Denver, North Carolina

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Denver, formerly known as "Dry Pond," is an unincorporated community located in Lincoln County in the U.S. state of North Carolina^[1]. It is situated on North Carolina State Highway 16 on the west side of Lake Norman on the Catawba River. It is about 25 miles north of downtown Charlotte and just south of the Catawba County boundary. The community of Dry Pond derived its name from a small pond, which once stood at what is now the corner of Highway 16 and Campground Road, now the site of the local Bank of America branch. The pond would dry up in the heat of the summer.

During the Civil War, a group of local men, most of whom were related, formed a company known as the "Dry Pond Dixies" (Company G, 52nd regiment of North Carolina Troops) and joined the Confederacy.

Headmaster of the local Rock Springs Academy, D. Matt Thompson, led the effort to have Dry Pond renamed for the boomtown of Colorado in an attempt to attract a railroad spur in the late 1800s. (Rock Springs Academy evolved into Rock Springs School, which was a comprehensive 1-12 school until nearby East Lincoln High School was built in the 1960s. At that time, Rock Springs became an elementary school. The original mascot for Rocks Springs was "The Warriors," and the school colors were black and gold; in the 1990s, this was changed to "sailors." The mascot for East Lincoln High School is "The Mustangs," and the school colors are orange and green with the hues changing slightly over the years.)

Denver was incorporated, but failed to elect a local government for many years and lost its official incorporated status in the early 1980s by vote of the state legislature.

Denver was largely a farming community, with members of local families commuting in to work in surrounding textile mills up until the early 1970s, when individuals began to move to the area to live near Lake Norman, a man-made lake created by Duke Power. It is now largely a bedroom community for Charlotte, NC.

Up until recently, most African Americans in the area lived in the community known as "Little Egypt," which is the general area near East Lincoln High School along Saint James Church Road.

Denver is also home to the Rock Springs Campground that has been home to revivals and camp meetings since 1794. The only continuous camp meeting still occurring is that of the Rock Spring Camp Meeting of the Methodists in east Lincoln County, North Carolina. ^[2]

Town festivals have included the annual Strawberry Festival and Denver Days.

Major industry includes modular home builder, R-Anell Homes.

Denver is at latitude 35°31'52" north and longitude 81°01'47" west. The ZIP code is 28037 and the FIPS place code is 17000. The elevation is 902 feet above sea level.