Cornelius, NC (September 6, 2010)

As with the previous post, took a motorcycle ride up NC-115, a favorite road and area in the Charlotte area. Also some 30 miles from Charlotte, and next to the college town of Davidson, NC (previous post) is Cornelius, NC. Like Davidson, Cornelius is an old town dating to 1893. It was founded around the industries of mills and farming. What has really moved the town forward is the Lake Norman area which has made the region a popular engine of growth. The town is a mix of the old and the new with older businesses and also a number of large shopping centers. In the 2000 census the population was listed as 11,969. The Town Hall is at right.
Cornelius has some very nice streets, is also home to one of my favorite motorcycle dealerships (Interstate Cycle) though I did not visit that on my Labor Day ride but can be reached via the street seen at left. Nice houses on that street, plus a number of small businesses. Being Labor Day many of them were closed, and the roads were not as busy, a perfect day to be out exploring on a motorcycle! Though I live in this area, with the house in North Carolina and the apartment (and job) in Virginia I have of late been enjoying a chance to re-discover the area that I have lived in since 1991. It was a real fast changing and growing area, though that has slowed some of late due to the economy.
However, thanks to Lake Norman, many new developments and apartments have gone up in the Cornelius area. The town (as is Charlotte) is located in Mecklenburg County, which with a total of close to 1,000,000 residents is the second largest county in North Carolina. Many areas such as Cornelius with smaller populations, but much to offer are getting very popular in the region as places to live. It is a beautiful and interesting town to explore and to visit. Photo ar left is a mixed use development with apartments and businesses. Those type of developments are getting very popular in the region; some of them are on a much larger scale.
The ride went on...and I have one more section to share!