Kenly, NC

Kenly is a small town located in western North Carolina. The population of Kenly was just over 1,000 as of the 2010 census. The town is located on U.S. Highway 64, which connects the towns of Boone and Morganton to the larger cities of Charlotte and Asheville.

The history of Kenly can be traced back to 1812 when James Hogg and his family settled in what is now known as Hoggs Crossroads. In 1816, Thomas McQueen built a cabin on the banks of the Catawba River and began trading with Native Americans who frequented the area. McQueen was one of the first white settlers in what would later become Kenly.

In 1824, John Catlett built a sawmill near where McQueen's cabin stood and began processing lumber from local forests for sale throughout eastern North Carolina. The Catlett Mill served as an important economic engine for Kenly for more than 100 years.

In 1892, William Schieffelin purchased land near where McQueen's cabin had once stood and began developing it into a small farming community called Schieffelinville. In 1906, Schieffelinville was renamed Kenly after Colonel Charles Catesby Kenley (1827-1902), an American Civil War veteran who had settled in Boone County after serving in the Confederate Army