Zebulon Vance Turlington

If you read everything that Zebulon Vance Turlington was involved with in the early days of Mooresville, you would likely ask yourself why there isn’t at least a street or school named in his honor or a statue or bronze plaque somewhere along Main St..

Turlington arrived in town (by train) on August 21, 1900, after finishing Law School at Chapel Hill. He brought with him only a few clothes and his law books in a suitcase. He told the story of hoping to make a good first impression on those greeting him and his embarrassment when his suitcase popped open spilling its contents to the ground.
He quickly gathered his belongings and made haste to the Central Hotel on Main St (about where the garden is next to Wells Fargo).

He soon established his law office above Goodman Drug (Main & Center above present-day Hair of the Dog) but recalled that business was so slow he counted the bricks in the wall at W.W. Rankin’s Store across the street (present-day Epic Chophouse).By 1904 he was elected as a Representative from Iredell to the State Legislature and went on to serve on again off again for a total of eight terms through 1939.

Turlington served as City Attorney for 60 years and also as an attorney for the Mooresville Graded School System from its inception in 1906 until his resignation in October 1962.

He served as County Attorney for Iredell County for 10 years. In 1921 he helped organize Mooresville’s Rotary Club and served as President of that organization several times.
Mooresville was only 27 years old (since incorporation) when Turlington came to town but his priceless service to the town helped it flourish.