HICKORY

city, Catawba county, west-central North Carolina, U.S., near the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It was founded in 1874 and grew up around Hickory Tavern. Industrial development began with a small wagon-manufacturing plant opened in 1880. The city's manufactures now include furniture, textiles, cordage, hosiery, and electronic and electrical components. It is the seat of Lenoir Rhyne College (1891; Lutheran) and Catawba Valley Community College (1958). Lake Hickory, created by Oxford Dam (a source of electric power) on the Catawba River, is nearby. Inc. as Hickory Tavern, 1870; as Hickory, 1913. Pop. (1990) city, 28,474; Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir MSA, 292,405; (1994 est.) city, 29,577; (1995 est.) Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir MSA, 310,236.