Montgomery County

About

Montgomery County was formed from Anson in 1779. The county gets its name from Revolutionary War Brigadier General Richard Montgomery who was killed at the Battle of Quebec (and gets a shoutout in the musical Hamilton). The county seat of Troy was established in 1844 and named after John B. Troy, a local attorney. A popular legend surrounding the town is that the streets of Troy are paved with solid gold, as the fill dirt brought in to pave the streets originated from the gold mines in the Eldorado Township north of Troy.

The most forested county in the Piedmont, over 80% of Montgomery is forested. The county is home to the Uwharrie Mountain range, one of the oldest mountain ranges in North America, and is estimated to be more than 500 million years old. The forest covers 50k acres across Montgomery, Davidson, and Randolph counties, of which 40k acres reside in Montgomery alone.

The Uwharrie isn’t the only point of historical interest in the county. The Town Creek Indian Mound State Historic Site situated on Little River, provided the landscape for a new culture that archaeologists called “Pee Dee” to emerge around the 11th century AD. In 1937, excavations began on Town Creek and captured the interest of archaeologists and anthropologists for more than fifty years. The site received historic designation in 1955 and underwent reconstruction in the ’50s and ’60s.

Not only is Star the geographic center of the state — according to the podcast, the center is located in the middle of a poultry farm— the small town is also known for its arts and culture scene. A community staple, Starworks is a nonprofit focused on cultural and artistic accessibility, building community, and economic development. Starworks offers educational programs on glass-blowing, ceramics, and metals and features the work of local and affiliated artists in their galleries. Starworks also promotes community building through its cafe and taproom, which features live music, exercise groups, and trivia nights.

A Democratic presidential candidate has not carried Montgomery since Bill Clinton in 1996. Over the last decade or so, the county’s Republican support has only strengthened. In 2012, Mitt Romney won the county by 15%. In 2016 and 2020, Donald Trump carried the county by 26% and 32%, respectively. In the 2022 US Senate race, Ted Budd won the county by 37 points.

Geography

County Seat: Troy
Biggest Cities:
  • Biscoe
  • Troy
  • Star
  • Candor
Media Market: Greensboro

Elected Officials

County Data