Star, North Carolina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Star is a town in Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 807 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Star is known as the geographic center of North Carolina as measured via satellite, according to the Army Corps of Engineers [1]. Star is located at 35°23′54″N, 79°46′60″W (35.398366, -79.783280)^GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.1 km² (1.2 mi²), all land.

[edit] History

The Town of Star, N.C. was Incorporated in 1897. It was originally called Hunsucker's Store after a trading post operated by the original landowner. After the Civil War, a man named Angus Leach moved to Hunsucker's Store and helped to found the present Town of Star. The town saw massive growth between the years of 1890 and 1950 when the Norfolk Southern Railroad (Aberdeen - Asheboro / Durham - Charlotte) had a depot, water tank, and coal chute in Star. Major shipping point for turpentine, lumber, and bricks 1890-1930. Interesting to note was the organization of a "Carolina Collegiate and Agricultural Institute" around 1910 in Star that cooperated with the North Carolina A & M College in Raleigh. Star has been known as a center for Hosiery in the State of North Carolina, designated as a Christmas Town, and as hosting the Star Fiddler's Convention. The town also boasts as being located at the center of the State of North Carolina. Past citizens of note in Star, Montgomery County, NC include: H.D. Phillips, Angus Leach, J.A. Allen, J.C. Currie, J.R. Ingram, J.E. Kanoy, W.T. Harper, Dr. J.B. Shamberger, John Stuart, Elkhanah Brewer, Minerva Leach, Becky Leach, Z.T. Wright, J.B. Deaton, Raleigh Nall, Reverend Dr. Edward F. Green, D.T. Wright, Charles Wright, R.L. Caudill, Caswell Kerns, C.V. Richardson, Paul Russell, O.E. Rich.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 807 people, 335 households, and 211 families residing in the town. The population density was 257.5/km² (666.4/mi²). There were 364 housing units at an average density of 116.1/km² (300.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.71% White, 1.98% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.50% Pacific Islander, 5.33% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.17% of the population.

There were 335 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $26,845, and the median income for a family was $32,083. Males had a median income of $26,563 versus $22,344 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,300. About 12.1% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.8% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.