Sawmills is a town in Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 5,240. It is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The …Sawmills is a town in Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 5,240. It is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is named after the lumber industry which formerly predominated in the area during its early history.