Editing Rowan County, North Carolina (section)

===18th century===
English colonial settlement of North Carolina came decades later, starting in the coastal areas, where settlers migrated south from Virginia. Explorers and fur traders were the first to reach the Piedmont, paving the way for eventual settlers. Rowan County and [[Saint Luke|St. Luke]]'s Parish were established on March 27, 1753, from the upper part of Anson County, [[Province of North Carolina|North Carolina]].<ref>{{cite book |ref={{harvid|''Complete Revisal of All the Acts of Assembly'',|1773}} |date=1773 |title=A Complete Revisal of All the Acts of Assembly, of the Province of North-Carolina, Now in Force and Use.: Together With the Titles of All Such Laws as are Obsolete, Expired, or Repealed.: With Marginal Notes and References, and an Exact Table to the Whole |url=https://archive.org/details/completerevisalo1773nort |location=Newbern |publisher=James Davis |p=154 |oclc=1042380338 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> It was named for Matthew Rowan, acting governor of North Carolina from 1753 to 1754. It was intended to incorporate all of the lands of the [[Granville District]] that had previously been included in Anson County.<ref>{{cite book|author=Rumple, Jethro|title=A History of Rowan County, North Carolina|publisher=Daughters of the American Revolution, Elizabeth Maxwell Steele Chapter (Salisbury, N.C.)|year=1916|page=59}}</ref>

A house several miles west of present-day Salisbury in "the Irish settlement" served as the first courthouse starting June 15, 1753. [[Daniel Boone]]'s father Squire Boone served as one of the first [[magistrate]]s. By mid-1754 a new courthouse site was selected near "the place where the Old Waggon Road (crosses) over Grant's Creek."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.salisburypost.com/2021/10/10/rowan-countys-first-courthouse/|title=Rowan County's first courthouse|last=Freeze|first=Gary|work=[[Salisbury Post]]|date=October 10, 2021}}</ref>

As was typical of the time, Rowan County was originally a vast territory with an indefinite western boundary. As the population increased in the region, portions were taken to organize other counties and their seats. In 1770, the eastern portion was combined with the western part of [[Orange County, North Carolina|Orange County]] to form [[Guilford County, North Carolina|Guilford County]]. In 1771 the northeastern portion of what was left became [[Surry County, North Carolina|Surry County]]. In 1777 the western part of Rowan County was organized as [[Burke County, North Carolina|Burke County]].<ref name='Formation'/> After the [[American Revolutionary War]], in 1788, the western portion of the now much smaller Rowan County was organized as [[Iredell County, North Carolina|Iredell County]].