Wilkesboro, North Carolina
| Wilkesboro | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Location in North Carolina
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| Basic data | |||
| Foundation : | 1800 | ||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | North Carolina | ||
| County : | Wilkes County | ||
| Coordinates : | 36 ° 9 ′ N , 81 ° 10 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 ) | ||
| Residents : | 3,159 (as of: 2000) | ||
| Population density : | 220.9 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 14.3 km 2 (about 6 mi 2 ) of which 14.3 km 2 (about 6 mi 2 ) is land |
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| Height : | 319 m | ||
| Postal code : | 28697 | ||
| Area code : | +1 336 | ||
| FIPS : | 37-74020 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 0997336 | ||
| Website : | www.wilkesboronorthcarolina.com | ||
Wilkesboro is a place with 3,159 inhabitants in Wilkes County in the state of North Carolina in the United States of America and is also the administrative seat of the county . The place is on the south bank of the Yadkin River , opposite the slightly larger town of North Wilkesboro . Wilkesboro hosts the annual MerleFest, the largest folk and bluegrass festival in the United States.
History and Trivia
Wilkesboro was founded in 1800 and soon after became the county seat. For many decades, a popular historic location in the city was the Tory Oak , a large oak tree that stood behind the former courthouse on which the region-famous Patriot Colonel Benjamin Cleveland hung loyalists and opponents of the American independence movement during the Revolutionary War . Wilkesboro was also the adopted home of the Sino- American Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker , who were internationally known in the early 19th century. During the Civil War , many of Wilkesboro's residents were unionists and opposed to the confederation . In March 1865, General George Stoneman , a leader of the Union cavalry , raided the place. Shortly after the war ended, Tom Dula (Dooley), a Confederate veteran, was charged with the murder of his fiancé Laura Foster and hanged. Many observers believed that one of the jealous ex-girlfriends had murdered Dula's fiancée and that Dula herself was innocent. His story was worked up in a 1958 ballad by the Kingston Trio , the name of the ballad is Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley . The story was made into a film with Michael Landon as Dula in 1959 and is performed annually by the local theater company, the Wilkes Playmakers.
Education, media and business
Wilkesboro has a public college with approximately 3,500 students that is part of the North Carolina Community College System . It's the only college in Wilkes County.
Two newspapers are published in Wilkesboro, the Wilkes Journal Patriot , the oldest paper in Wilkes County, published three times a week; The Record of Wilkes is published weekly. An online magazine is also available to the population with GoWilkes.com . Two radio stations broadcast from Wilkes, WWWC (1240 AM) broadcasts gospel music, while Wilkes College Radio station 90.9 FM broadcasts college rock , pop music and Christian rock.
The largest resident company is Tyson Foods Poultry Production, one of the largest poultry farms east of the Mississippi River . Other companies produce textiles and furniture, the largest of which is Key City Furniture .
MerleFest
In 1988 guitar player and Grammy winner Doc Watson initiated the MerleFest music festival together with singer Bill Young . It was initiated in honor of the musician Eddy Merle Watson , who died in a tractor accident in 1985 . It takes place annually on the campus of Wilkes Community College and is named in honor of Doc Watson's late son, Merle Watson. It has now become the largest folk and bluegrass music festival in the United States, with 85,000 visitors annually; it brings the city significant additional income annually and the college has raised over $ 7 million.
Demographics
According to the 2000 census, 3,159 people in 1,305 households and 805 families lived here. The population density is 221 inhabitants per km². The racial the population is composed of 85.4% white, 9.8% African American , 0.2% Native American , 2.7% Asian and 1.3% other races; 0.6% said they came from two or more ethnic groups. 4.1% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 1,305 households out of which 27.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% of whom are married couples living together, 13.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% are non-families. 35.2% consisted of single households and 12% had people 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.79 people.
20.3% of the population were under 18 years old. 7.7% between 18 and 24 years, 25.6% between 25 and 44 years, 22.6% between 45 and 64, and 23.8% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 82.4 males. For every 100 women aged 18 or over, there were 78.6 men.
The median income for a household in the city is $ 40,982, and the median income for a family is $ 53,355. Males had a median income of $ 37,931 versus females of $ 23,893. The per capita income was $ 24,300. 9.8% of the population and 11.6% of families are below the poverty line. 14.4% of them are children and adolescents under 18 years of age and 9.4% are 65 years of age or older.
geography
Wilkesboro is on the south bank of the Yadkin River, across from the North Wilkesboro parish. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city area covers an area of 14.3 km².
sons and daughters of the town
- Montfort Stokes (1762–1842), United States Senator and North Carolina Governor from 1816 to 1832, lived in Wilkesboro.
- Deneen Graham (* 1964), the first African American woman to be elected Miss North Carolina in 1983 .
- Zach Galifianakis (* 1969), stand-up comedian and actor who appeared on The Tonight Show , Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live! would have. He also appeared in various series on the Comedy Central Network, for example Reno 911! .
Individual evidence
- ↑ US Census 2000