N.C. 7
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Photo: NC 7 begins just west of the Catawba River, following the original US 74 corridor. (Adam Prince)
| N.C. 7 12 miles | |||
| The Road: | Begins US 321 Gastonia and ends at US 29-74 near Belmont all of which is in Gaston County. | Towns and Attractions: | Gastonia, Lowell, McAdenville, Belmont. Belmont Abbey College | History: |
NC 7 was born in 1932 as a renumbering of NC 29. It ran essentially just like it does today.
About 1935, NC 7 was extended west as new primary routing to end at US 29-74 near Kings Mountain.  In 1938, NC 7 was restored to its original routing. The western extension became US 29-74 (which had looped up to Bessemer City). 
In 1953, NC 7 was extended slightly west to meet the new routing of US 321 which moved from Marietta St to Chester Ave. |
Comment: |
NC 7 is essentially a locals-only kind of route. Before it was NC 29 it was the original NC 20 and US 74 through Gaston County. It makes a number of turns as it works its way through its towns.
NC 7 has three exits with I-85 and is in such proximity to the interstate and US 29-74 that many maps can't show it. NC 7 is part of the popular McAdenville Christmas Lights Show There is an "Old NC 7" at its eastern terminus, where NC 7 met US 29-74 near the Catawba River Bridge. Adam believes this was abandoned when US 29-74 was twinned in the 1950s. Today this provides boat access to the river and does not allow access to US 29-74. Lyndon Young reports the existence of a TRUCK NC 7 and passed along a photo at the NC 273 intersection with US 29-74. He did not know where the truck route began or ended, but it is a recent development.
Last Update: 15 September 2006 Previous: N.C. 6 |
Next: N.C. 8
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