History & Culture

2008 saw the opening of Iredell County’s Daveste Vineyards. Just around the corner from Falls Cove in Troutman, the winery's tasting room and art gallery are open year around and are available for special events.

Iredell Museums include an art gallery in downtown Statesville and the Children’s Museum and Play Space.  At the Heritage Farmstead & Learning Center, visitors can hike a half-mile nature trail enclosing a natural bog, and continue on to theStatesville Greenway path.

Community Events

Several festivals are held in the area annually.  The Carolina Balloon Fest showcases hot air balloon events every October. Balloon rides are available throughout the year.  For the past 85 years, the Ole Time Fiddlers & Bluegrass Festival has drawn traditional American music lovers and performers from all over the country.  The event has earned Fiddler’s Grove a Library of Congress Local Legacy Award, and is scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend in 2009.

Historic Places

At Fort Dobbs, visitors can view colonial era artifacts as well as a scaled replica of the 1756 fort.  Special events are also hosted at the fort throughout the year, including an 18th Century Trade Faire and military reenactments. 

Military reenactments have also been held at Allisons Woods,  which is just one of several National Historic Places in Iredell County.  Another, Darshana Hall Plantation was the homestead of Civil War Veteran Capt. Henry A. Chambers, who chronicled local history in a series of letters published in the Record & Landmark in 1900.  Allisons Woods and Darshana Hall Plantation are both available for special events. Darshana Hall can be toured by appointment.