Family conserves Lake Norman waterfront granted by a king before NC was a state
A Lake Norman-area family has donated to a land trust prime waterfront property granted by the British Crown in the 1600s, a century before North Carolina became the 12th state on Nov. 21, 1789.
The Templeton family knew that without conserving the 17 Mooresville acres, “one of the last tracts of history and habitat on Lake Norman” could soon be paved over given encroaching development, officials with Salisbury-based Three Rivers Land Trust said Thursday.
Last year, the family donated 25 nearby acres to the trust.
Iredell County ranks 38th in the nation for farmland loss due to development, according to American Farmland Trust.
“A parcel over 10 acres is rare in this area, particularly waterfront properties with mature trees,” Emily Callicutt, Three Rivers Land Trust director of conservation said in a statement. “Adding the fact that this tract was part of the King’s land grant makes its permanent conservation even more special.”
‘’Patch of forest” among waterfront homes
The properties trace to a land grant from King Charles II, who reigned from 1660 to 1685.
The parcels were part of the Granville Land Grants that stretched east to west the length of the North Carolina-Virginia border and about 65 miles south, according to the land trust.
The grants were issued between 1748 and 1763, according to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
The waterfront property is off Templeton Road, which is off Alcove Road between Interstate 77 exits 31 and 33.
The land is still is still privately owned and not open to the public, Three Rivers Land Trust spokeswoman Nicole Bates told The Charlotte Observer.
Still, “when boaters speed across Lake Norman, they may notice a patch of forest breaking up the monotony of houses,” land trust officials said in a statement. “... For generations to come, that piece of history will stand out on the shores of Lake Norman.”