Houston
Ghost town · Rowan County, North Carolina

Houston is a ghost town in Rowan County, North Carolina. It is one of 21 former communities in Rowan County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 2nd among the 48 North Carolina counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Houston as a historical populated place on the Cleveland topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 35.6757° N, 80.7228° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Cleveland |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 709 ft |
| Nearest living town | Cleveland, NC |
| Distance to it | 4.6 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 1001849 |
| Coordinates | 35.67569, -80.72285 |
What's there now
Houston is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Cleveland, NC (population 1,053), about 4.6 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 709 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Chowansvilleghost town · Rowan County · 4.1 mi
- Rowan Millsghost town · Rowan County · 4.5 mi
- Blackmerghost town · Rowan County · 5 mi
- Mirandaghost town · Rowan County · 6.9 mi
- Hartsghost town · Rowan County · 7 mi
- Unityghost town · Rowan County · 7.2 mi
- Dobbinsghost town · Rowan County · 8.4 mi
- Matthewghost town · Iredell County · 9.5 mi
- Torranceghost town · Iredell County · 10 mi
- Mill Hillghost town · Rowan County · 10.8 mi
- Cowinghost town · Iredell County · 11 mi
- Frohock Millghost town · Rowan County · 11.6 mi
Questions
Where is Houston?
Houston is in Rowan County, North Carolina, at 35.6757, -80.7228.
How many ghost towns are in Rowan County?
Rowan County, North Carolina has 21 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.