Terrell sits on the Catawba County shore of Lake Norman, where Sherrills Ford Road meets NC-150. That crossroads is a registered historic district, and eleven of its buildings still stand from the late 1800s and early 1900s, among them the Connor Store and Post Office from around 1891 and Rehobeth Methodist Church, built in 1889. Boating runs through daily life here. Midway Marina sits right on NC-150 with wet slips and a fuel dock, and the shoreline offers both open main-channel water and sheltered coves. The Sherrills Ford-Terrell library branch gives the community a gathering point of its own.
The Terrell Historic District joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and covers roughly 150 acres around the NC-150 crossroads.
The Coleman-Caldwell-Gabriel House, built around 1854, is among the oldest buildings standing in the district.