Union Grove offers a peaceful, rural lifestyle
Surrounded by cattle and cornfields in northern Iredell County, Union Grove is a peaceful rural community. Folks stay for generations, drawn to the land and the small-town vibe, according to Jill Galliher, a Union Grove native and Keller Williams Realtor with about six years of experience. “The thing about people who live in Union Grove is that we all went to high school together, our parents all went to high school together, our kids are going to high school together, so we are deep, deep-rooted families.” Easy access to Interstate 77, which connects to Statesville and Charlotte, adds to the appeal.
Single-family homes on lots of land in rural Iredell County
Union Grove has a mix of Colonial Revivals, farmhouses, cottages, manufactured and ranch-style homes. Many are obscured from the street by thick groves of trees, and front yards are more fields than lawns. “It’s farmland for days, it’s beautiful,” Galliher says. Prices start under $100,000 and rise to about $290,000 for homes with up to 2 acres. Those with more land typically sell for between $365,000 and $910,000. The median hovers close to $505,000, higher than the national median of about $420,000 reported by the National Association of Realtors.
Hunting Creek and Rocky Creek are prone to flooding, and Iredell County is moderately vulnerable to tornadoes and hurricanes.
Iredell-Statesville district’s Agriculture & Science Early College
Iredell-Statesville Schools earns an A-minus from Niche. In- and out-of-district transfers are allowed by application. Union Grove Elementary gets a B-minus, while North Iredell Middle and North Iredell High earn Bs. The high school shares a campus with the Agriculture & Science Early College (A-minus), one of the district’s three early college high schools. The five-year magnet program allows students to graduate with their high school diploma and an associate degree from Mitchell Community College.
Annual events at Blake Farms, VanHoy Farms
Blake Farms Family RV Resort is a campground with a swimming pond, sand volleyball and other amenities for campers. Blake’s Country Store, off State Road 901, sells coffee, candy, handcrafted goods and seasonal flowers, plants and produce. The campground and farm host annual events, from a drive-through Christmas lights display in December to the Carolina Hills Fiddle Fest in May. Halloween festivities, reserved for guests, include a scavenger hunt, a golf cart parade and trick-or-treating. “I’ve also heard they have the largest Fourth of July fireworks show in the state. Now I’ve been, and that might be folklore, but it is huge,” Galliher says. VanHoy Farms Family Campground also hosts annual events, like Carolina Jubilee, a two-day music and food festival. Proceeds from the event go to Carolina Farm Trust.
Hunting preserves nearby, Lake Norman State Park to the south
Hunting is a popular local pastime, and preserves are dotted throughout the county. Waterfall Preserve and Hunting Creek Preserves, both nearby, offer quail, pheasant and chukar hunting. Waterfall Preserve also holds guided hunts with dogs, and Hunting Creek has a sporting clays course. Lake Norman State Park, in southern Iredell County, draws visitors from around the region for fishing, boating, hiking and more.
Country stores and greasy spoons in Union Grove, chains in Statesville
Union Grove General Store stocks landscaping supplies, ammo and locally sourced goods. It’s on State Road 901, near the elementary school, the fire department and churches. Convenience stores, gas stations and restaurants line the quiet, three-lane highway close to where it intersects with Interstate 77. “If you’re looking for a greasy spoon, that exists in Union Grove,” Galliher says, recommending Burger Barn and Gunter’s Family Kitchen & Catering. Both are longstanding local favorites for casual American fare. “Gunter’s is truck stop food, but I mean it is good down-home cooking,” Galliher says. In northern Union Grove, there’s also Little Kitchen. “It’s built to feed farmers. It has pretty good food, and it’s very cheap,” Gallier says. Statesville has national chain retailers, including Walmart Supercenter, Aldi, Home Depot and Lowe’s.
Interstate 77 connects around rural Iredell County
Interstate 77 connects north toward Mount Airy and south toward Charlotte and Charlotte Douglas International Airport, more than 60 miles away. Iredell Memorial Hospital, a big regional employer in Statesville, is closer, just over 20 miles south. The Iredell County Area Transportation System, or ICATS, provides demand-response and subscription-route services to the area.
