Location: Burke County – On the Catawba River in the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains
Population: 16,690
Parks: The Parks and Recreation Department offers 400+ acres of land designated for recreational use.
11 Public Parks – Bethel Park, Asian Garden, Carbon City Park, Catawba Meadows Park, Catawba River Soccer Complex, Drexel Heritage Park, Freedom Park, Gene Turner Park, Martha’s Park, Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, Morganton Greenway System & Shuey Park.
The Pisgah National Forest (more than 500,000 acres) is located in the NW section of Burke County. State Parks – Lake James State Park & South Mountain State Park.
Higher Education: Western Piedmont Community College & North Carolina School for the Deaf
Nearby Higher Education: Lenoir-Rhyne University (Hickory), Caldwell Community College (Hudson), Catawba Valley Community College (Hickory)
Theatre, Concerts, Broadway Shows and events: City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium or CoMMA
Major Employers: Carolinas HealthCare Blue Ridge, Broughton Hospital, J. Iverson Riddle, Caterpillar, Viscotec Automotive Products, Continental Teves, Case Farms, . Employers located in nearby towns – Apple’s data center (Maiden), Facebook’s data center (Forest City) & Google’s data center (Lenoir)
Events: Red, White and Bluegrass Festival, Historic Morganton Festival & TGIF Concert Series