Cramerton vs. Belmont smackdown. Do you have to choose?
After 28 years of living in Gaston County, I’ve heard and made more redneck jokes than I can count. But a funny thing seems to be happening: We’re becoming cool to our neighbors across the Catawba River.
I give credit to Belmont, my adopted hometown. We’ve got an adorable historic downtown teeming with restaurants, pubs and boutiques. We’ve got a beautiful college campus and summer concerts that pack downtown streets.
Belmont recently won a Great Main Street award, got a glowing write-up in Charlotte magazine and was the focus of a Charlotte Talks segment.
But earlier this summer, as my 25-year-old son sipped a beer on the patio of South Fork Deli and mused about what it would be like to live in – gasp! – Cramerton, I was forced to admit that Belmont has some competition.
The next town west of Belmont, just across the South Fork River, has mostly been known for its gated community of mountaintop mansions, perched above the rest of Gaston County.
More recently, seemingly endless bridge construction isolated Cramerton’s tiny but charming downtown. But the bridge finally reopened. So did Goat Island Park, which now offers disc golf, fishing, ping pong, corn hole, a playground and a dog park. The town was packed for the park’s “grand reopening.”
Here are three things to know if you visit Cramerton:
(1) There aren’t any goats on Goat Island.
But there’s a lot of cool goat art at South Fork Deli, along with a dog-friendly patio and a killer ham-and-swiss sandwich.
(2) Goat Island really is an island.
A small one in a slow-moving river. That means it’s wise to slather on the bug repellent.
(3) Cramerton’s action level ranges from sleepy to snappy.
If you prefer the latter, look for an event that draws crowds, like the September fishing tournament or October’s centennial celebration.
Then there is Belmont.
Three pointers to make you feel like an insider:
(1) Stop at Caravan at 7 S. Main St. and say hello to owner Vince Hill. For 12 years he has not only run a great family-owned coffee shop but sponsored a lot of the events that make downtown Belmont fun, including an annual barbecue cook-off coming up Sept. 11-12. And his wife, Brenda Hill, runs a bakery next door.
(2) Look for student art that lends a real hometown flavor. Jeaniene Dibble has taught art to Belmont kids for 30 years. The best example of their work is the staircase at Belmont General Store, decorated with Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.
(3) Don’t believe our signs.
The Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is a great attraction, and it does have a Belmont address. But as locals know and anyone with a working GPS can figure out, it’s nowhere near downtown. In fact, the garden is, well, on the Cramerton side of the South Fork.
So here’s my suggestion: Take a full day and hit the gardens, downtown Belmont and downtown Cramerton.
Photos by Ann Doss Helms.
This story was originally published August 19, 2015 at 11:12 PM with the headline "Cramerton vs. Belmont smackdown. Do you have to choose?."