HOA Management in Cramerton, NC

William Douglas Management is a leader in customer service — the experience and expertise that your association needs and deserves!

PROPOSAL REQUEST

For Homeowners

Cramerton, is a town centrally located in eastern Gaston County

Cramerton, North Carolina, is a town centrally located in eastern Gaston County. The town is situated on the South Fork of the Catawba River. Interstate 85 and U.S. Highway 74 are the primary thoroughfares through the community.

Per the 2020 United States Census the population was calculated to be 5,296.

Per the 2010 United States Census, the population was calculated to be 4,165.

Founded as the community of Mayworth in 1906.

The community name changed to Cramerton in 1922.

The land area of Cramerton is 3.68 square miles per the 2010 United States Census

Town premise: “Pride in our Past and Faith in Our Future.”

Coordinates of Cramerton per Google Earth – Latitude: 35°14′09.51″N, Longitude: 81°04′18.24″ W

Cramerton is one of fifteen municipalities within Gaston County. In 1846, Gaston County was established from the southern section of the mega 1,200 square miles of Lincoln County. The county was named in honor of a prominent politician and jurist, William J. Gaston (1778 – 1844). During his tenure, W.J. Gaston was a successful United States Congressman and leading member of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

The newly established Gaston County’s first Census, the 1850 United States Census, calculated the population at 8,073. In 170 years, the population of Gaston County, per the 2020 U.S. Census, had increased to 227,943. Based on the 2010 United States Census, Gaston County has 356.03 square miles of land area, with a population density per square mile of 578.8.

A brief overview of the Cramerton and the Surrounding Area

The origin of Cramerton began in 1907 with the construction of Mays Manufacturing on the banks of the South Fork of the Catawba River. The mill was constructed adjacent to the Southern Railway rail line, which greatly benefited production. The name of the mill was changed to Mays Mills in 1915. To quote the January 3, 1919, edition of The Charlotte Observer, in reference to what was there before Mays Mill: ”Eleven years ago there was little or nothing there.” John Henry Mayes (1865 – 1947) constructed Mays Mill as a spinning mill with 6,500 spindles.

The community was initially called Mayesworth and then called Mayworth. The company constructed 325 homes or cottages in the mill village. The cottages within the village were noted as being of the highest quality with electricity and running water. Observed by many as not the standard mill village home for the time period. The homes had various styles of architecture, bungalows, and cottages. The typical home is rented for under a dollar a week.

The Town of Cramerton and Gaston County is situated in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. The overwhelming majority of Gaston County is considered to be in the Catawba-Wateree River Basin. A small portion of the western edge of Gaston County is within the Broad River Basin. The Catawba and Broad river basins comprise the Santee River Watershed. On the north, Gaston County is border by Lincoln County. Gaston County is bordered on the west by Cleveland County. Mecklenburg County borders Gaston County on the east. South Carolina’s York County borders Gaston County on the south.

There were two school buildings constructed by the mill. There were six teachers and a principal paid for by the Gaston County, and their pay was supplemented by the mill. In the 1910s, the student body consisted of over 250 students. By 1919, the population of Mayworth was estimated at 2,5000, with 800 employed by the Mays Mill. The old Mayworth School was renovated and converted in 2006 to senior apartments. The old Mayworth School is located at 236 Eighth Avenue in Cramerton, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1910, Stuart Warren Cramer (1868-1940) became the owner of the mill. Cramer was the force behind the design of the homes in the mill village. Cramer was a highly accomplished textile engineer. He reportedly designed 150 mills in the south and invested in the Cramer System of Air Conditioning for textile mills. The original mill in 1907 was constructed as a spinning mill with 6,500 spindles.

Cramer constructed a weave mill and finishing plant, accomplishing vertical integration from turning raw cotton into fabric at one site, Cramerton. By 1920, the mill had been expanded a number of times, and there were 50,000 spindles in operation. Cramer’s objective was vertical integration before vertical integration was common business terminology.

Cramer changed the name of the mill to Cramerton Mills and the name of the town to Cramerton in 1922. Burlington Industries bought the mills and mill village in 1946. Burlington Industries then sold the homes to the residents at that same time. Burlington operated the four mills until the 1970s, when the old Mays Mill was closed and torn down, and the Mayflower weaving mill was shuttered.

Cramer purchased a nearby mountain, coordinates: 35.2345838°N, -81.0781312°W. Approximate Elevation: 709 feet or 216 meters. Reportedly, Cramer saw an English manor house on a European trip and liked the house so much that he wanted an identical one built on top of his mountain. The 14,000 square foot house was completed in 1917 and became known as Maymont Manor. The manor was constructed using materials directly from the mountain. Maymont Manor was restored and updated in the mid-1980s. The mountain became known as Cramer Mountain. Today, Cramer Mountain has been developed into a high-end residential gated development Cramer Mountain Homeowners Association.

Textiles drove the Cramerton economy until the 1970s. The population of Cramerton dropped drastically and uncharacteristically in the 1970s and 1980s as compared with most other municipalities in the Charlotte metro.

Historical population per the United States Census

Census Pop. %±

1950 3,211 —

1960 3,123 −2.7%

1970 2,142 −31.4%

1980 1,869 −12.7%

1990 2,371 26.9%

2000 2,976 25.5%

2010 4,165 40.0%

2020 5,296 21.3%

The drop in textile production and an increase in textile automation are created with the drop in Cramerton’s population during the 1970s and 1980s. However, the 1993 ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, had the most damaging effect on textiles. NAFTA began adversely affecting domestic textile production almost immediately. Because of automation and new technologies, decreasing employment trends in the textile industry had already been occurring, NAFTA intensified this trend.

Textiles, as the economic driver of Cramerton, has slowly evolved in the 21^st century. In 2001, Burlington Industries, which owned the former Cramerton Mills, filed for bankruptcy. Textile companies Eagle Mountain Finishers and Lakewood Dyed Yarns shuttered in 2006 and 2007. Charlotte’s vibrant economy has become Cramerton’s economic driver as it has turned into a bedroom community for Charlotte. There has also been a great deal of economic development in surrounding municipalities that have been drawing people to move to Cramerton.