Roanoke, Alabama

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Roanoke is a city in Randolph County, Alabama, United States.

Roanoke is served by a weekly newspaper, The Randolph Leader. [1]
As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 6,563.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Roanoke Famous Sons and Daughters
4 Roanoke Missionaries to China
5 Doll House Lady Entrepreneur
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Roanoke is located at 33°8′56″N, 85°22′11″W (33.148830, -85.369784)^GR1.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 49.4 km² (19.1 mi²). 48.7 km² (18.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.47%) is water.

The city is served by Mayor Spec Bonner, who won election in 2004.

Roanoke has three schools: Knight Enloe Elementary (K-3), Handley Middle School (4-8), and Handley High School (9-12).

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 6,563 people, 2,467 households, and 1,660 families residing in the city. The population density was 134.7/km² (348.9/mi²). There were 2,792 housing units at an average density of 57.3/km² (148.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 58.94% White, 39.77% Black or African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. 1.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,467 households out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 17.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,946, and the median income for a family was $32,405. Males had a median income of $29,594 versus $22,135 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,088. About 11.9% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.7% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Roanoke Famous Sons and Daughters

With the county named after the Virginia Randolph family and the town named for famous Randolph plantation, there are many descendants from Virginia, but also from Maryland, and South Carolina and including famous

o Adm Edward A.Burkehalter

   Chief of Naval Intelligence
   Director of Intelligence Community, CIA

Alan/Bud's wiki page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_A._Burkhalter

o Stan O'Neal, present chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch, worlds largest brokerage and investment bank, is from Roanoke.

Stan's wiki page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_O'Neal

o Ella Gaunt Smith - See below "doll house" lady entrepreneur.

[edit] Roanoke Missionaries to China

With today's boom in China, it is unusual that Roanoke, had close contact with China via missionaries for decades... especially the two Carlyle sisters who grew up in (now gone) old Carlyle mansion next to Handley High School and spent their entire lives as missionaries in China ... (circa 1900--1960)

And also, for the Southern Baptist Convention was J Max MacMurrey who spent 24 years as a Missionary in China (1936-1960).

[edit] Doll House Lady Entrepreneur

Ella Gaunt Smith, lady entrepreneur who began to manufacture dolls from her home (called the "doll house") that were widely owned across USA. And the dolls used innovative designs and were esp indestructible ; and included both black and white dolls.

Ella's wiki page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Gaunt_Smith