Maiden, North Carolina
town in North Carolina, USA
Maiden is a town in Catawba and Lincoln counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 3,845 at the 2023 census.
Maiden High School was the first public high school in the state with an observatory and is currently home to an Apple iCloud Data Center, covering 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2). In May 2012, Apple announced it would generate 60 percent of the Maiden facility's power itself, through a large deployment of fuel cells at the site and a 100-acre (40 ha) solar farm, with an additional 150-acre (61 ha) site 2 miles (3 km) away.
The Catawba County portion of Maiden is part of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Lincoln County portion is part of the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Maiden was incorporated on March 7, 1883, as a cotton mill site and trading center. The town is named from a creek north of the area called "Maiden Creek". The name of the creek is thought to be of Native American origin. Historians claim that the name "Maiden" stems from the native-grown "Maidencane" grass, which is found throughout the town to this day.
The town also calls itself "The Biggest Little Football Town in the World", because of the strong community support for its local high school football team.
The public source identifies “Maiden, North Carolina” as town in North Carolina, USA. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Maiden, North and Carolina.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Maiden, North Carolina”, the useful work is to connect “town in North Carolina, USA” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2029163. VIAF identifies the subject as 126690715. The Library of Congress control number is n82070896. Authority coordinates are 35.576, -81.212. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2023, 2012 and 1883.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Maiden, North Carolina”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Maiden, North Carolina primary sources, Maiden, North Carolina archive and Maiden research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Maiden, North Carolina”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Maiden, North Carolina” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.