Midland, North Carolina
The Town of Midland is located in southern Cabarrus County, in the south central portion of the state, in the region known as the Piedmont. The name of the town is derived from its location approximately one-half way between Charlotte and Oakboro on the railroad line, although most people think the name Midland was due to the area being approximately half way between the cities of Charlotte and Albemarle and Concord and Monroe.

Most new residents and visitors to the area are often surprised to learn the local pronunciation of the town’s name. In local parlance, “Midland” is pronounced with nearly equal emphasis on both the first and last syllables. Other Midlands around the country, including those in Texas and Michigan, are generally pronounced with emphasis on the first syllable. While Midlanders may refer to “MID-lind”, Texas they themselves live in “MID-LAND”, North Carolina.


Midland Volunteer Fire and Rescue, Inc.
Pronounced the same as the town, the Midland Volunteer Fire Department was established and incorporated and received its charter on January 28^th, 1955 by Thad Eure Secretary of State for North Carolina. There were only four fire departments in existence in Cabarrus County in 1955; they were Concord, Kannapolis, Mount Pleasant and Harrisburg. With the closest fire truck being over 15 miles away fire protection was limited to buckets and garden hoses.

• January 28^th, 1955: Charter received by the State of North Carolina
• March 11^th, 1955: First fire training held provided by and held at Harrisburg Fire Department.
• March 18^th, 1955: Delivery of the Midland’s first fire truck taken from Beatty Motor Company.
• March 21^st, 1955: Bob Hamilton elected the first Fire Chief.
• March 28^th, 1955: Gilbert Black appointed the 1^st Assistance Chief and J.B. Jordan appointed 2^nd Assistance Chief.
• April 18^th, 1955 a joint venture was agreed upon to build a fire station in conjunction with the Masons at the intersection of US 601 and Hwy 27. The fire department would occupy the first floor and the Masons would occupy the second floor, with each entity being financially responsible for their part, for a total estimated cost of $6044.00
• April 25^th, 1955: It was agreed upon that the phone number to use for emergencies would be Tuxedo 8-5571, which was Hartsell Funeral Home’s phone number and they in turn would place a call to several firemen, who would then call several more and so on. The phone number Tuxedo 8-5571 is still the current phone number for Hartsell Funeral Home, now 888-5571.
• July 1955: Construction is started on the fire station, and it served as the Midland Fire Station till 1978, at which time a new fire station was built on US 601 approximately ½ mile south of the original fire station.

Current: Today the Midland Fire Station is still located in the building built in 1978.