Towns
of Gaston County

Gastonia
www.cityofgastonia.com

Geography: The largest city of Gaston County Gastonia is also considered a part of the Charlotte metropolitan area and occupies 13% of the total area of the County. Centrally located in Gaston County, I-85 and Rt. 17 intersect in Gastonia.

History: Gastonia received its name from congressman and state Supreme Court judge, William Gaston who named it after the county. Gastonia is the county seat for Gaston County

Where To Go: Located east of downtown on Garrison Blvd. is the Schiele Museum of Natural History. Across the street is the main branch of the Gaston-Lincoln Regional Library System. Another attraction is The Gastonia Grizzlies part of the Coastal Plain League (CPL) play baseball at Sims Legion Park. The team is featuring players at the collegiate level. The season runs from the end of May to August.  Gastonia also features 2 public golf courses as well as several parks for family fun.

Gastonia has for years attracted shopping-minded visitors and presently feature 4 major shopping centers; Westfield Eastridge a large regional mall, Franklin Square is the other one of Gastonia's premier shopping centers. The complex is divided into for Phases. Phase I features a The new Shops at Franklin and The Gaston Mall, which is currently in the process of a redevelopment that will possibly include a houses a large and popular fabric store called Mary Jo's, and one of the oldest operating Harris Teeter grocery stores in the chain.