GASTONIA

city, seat (1909) of Gaston county, south-central North Carolina, U.S., in the central Piedmont Plateau. The site was settled in the late 18th century and named for William Gaston, a congressman and judge. After the establishment of its first cotton mill in 1848, Gastonia became one of the nation's largest textile-manufacturing centres. In 1929 the city was the scene of a sensational strike during which the chief of police was killed. The episode and ensuing murder trials inspired several novels, notably, Strike! (1930) by Mary Heaton Vorse and To Make My Bread (1932) by Grace Lumpkin. Gaston College at nearby Dallas was founded in 1963, and Belmont Abbey Cathedral and College (1878) is 8 miles (13 km) east. Kings Mountain National Military Park, site of an American Revolutionary War battle, is 20 miles (32 km) southwest. Inc. city, 1877. Pop. (1990) city, 54,732; CharlotteGastoniaRock Hill MSA, 1,162,093.