Editing Morganton, North Carolina (section)

==History==
[[File:Morganton Village - NARA - 281093.jpg|thumb|right|Morganton Village, 1939]]

An influx of European settlers over the Blue Ridge Mountains led Morganton to become the first chartered town in western North Carolina in 1784.<ref>{{Cite web|title=April 19, 1784: Morganton, first town in WNC, chartered {{!}} Asheville Museum of History |url=https://wnchistory.org/april-19-1784-morganton-first-town-in-wnc-chartered/ |access-date=2024-01-03 |language=en-US}}</ref>

On April 17, 1865 there was a small skirmish fought in Morganton, as part of [[Stoneman's 1865 raid]] through North Carolina.<ref>{{cite web |last1=FLEMING |first1=BRIANNE |title=History Museum of Burke County remembers Stoneman's Raid |url=https://morganton.com/news/history-museum-of-burke-county-remembers-stonemans-raid/article_0a5c3afc-e50a-11e4-a99f-3f6106fd4674.html |website=Morganton.com - The News Herald |access-date=19 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

Public welfare facilities, such as the [[North Carolina School for the Deaf|North Carolina School for the Deaf: Main Building]] and [[Broughton Hospital|Western North Carolina Insane Asylum]], were first authorized by the state legislature in the late 19th century.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In the early 20th century, textile mills were developed in the Piedmont as industry left union-dominated areas of the Northeast United States. During the century, however, these industrial jobs gradually moved offshore.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In the late 20th century, Morganton and Burke County, was still largely rural and with big poultry farms, which became locations for industrial-scale poultry processing plants. These jobs attracted many new immigrants to the state from [[Central America]], leading to an increase in the [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latino]] population in the area.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In 2006, an explosion at Synthron, a paint additive chemical manufacturer in Morganton,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csb.gov/synthron-chemical-explosion/ |title=Synthron Chemical Explosion - Investigations &#124; the U.S. Chemical Safety Board |publisher=Csb.gov |access-date=2014-02-09}}</ref><ref name="aristatek1">{{cite web|url=http://www.aristatek.com/Newsletter/JAN08/JAN08ts.aspx |title=The First Responder |publisher=Aristatek.com |access-date=2014-02-09}}</ref> left 13 injured and one dead.<ref name="autogenerated2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.icis.com/Articles/2007/07/31/9049443/maintenance-failures-behind-synthron-blast-csb.html |title=Maintenance failures behind Synthron blast - CSB |publisher=Icis.com |access-date=2014-02-09}}</ref>

A {{convert|9|ft|m|adj=on}}-tall bronze statue of a Confederate soldier&mdash;erected in 1918&mdash;is located atop a stone pedestal in the Old Burke County Courthouse square.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Queen |first=Marty |date=2023-09-30 |title=Did monument honor Confederate veterans or symbolize white supremacy? |url=https://www.thepaper.media/news/did-monument-honor-confederate-veterans-or-symbolize-white-supremacy/article_ff4e0bac-d96b-5d57-a6a8-f1624440aab3.html |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=The Paper |language=en}}</ref>