HOA Management in McLeansville, NC

William Douglas Property Management offers HOA Management and Association Management services in McLeansville, NC

McLeansville, NC Facts & Information

McLeansville is an unincorporated area in the eastern portion of Guilford County, North. Since McLeansville is unincorporated, the United States Census Bureau classifies the McLeansville area as a census-designated place (CDP). As such, there are no legally established or defined borders of a CDP other than what the United States Census Bureau sets forth.

The CDP for McLeansville, as established by the United States Census Bureau, is a total area of 6.3 square miles. Of these 6.3 square miles, 6.22 square miles is land, and the remaining 0.08 square miles consists of water.

The coordinates or location of McLeansville per Google Earth – Latitude: 36°06′26.49″N, Longitude: 79°39′31.10″ W

The elevation of McLeansville at the above coordinates or location per Google Earth is 754 feet.

The zip code for McLeansville is 27301.

The area code for McLeansville is 336.

Per the United States Census Bureau for McLeansville

Population for McLeansville per the 2010 United States Census: 1,021

The median household income for the McLeansville CDP: $45,875

An Overview of McLeansville and Guilford County

Guilford County is named in honor of Francis North, Earl of Guilford. He was the father of Frederick North, Lord North, and the Prime Minister of Britain from 1770 until 1782. Guilford County was established in 1771 from a section of Rowan County. The southern one-third of Guilford County was apportioned in 1779 and formed into Randolph County. The northern half of Guilford County was apportioned in 1785 and formed into Rockingham County. Up until 1808, the county seat was located at Guilford Court House, and then the county seat was moved to Greensboro.

As evidenced by archeological excavations in the region, Native Americans have inhabited the Piedmont region of North Carolina for between five to ten millenniums. The first recorded Native Americans by Europeans in what would become Guilford County were the Cheraw people and the Keyauwee people. Both Native American groups were Siouan-speaking people, which was a common language of Native Americans in the Carolinas. The 1715 Carolina Native Americans Census estimated the Cheraw people at around 200 and the Keyauwee people at around 100.

In very small numbers, settlers of European descent began arriving in the future Guilford County in the early 1700s. Settlers of European descent only began arriving in larger numbers in the mid-1700s. These early settlers of original European origin were from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and a smaller percentage from New England. These included American Quakers, British Quakers, German Reformed, German Lutherans, and a large percentage of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. There was a small percentage of African American slaves among these early settlers as well.

The vast majority of these early settlers were subsistence farmers. These were subsistence farmers, farming small plots of land. Because of economic circumstances, these farmers were limited to the number of livestock they could raise as well.

Guilford County is home to one of the major and one of the most significant American Revolutionary War battles, the Battle of Guilford Court House. The Battle of Guilford Court House occurred on March 15, 1781. Paradoxically, this was a tactical victory for the British. More importantly, it was a British strategic defeat. This battle became the turning point of the American Revolutionary War in the south and the turning point for the entire American Revolutionary War. The Battle of Guilford Court House was a Pyrrhic victory for the British, from which they were unable to recover.

Guilford Court House was a settlement that is now within the city limits of Greensboro. This was the county seat and the location of the county courthouse. The battle developed as the largest to take place during Continental Army Major General Nathanael Greene’s Southern Campaign. Greene’s Patriot force consisted of trained Continental Army soldiers and somewhat trained militia, both totaling around 4,500-men. Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis commanded the British forces. His 2,100-man force was better trained and equipped than Greene’s force.

General Greene had fewer casualties. However, just as importantly, he succeeded in strategically withdrawing his forces. Greene’s strategy was one of hit and run because his forces were not up to a long and drawn-out engagement with a British force. This British “victory” weakened Cornwallis’ forces to such an extent that this led to the British capitulation on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virginia. The Battle of Guilford Court House only lasted around two hours; however, this battle changed the world.

Even with being outnumbered, Cornwallis’ force defeated Nathanael Greene’s Patriot forces. Greene’s forces withdrew from the battlefield, and Cornwallis’ controlled the battlefield afterward. At this period in time, the winner of the battle was typically deemed to be the one who controlled the battlefield afterward. However, the “victory” came at a considerable cost in British casualties. Of the 2,100-man British force, 25% became casualties. A harsh reality of what service in the British Army was like at this time is that many of the British casualties were the consequence of intentional friendly cannon fire. This cannon fire being “grapeshot” was ordered directly and purposely by General Cornwallis into both British and Patriot troops in an attempt to clear the battlefield. Charles James Fox, a member of the British Parliament and a staunch critic of England’s struggle to allay the American War of Independence, said in response to the British “victory” at the Battle of Guilford Court House, “Another such victory would ruin the British Army!”

McLeansville development occurred in the same manner as literally hundreds and hundreds of towns developed in the United States in the mid to late 1800s, the railroad. The arrival of the railroad caused towns to spring up at train coal, and water stops were the genesis of countless towns and cities. The locomotive and the railroad were a paradigm shift in the 1800s. A paradigm shift then as much as the computer was in the 1970s and the Internet was in the 2000s. The railroad transformed the United States, and it transformed McLeansville and the surrounding area. The first mention of the settlement of “McLeansville” in a newspaper was Raleigh’s The Weekly Standard, the Wednesday, November 14, 1855, edition.

The name of McLeansville was derived from the last name of the postmaster, John McLean. McLean owned a general store that also had a post office within. This was very common for the postmaster to name the town or the town to be named after the postmaster.

The first train arrived in McLeansville in 1856. It had an immediate impact on the economy of the surrounding area. The rail line was laid by the North Carolina Railroad Company that was chartered or incorporated in 1849 and was operational in 1856. This railroad is still operational today.

North Carolina Railroad’s rail line through McLeansville was connecting Charlotte and Goldsboro, which had been ultimately completed on January 29, 1856. The final completion of this Charlotte and Goldsboro route, Line #1, which was the railroad’s first, was a monumental accomplishment within North Carolina. Such a monumental accomplishment that the following day, January 30, 1856, the first locomotive to travel the completed rail line arrived in each town along the line to crowds of cheering townspeople. The McLeansville stop was after the Greensborough ( Abbreviated to Greensboro in 1893) station and before the Gibsonville Station.

Before and after the arrival of the railroad, agriculture was still the primary economic activity in McLeansville. The train depot became a transportation and commerce hub for the area. The ability to ship their product to distant markets allowed farmers the ability to raise cash crops or more profitable crops. The ability to ship local agricultural products to faraway markets was an economic advantage for the entire community. Agriculture remained the primary economic activity well into the 20^th century.

During the American Civil War, a company was formed called the McLeansville Home Guards. They met every Saturday at 2:00 P.M. to drill until further ordered. The officers shall consist of a captain, first, second, and third lieutenant. A sergeant would be elected by the company. Each member of the company was to provide their own rifle, shotgun, or musket.

Not much changed within and around the McLeansville area until the mid-1950s with the decrease in passenger trains and the development of road systems. The development of the interstate highway system has brought a great deal of development around and into the McLeansville area.

Today, McLeansville has an assortment of stores, churches, and schools that would be found in many small towns. McLeansville still has that small-town feel. U.S. Highway 70 is the primary thoroughfare in the community connecting the residents to Greensboro, Sedalia, Gibsonville, Whitsett, Elon, and Burlington. Interstate 785 and Interstate 40 are convenient to McLeansville. McLeansville is centrally located and has become a bedroom community in Greensboro and Burlington.