the heat of summer months.

18th century Adam Sherrill and his family first settled in the area in 1747, and they were followed by John Beatty two years later. The actual location of Denver was first settled around 1770. People of Scotch-Irish and German descent from Pennsylvania, were among the first white settlers. Most of the early Scotch Irish were Presbyterians, and their first place of worship in what would become the Denver area was John Beatty's house, which was located about one mile west of Beatty's Ford, near the present-day Triangle community. Now known as Unity Presbyterian, the first meetinghouse for this congregation was originally built of logs. In 1808, it was decided to erect a larger building, and a plot of several acres was conveyed for the purpose by James Little to "James Connor, Alexander Brevard, John Reid and Joseph Graham, trustees." Dr Humphrey Hunter, a native of Ireland and a soldier in the American Revolutionary War, was pastor from 1796 to 1804. Next came Rev. Henry N. Pharr. He was succeeded by Patrick Sparrow, whose father was a potter at Vesuvius furnace, part of the Graham family's local iron industry. Sparrow was the first professor of languages at Davidson College, and afterwards president of Hampden–Sydney College in Virginia. A long-time minister at Unity was Robert Hall Morrison, who was first president of Davidson College.

The Presbyterians were soon joined by early Methodists from Maryland, who initially took up residence near what is now Terrell. Longtime leaders of the Methodists in the region were Rev. Daniel Asbury and Rev. Jeremiah Munday, pioneer Methodist ministers. When he was younger, Asbury traveled to Kentucky with some family members (among them the Callaways) and, along with their leader Daniel Boone, he and approximately 20 people were taken hostage by a band of Shawnee. They were carried to the far northwest (present-day Ohio) and held in captivity for five years. Asbury later was traded to the British in what is now Detroit, and returned to his home in Virginia. In 1791, Asbury established in Lincoln County the first Methodist church west of the Catawba River, which is now known as Bethel United Methodist Church. Rev. Jeremiah Mundy was a native of Virginia and came to Lincoln County in 1799. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War three years and a minister for 35 years. These Methodists brought with them the institution of "camp meeting", which quickly became one of the most important traditions for the region. Interdenominational from the beginning, the local Rock Springs Camp Meeting grows out of these early meetings and traces its history to 1794, when Daniel Asbury, William McKendree (who would become a bishop), William Fulwood and James Hall, a Presbyterian, held the first gathering near present-day Rehobeth Church in Terrell.

Native Americans

Most of the land that these Europeans claimed had long been the home of the Catawba and Cherokee people. The Catawba River in this part of North Carolina acted as a border between the two nations, who were often at odds with each other. In the earliest days of European settlement, there were episodes of violence between the Native Americans and the new settlers, and eventually a fort was constructed near present-day Statesville to help provide a level of defense for the western portion of the colony.

General William Lee Davidson

On February 1, 1781, British forces under the command of Lt. General Cornwallis clashed with North Carolina troops led by Brig. Gen. William Lee Davidson at Cowan's Ford, the southernmost limit of present-day Denver. The British were pursuing Nathanael Greene's forces following the Patriot victory at Cowpens, South Carolina, and Davidson's troops had been sent to stall and harass his advance. With Davidson was Captain Joseph Graham, a local, who had raised 56 cavalrymen. He had promised that those who furnished their own horses and equipment and served six weeks would be considered as having served a tour of three months.

Local blacksmiths made 45 rough swords for the new mounted troops. Only fifteen of Graham's troops had pistols, but all had rifles, not the ideal weapon for horseback fighting. Davidson, charged with guarding four of the Catawba River crossings, had sent 500 troops to Beattie's Ford, keeping only 25 at Cowan's. But the river was high and Cornwallis did not have access to his heavy guns. Led by a local Tory guide, Frederick Hager, the British began to cross the river early as the Americans were still sleeping. The sentry was not alerted until Cornwallis' troops were within 100 yards of the shore. The battle began, and the strong current was on the American's side. Greatly outnumbered, the local forces were able to hold their own, slowly falling back into the woods while returning fire. The British finally took the ford and advanced. General Davidson was shot, and the militia, seeing this, fled. Major Graham's cavalry covered their retreat. The battle had helped a larger force under the command of Daniel Morgan reach the Yadkin River unopposed. It is said that Frederick Hager was the man who shot the gun that killed General Davidson.

19th century

Most of the early settlers were subsistence farmers who relied heavily upon hunting to supplement their tables. Grist mills and saw mills were among the first local industries, but the production of iron soon became the biggest industry for the area. By 1810, Lincoln County boasted six ironmaking operations, including Vesuvius, Mt. Welcome, Mount Tirzah, Mount Carmel, High Shoals, and Madison. A number of individuals and partners took the lead in establishing ironworks in eastern Lincoln County, most just to the west of present-day Denver, near Pumpkin Center and in the direction of Iron Station. The partnership of Peter Forney, Joseph Graham, John Davidson, and Alexander Brevard was responsible for the construction of Vesuvius Furnace in 1795. Peter Forney built Madison Iron Furnace along Leeper's Creek in 1809. These two sites, like other local ironworks, changed hands at various points. Other individuals involved in the development of the iron industry in Lincoln County include Turner Abernethy, John Fulenwider, Dr. William Johnston, Jonas W. Derr, and J.F. Reinhardt. James Madison Smith later erected Stonewall Furnace in 1862 to help meet the demand for iron brought on by the Civil War. Operations at Rehoboth (begun in the 1820s) and Madison furnaces also resumed during the turbulent years from 1862 to 1865 to supply much-needed iron for the Southern war effort.

Dry Pond

There was a Dry Pond Post Office beginning right before the Civil War, although it moved across the line to Catawba County near what is now Kiestler's Store Road in December 1868. In 1873, in an attempt to attract a railroad spur and thinking that the moniker "Dry Pond" didn't present a nice enough image for the railroad planners, headmaster of the local Rock Springs Academy, D. Matt Thompson, led the effort to have Dry Pond renamed for the capital of Colorado, which was just then petitioning for statehood.

In the years before the Civil War, North Carolina's wealthy class in need of a break from the summer heat, could escape to Lincoln County's Catawba Springs resort. The popular antebellum destination, named for the Catawba people formerly living in the area, was built amidst seven mineral springs near Denver. Guests vacationed there as early as the 1790s. In 1824, geology professor Denison Olmstead recommended the waters of the springs for complaints concerning the liver and weakness. There is little evidence that healing actually occurred; nonetheless Catawba Springs became a popular stop on the stagecoach lines from Salisbury to Asheville.