History of Belmont, North Carolina
The history of Belmont is inextricably linked with the history of the textile empires developed by two local families, the Stowes and the Linebergers. Like other Gaston County communities, those who established textile factories also directed other aspects of community development.
In the third quarter of the nineteenth century, a small community began to grow in the Southpoint section of Gaston County just west of the Catawba River. Abram Stowe returned to this section after serving in the Civil War. He built a handsome Greek Revival home (still the oldest known structure in Belmont) and opened a small mercantile store. He later became postmaster and town depot agent for the new Atlanta and Charlotte Airline Railroad, which was constructed in 1871.
Additional stores were soon built near the community's railroad stop, Garibaldi Station (named for John Garibaldi, who had supervised construction of a water tank near the new railroad). In 1883, Garibaldi Station was formally changed to Belmont. In 1895, by an act of the North Carolina General Assembly, an area within a 1/4 mile radius from the intersection of Main Street and the railroad was incorporated as the Town of Belmont.
Belmont was still a small town at the turn of the century, but the organization of Chronicle Mills in 1901 marked the beginning of Belmont's development as a textile center. Chronicle was the first of the nearly twenty mills built in Belmont through 1930, expanding the town population to 3,793. Leading this dramatic growth were Robert Lee Stowe, his brother Samuel Pinckney Stowe, and Abel Caleb Lineberger.
Generally credited with the birth of the textile industry in Belmont, Robert Lee Stowe Sr. was involved in all aspects of the town's development for over a half-century.
The architecture of Belmont reflects both the growth of the textile empire and the success of its leaders. The Bank of Belmont, organized by R.L. Stowe in 1906, was housed originally in the Belmont Hotel, as was the office of R.L. Stowe. As the number of mills and owners' fortunes increased in the 1920's, a more impressive bank building was erected and a more prominent site was found for the mill office. At town center, the R.L. Stowe Mills Office continues to occupy the top of a small rise facing Main Street.