The Catawba Nation bought a large piece of land in Rock Hill this month, a nearly 200-acre tract just beside the northern part of its reservation.
York County land records show two Mintwood Lane properties south of Sturgis Road and east of Whitehorse Road sold on Jan. 15 for $9 million. They combine for about 195 acres. For perspective, the adjoining Green Earth parcel that includes tribal government buildings and dozens of tribal homes along the Catawba River, is 296 acres.
The reservation contains two main areas. There’s the 710-acre main reservation to the south, and the Green Earth site to the north that’s a mix of housing and economic development space. Both border the Catawba River.
Through a federal trust, the tribe also owns other properties in York County that aren’t part of or connected to the reservation.
The purchase gives the Catawba Nation property on the southwest side of its Green Earth site. On the east side of Green Earth, there’s about 2,100 acres under development by York County’s park and recreation department as the Catawba Bend Preserve.
The tribe isn’t yet ready to discuss plans for the newly acquired property, spokeswoman Tylee Anderson said. The Catawba Nation is South Carolina’s only federally recognized tribe, with roots along the Catawba River and a reservation in the Rock Hill area.
The new property once belonged to the late John Hardin, a long-time business and civic leader in Rock Hill who served three terms as mayor from 1958 to 1963.
Hardin was integral in establishing both Glencairn Gardens and the city airport, after prior work as a school board and city council member. His daughter is listed as co-trustee for the group that sold the Mintwood Lane site to the Catawba Nation.
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May 11, 2010 12:00 AM
The recent acquisition is the latest effort to grow Catawba Nation land holdings in York County.
Land records show nearly a dozen properties owned by the tribe, including some held in federal trust. With the latest purchase, the reservation and other holdings combine for more than 1,500 acres.
The 710-acre initial reservation along the Catawba River doesn’t list the Catawba Nation by name as its owner.
Most of the land owned by the Catawba Nation is on the eastern side of the county, near Rock Hill. The tribe has owned more than 300 acres in western York County since 2005.
More than 260 years ago, the Catawba Nation received title to 144,000 acres of its indigenous land from England.
The tribe rented some property to European settlers before relinquishing control of the 144,000 acres in exchange for a smaller Reservation at a time when federal authorities were forcing relocation of some tribes, according to the Catawba Nation. What’s now a 710-acre spot near Rock Hill was placed in trust for the tribe, whose federal recognition was restored in 1993.
The tribe also has property in North Carolina.
Five years ago, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs announced it would take nearly 17 acres of Cleveland County, North Carolina, property into trust for the Catawba Nation. That property would be used for the Catawba Two Kings Casino.
While the tribe hasn’t announced plans for the property it bought this month, development activity has been ongoing. The casino in North Carolina opened a temporary site four years ago and has been expanding since.
Also in 2021, York County voted to expand the Reservation by adding several properties.
The economic development section of the Catawba Nation website lists more than 100 acres of property available in the Green Earth area for new business.
Last summer, Chief Brian Harris posted a social media update showing land clearing near Green Earth for new homes. A few weeks later he posted asking the tribe for feedback on the development of new Pow Wow grounds along the river.
This month, Harris posted a contract online for a new medical office building at 2895 Sturgis Road on the Green Earth parcel.
The tribe also put a land surveying request out for a water main extension in the Green Earth area. The extension is needed ahead of future economic development on “current and newly acquired lands” along Rivercrest Road, according to the surveying request.
Rivercrest Road runs almost between the Green Earth and newly purchased parcels.