Local History Resources

The Cabarrus County Public Library offers two Local History and Genealogy Collections for those wishing to research their ancestors and historical events. The first of the two collections is located in the Local History/Lore Room at the Concord branch of the Charles A. Cannon Memorial Library and the second is the Kannapolis Local History Collection housed in the Foy and Gertrude Hinson Collection at the Charles A. Cannon Memorial Library in Kannapolis.

The Concord Library’s Lore Room contains materials on Cabarrus County history and genealogy from 1750 to the present. The majority of the Lore Collection consists of genealogical notes and records in book, microfilm and folder form. Limited sources for the neighboring counties of Iredell, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly, and Union also are available. The Local History Collection contains microfilm copies of many original Cabarrus records: deeds, wills, court minutes, marriage records, tax lists, estate papers, and county censuses. The Lore Files, collected and compiled by Adelaide and Eugenia Lore, include many area church records, family bible records, and extensive cemetery readings. Normal operating hours for the Lore Room are 9 am to noon and 1 pm to 5 pm Monday – Thursday. For more information about the Lore Room, call (704) 920-2061 or send a Lore Room e-mail.

The Kannapolis Library’s Hinson Room contains materials that focus primarily on the Kannapolis area and the former Cannon Mills Company. A variety of documents, photographs, art objects and memorabilia from the era of textile manufacturing form the backbone of the collection. Microfilm records of the Daily Independent, the Concord Tribune and the Independent Tribune are available. This collection also contains a variety of historical materials relevant to local businesses and institutions. The Hinson Collection is currently seeking family histories as well as photographs that will preserve the record of Kannapolis and northern Cabarrus County. The room that houses the collection is named for the late Foy and Gertrude Hinson, Kannapolis residents who were long-time proprietors of a record store and radio station. A foundation continues to provide monetary support to the Local History collection as well as the Library. Due to recent budget cuts, the Local History Room is closed unless a volunteer is on duty. Please contact the library to check for available hours. For more information about the Hinson Room, call (704) 920-1180 or send a Hinson Room email.

Online Genealogical Sources. Three free databases; Ancestry.com, Heritage Quest and Footnote.com are offered by the Library. Ancestry and Footnote.com may be accessed while visiting any of the branch libraries. Heritage Quest may be accessed while visiting any branch library or remotely from any computer with internet access through NCLive. NCLive remote access requires a password that can be obtained by users who possess a Cabarrus County Public Library card with no outstanding fees or fines. For more information about these services, please contact your library.

Local History does not actively solicit original manuscript materials which require a carefully controlled archival environment; photocopied and microfilmed sources which patrons may handle easily are the preferred material media. However, Local History does solicit photographic prints and photocopied materials for addition to the Local History Collection. Any and all research materials pertaining to Cabarrus County history and genealogy are appropriate, particularly journals and diaries, family letters and Bible records, publications and research notes. Local History also seeks to collect Cabarrus County church histories, published or unpublished, and church records on microfilm, photocopies of original ledgers and record books, and prepared transcripts. Families and individual researchers who place photocopies of their records in the Lore Room also reduce the risk of accidental loss of their written heritage and family research. Donations to Local History can serve as security copies of irreplaceable records.

Cabarrus County local history resources available online:

Index to the Independent Tribune - 2005

Index to the Independent Tribune - 2006

Index to the Independent Tribune - 2007

Cabarrus County Marriage Bonds: February 4, 1793-December 27, 1868.

Cabarrus County Marriages, volume II: 1906-1917

Cabarrus County, North Carolina : 1890 tax scroll