Lake Lure, North Carolina

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Lake Lure is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,027.

The town was incorporated in 1927, and acquired the lake after which it is named in 1965.

Location of Lake Lure, North Carolina.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Cultural significance
5 References
6 External links
7 Conservation organizations

[edit] Geography

Panorama of Lake Lure

Lake Lure is located at 35°26′41″N, 82°11′28″W (35.444668, -82.191243)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 38.3 km² (14.8 mi²). 35.2 km² (13.6 mi²) of it is land and 3.1 km² (1.2 mi²) of it (8.11%) is water.

[edit] History

The town was incorporated in 1927, following completion of a dam on the Broad River in 1926 which created the 720-acre lake around which the town is situated. Dr. Lucius Morse is credited with creating the first plans for the town.

In 1902, Morse and his brothers purchased 400 acres around Chimney Rock (within present-day Chimney Rock Park for $5,000. They later acquired enough acreage in the area to bring the total to 8000 acres. They then funded the construction of the dam (through a mortgage) which produced the lake after which the town is named. Lucius Morse's wife Elizabeth is credited with naming the lake (and the town).

The dam's power plant began operations in 1928 with the sale of electricity under a 10-year contract to Blue Ridge Power Co., a local predecessor of Duke Power.

The plans for development came to a halt in 1929 with the advent of the Great Depression. A mortgage-holder, Stroud & Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, foreclosed on the lake and the dam. Stroud owned them and the power the dam generated until 1965, when state-authorized revenue bonds were issued to permit the town to buy the assets from Stroud.

The town continues to sell electricity to Duke Power, although profits from the dam now come second to maintaining a fixed water level year-round for the residents of the Lake Lure area.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,027 people, 495 households, and 359 families residing in the town. The population density was 29.2/km² (75.6/mi²). There were 1,957 housing units at an average density of 55.6/km² (144.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.27% White, 1.46% African American, 0.29% Asian, 0.19% Native American, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.10% of the population.

There were 495 households out of which 10.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.1% were married couples living together, 3.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.38.

In the town the population was spread out with 10.4% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 14.1% from 25 to 44, 35.9% from 45 to 64, and 36.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 59 years. For every 100 females there were 103.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $38,417, and the median income for a family was $45,833. Males had a median income of $39,464 versus $23,333 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,459. About 4.9% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Cultural significance

Lake Lure was a filming location for scenes from the movies Dirty Dancing, A Breed Apart, and Firestarter. It was also the site for HGTV Dream Home 2006.