The Abolishment of Tryon County

Mecklenburg County formed in 1762 from Anson County. In 1768, Mecklenburg County was divided to form two separate counties, one retained the name of Mecklenburg while the other became known as Tryon. The county seat for the new Tryon County became a town named Tryon, located between the present day Cherryville and Bessemer City in Gaston County. The newly formed Tryon County occupied all or part of the present day Burke, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford Counties of North Carolina and part of the present day Cherokee, Chester, Greenville, Lancaster, Laurens, Newberry, Spartanburg, Union, and York Counties of South Carolina. This county division was described as; "by a line beginning at Earl Granville's line, where it crosses the Catawba River and the said river to be the line to the South Carolina line, and all that part of the county lying to the westward of the said dividing line shall be one other distinct county and parish, and remain by the name of Tryon County and Saint Thomas Parish." This huge expanse of territory was never clearly defined until 1772 when the state line was resolved. This creation lasted until 1779, when the General Assembly further divided and redrawn the county "by a line beginning at the south line near Broad River, thence along the dividing ridge between Buffalo Creek and Little Broad River to the line of Burke County". In this action Tryon County was abolished to form Rutherford and Lincoln Counties.