In calling for the region's separation from Mecklenburg County in 1792,
John Pioneer Paul Barringer set a high-spirited standard for future
legendary locals of the nascent Cabarrus County. New communities
flourished on the former homesteads of Robert Harris and Paul M.
Dayvault, and the county was subsequently transformed by devoted civic
leaders such as John Washington Carriker, Jonas Cook, A.L. Brown, J.
Carlyle Rutledge, Martha Melvin, and Allen T. and Ella Mae Small.
Cabarrus County citizens, like Glenn McDuffie, the famous kissing
soldier of World War II; Corine Cannon, the first African American woman
to work in the textile mills; and Margaret Hagerty, the Guinness World
Records-holding senior citizen marathon runner, often tread where others
recoil. Kannapolis-born Ralph Earnhardt started a racing dynasty here,
while other natives found their fortunes elsewhere, including record
producer Marshall Sehorn, NFL superstar Natrone Means, and broadcaster
Beth Troutman. Cabarrus County's people have always been its most
valuable resource, and their inspirational and exhilarating stories are
collected in this keepsake edition.