The Carson House is a historic house and museum located in Marion, North Carolina that was the home of Col. John Carson, and served as the McDowell County courthouse at the county's inception. Built in 1793, The Carson House is one of the oldest standing structures in Marion along with the nearby Joseph McDowell House. Large walnut logs were harvested from nearby Buck Creek to construct the massive three-story plantation house. Between 1804-1827, the area now known as McDowell County was a large producer of gold, and people from all over the country came to "strike it rich" before the California Gold Rush of 1849. The 1843 meeting to formally organize McDowell County out of the counties of Burke County and Rutherford County took place in the home of Col. John Carson, and the county was nam