Editing Mount Gilead, North Carolina (section)

==History==
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2022}}

===Ancient history===
The region was occupied by the [[Pedee people]], part of the [[South Appalachian Mississippian culture]], from about 980 to 1150 CE. They built the earthwork platform mound and other structures at [[Town Creek Indian Mound]], which was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1966 and is {{convert|5|mi|0}} southeast of Mount Gilead. It is the only [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] site in the state to be designated as a national landmark. In the 21st century, the Pee Dee people are based in [[South Carolina]], where the state has recognized several bands as tribes.

===European-American settlement===
Mount Gilead was incorporated in 1899 as the textile industry built mills in the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] region of the state above the [[Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line]]. They processed the [[commodity crop]] of cotton, which had been important to the South since before the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. The textile mills provided jobs to white residents of the region, later also employing blacks and supporting relative prosperity in the region.

Since the late 20th century, many textile jobs moved offshore in a restructuring of the industry as it sought lower labor costs. Like many small southern towns, Mount Gilead suffered economic and population decline following the loss of these textile jobs.

===Historic district===
The town has begun to emphasize the appeal of its historic resources. The [[Mount Gilead Downtown Historic District]] has been inventoried and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Mount Gilead was selected to participate in the N.C. Small Town Main Street Program (co-sponsored by the [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]]) and received a S.T.E.P. (Small Town Economic Prosperity) grant of $220,000 to help revitalize the downtown area and create jobs, respectively.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}