Salisbury

… city and county seat, E central Rowan County. Est. 1755. Presumably named for the town in England but possibly for the town in Maryland, the point of origin of some of the earliest settlers in Rowan County. Catawba and Livingstone Colleges are there. Produces textiles, processed food, corrugated boxes, furniture, chemicals, machinery, structural steel, and wire cloth. Alt. 764.