Mount Ulla Township is one of fourteen townships in Rowan County, North Carolina, United States. It is currently the smallest township in Rowan County by population.
Geography Disambiguation
Mount Ulla may refer to several geographical entities: Mount Ulla unincorporated Mount Ulla Township (created in 1868) the area with Mount Ulla zip code and/or address the areas outside of Mount Ulla township and/or zip code boundaries that are marked as Mount Ulla in historical or contemporary documents, accounts, and memoirs.
The community of Mount Ulla does not have clearly defined boundaries. The community is smaller in area than the administrative township or the area that lists Mount Ulla as its address.
The Mount Ulla Township is a legislatively defunct administrative subdivision for voting precincts, tax-listings, and census districts thus does not coincide or reflect local inhabitants historical perception of Mount Ulla boundaries. It consists of several unincorporated communities such as Mount Ulla and part of Bear Poplar. Mount Ulla Township was formed after the Civil War by the requirements of the North Carolina Constitution of 1868. Previous to that time, the subdivisions were Captain's Districts from the time of the American Revolution. While the Captain's Districts referred primarily to the militia, it served also for the election precinct, the tax listing and tax collecting district. Mount Ulla Township was mentioned on Shaffer's Township map of North Carolina in 1886.
Mount Ulla zip code area has an outline that does not coincide with Mount Ulla Township boundaries. It stretches into Iredell county communities such as Mazeppa, does not come as far north as the township's border, stretches into Steele township in the east, Atwell Township in the southeast, and reaches down past township's southern boundary along NC-150 into Atwell township. As a result, a number of historic communities become part of the larger Mount Ulla community - Miranda and parts of Mill Bridge.
Due to the ambiguous and arbitrary nature of boundaries in rural Rowan county communities, historical and contemporary documents at times record location as Mount Ulla when the location may belong to a neighboring community in other documents or may carry a different geographical address.
Location Mount Ulla Township is located in the Piedmont region, western Rowan County, North Carolina, United States. Its outline is defined by natural and man-made landmarks. Township's Northern boundary follows in the vicinity of Knox Road, Knox School Road, and Beaverdam Creek, stopping short of Back Creek Church Road. The Eastern border zigzags its way to North Carolina Highway 801, follows NC-801 to Graham Road, Lyerly Road, Upright Road, and Sloan Road. The Southern border neatly follows North Carolina Highway 150. The Western border coincides with the administrative line between Iredell and Rowan counties. Mount Ulla Township occupies .
Topography Mount Ulla area landscape is typical for Piedmont plateau - rolling hills with elevations up to 800 (250 meters) above sea level punctuated by springs that feed into Beaverdam, Withrow, Back, and Sills creeks, which flow to the South Yadkin River.
Geology Mount Ulla is located in Charlotte Belt of western Piedmont Plateau geological region. It is characterized by Paleozoic era intrusive rock formations - granitic rock, quartz, diorite, and gabbro. The soils are predominantly yellowish to brownish red sandy clay loam and dark brown clay loam, Cecil-Pacolet and Hiwassee-Mecklenburg respectively.
Climate The latitude of Mount Ulla is 35.6580828 degrees North. According to Köppen climate classification, the climate is temperate humid subtropical with four distinct seasons. According to United States Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone map Mount Ulla is 7b zone.
Flora Mount Ulla township is a heavily developed agricultural community of pastures and crop fields. Agricultural activity reduced native plant population and introduced foreign species that became invasive. In the 1750s the area "was not a primeval forest, but instead a vast prairie of peavines and great stretches of grass and cane-breaks. Scarcely a shrub could be seen, and game abounded".
Native flora Natural forest growth consisted of red, white, and post oak, shortleaf pine, hickory, poplar, elm, dogwood, sourwood, cedar, black and sweetgum, locust, walnut, sassafras, pawpaw, and persimmon. Native perennials include common blue violet, dogfennel, passion flower (maypop), pokeweed, wild garlic.
Agricultural and horticultural flora Agricultural crops evolve with time. In the beginning of the 20th century cotton and tobacco were popular. In the 21st century Mount Ulla farmers grow corn, barley, wheat, soy, and sorghum.
Weed flora Local weed flora can be divided into two categories - non-native plants that have become invasive and threaten native flora as well as native southeastern North American plants if they interfere with intended and desirable plant growth. Some pasture weeds that were introduced from Europe are Canada thistle, chickweed, clover, corn speedwell, cornflower, dandelion, deptford pink, field sorrel, henbit, lambsquarters, Queen Anne's lace. Invasive weed grasses found in Mount Ulla vicinity are crabgrass, Bermuda grass. Invasive vines are kudzu and Japanese honeysuckle. Invasive trees include Bradford pear and mimosa.
History Etymology Presumably, Mount Ulla was named for a village in Ireland called Oola (Ulla in Irish spelling). According to a different source, Rev. Andrew Y. Lockridge (1801–1876), the second minister at the Back Creek Presbyterian Church, named the community in 1830. The reasons for the name remain unknown but it is believed it is of literary origin since Rev. Lockridge was an ardent student of literature. There is speculation that Rev. Lockridge named the community in reference to a biblical man Ulla in the Book of Chronicles 7:39.
There is a new hypothesis that Mount Ulla was named after Ulaid, a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages. Ulaid gave its name to the province of Ulster, the ancestral homeplace of the Scotch-Irish settlers in Mount Ulla vicinity.
Mount Ulla Post Office was established on 22 April 1843, a name change for Wood Grove Post Office established on 12 April 1830. The first Mount Ulla postmaster was James Cowan. This post office closed on 24 October 1899 and mail was transferred to Rowan Post Office nearby. The Rowan Post Office (which opened on 24 January 1889) was renamed to Mount Ulla Post Office on 22 November 1899 with Adam E. Sherrill as postmaster. In 1846 Mount Ulla in Rowan County appeared in the Table of Post Offices in the United States. In 1894, the name of the post office was seen written as Mountulla.
Emblem In December 2019 Mount Ulla Historic Preservation Society unveiled the sign paying respect to the historic nature of Mount Ulla. A Ukrainian designer Nazar Burega created the sign. Rich symbolism of the emblem pays tribute to Scots-Irish Presbyterians and German Lutherans who settled the area in the mid-1700s.
Exploration and colonization Prior to European colonization, Western Rowan, where Mount Ulla is located, was the home of Native Americans. In February 1567, Spanish explorer Juan Pardo visited a Native American settlement of Guatari, near present-day Salisbury. War, disease, and forced resettlement during Andrew Jackson's presidency led to the extinction of native people in the area.
The First Carolana Charter Long before it was known as Mount Ulla, the land became an English colony. In October 1629, King Charles I of England granted to his Attorney General, Sir Robert Heath, the territory between 31 degrees and 36 degrees North latitude in the New World. This is the region lying from about thirty miles north of the Florida state line to the southern side of Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. It was incorporated under the name Province of Carolana. There is a hypothesis that French Huguenots sought the colony as a haven from persecution. The plans to plant the colony never materialized, thus presented a case for a failed colonization attempt.
The Carolina Charter of 1663 In March 1663 King Charles II of England issued a new charter for the vast territory from the southern border of the Virginia Colony at 36 degrees north to 31 degrees north to eight English noblemen who were his strong supports in restoration to the throne after the English Civil War and Oliver Cromwell's decade long rule of England. The new eight rulers of the province of Carolina became known as Lords Proprietor. The charter gave the Proprietors power to plant colonies, to create and fill offices, to erect counties and other administrative subdivisions, and other rights and privileges. The rights of the people were set forth as well as the common rights of Englishmen. They were guaranteed English personal and property rights, liberty of conscience, and all liberties and rights enjoyed by King's subjects residing in England. Settling of the province of Carolina was a difficult enterprise. None of the original Lords Proprietor ever set foot in the colony thus had little understanding of the territory over which they held enormous power. Two of the Proprietors failed to contribute their shares to development of the colony. Men sent over as Governors never held any office making ruling of the new colony even more difficult. False promises and demand to pay quit-rent in sterling rather than marketable commodities contributed to discord and confusion in the new colony. As a result of this, there was difficulty enforcing English law, laws were passed that conflicted with English law, piracy and smuggling flourished, currency had become almost worthless, manufacturing was competing with English industry. Collection of quit-rent on land granted to colonists was a continual problem. The Proprietors were disillusioned in their quest to gain quick riches in the province of Carolina. In 1712 Carolina colony split into two separate provinces South and North Carolina. By 1729 shares of only three original Proprietors remained in the hands of the families of their original owners and nearly fifty individuals owned or claimed to own the original eight shares. Advisers to the Crown were more interesting in gaining control of the colony.
Granville District In 1728 seven of eight Lords Proprietor drew up and offer to surrender their interests in Carolina to King Charles II. In 1729 almost all of North Carolina became a royal colony. One Lord Proprietor who did not surrender his rights to the land in Carolina was John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, a great-grandson of Sir George Carteret who was one of the eight original Lords Proprietor to the province of Carolina. John Carteret's share consisted of the country lying south of the Virginia border to 35.4 degrees north latitude. The south boundary was surveyed from the coast to Bath in 1743, then to the corner of what is now Chatham County, on Deep River. In 1746, the line was extended westward to Coldwater Creek at a point approximately fourteen miles southwest of the present site of Salisbury. This area became known as Granville District.