Rowan County was formed in 1753 when Anson County was divided on an
east-west line. The eastern borders were about mid-state, and there were
no western borders. Anson was to the south and Rowan was to the north. In
the following years, Rowan was carved up. In 1770, Surry Co. was formed
out of a northern section of Rowan. In 1776, the District of Washington
was formed from the western frontier, giving Rowan Co. a western
border. In 1777, Burke and Wilkes Co. were formed out of the western
sections of Rowan, eating up more than half of the territory that had been
Rowan. Rowan's borders remained in place until 1788, when Iredell was
formed out of its western portion. In 1822, the eastern part of Rowan,
about half its area, was taken to form Davidson Co. In 1836, the northern
section of Rowan, again about half the area, was taken to form Davie
Co. In 1846, some of eastern Iredell, which had been left untouched until
that time, was combined with western Cabarrus Co. to form Alexander
Co. And the boundaries of Iredell, Davie, Davidson, and Rowan have
remained pretty much stable since then.
