Hickory

Hickory proper is within Catawba, Burke and Caldwell counties with extra territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) in Alexander County, but visitors do not know city or county lines they just love all there is to do within the Hickory Metro, which is our community. Today, I want to leave you with some fun facts and figures about tourism that do fall within in Catawba County. In 2018, the last figures reported by North Carolina, there were 2,490 people directly employed in the travel and tourism industry. Visitors spent more than $293 million dollars in the county in 2018. There are more than 20 hotels and bed and breakfasts in the county and that doesnt include registered airbnbs and vacation rentals.Check these out here! Hart Square Village in southwestern Catawba County, is home to the worlds largest collection of log cabins from the 1800s. We have the second oldest art museum in North Carolina – the Hickory Museum of Art opened in 1944. We have the second microbrewery in North Carolina – Olde Hickory Brewery that started in 1994. The largest attraction in Catawba County is the Hickory Furniture Mart, which welcomes visitors year-round from all over the world. Hickory is home to one of ten professional baseball teams in North Carolina, The Hickory Crawdads Hickory Motor Speedway is often referred to as The Worlds Most Famous Short Track and the Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars. Thats my love story about our community. This week, especially, during National Travel and Tourism Week I hope you find a love for our community as special as mine and we cant wait to greet visitors again soon! Mandy Pitts Hildebrand