Burnsville, North Carolina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 35°55′7″N 82°17′51″W / 35.91861, -82.2975
Burnsville, North Carolina
The Yancy County Courthouse in Burnsville
Location of Burnsville, North Carolina
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Yancey
Area
- Total	1.6 sq mi (4.1 km²)
- Land	1.6 sq mi (4.1 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	2,822 ft (860 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	1,623
- Density	1,028.0/sq mi (396.9/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	28714
Area code(s)	828
FIPS code	37-09140^[1]
GNIS feature ID	1009845^[2]

Burnsville is a town in Yancey County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,623 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Yancey County.^[3]

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 Sights
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Burnsville is located at 35°55′7″N, 82°17′51″W (35.918542, -82.297549).^[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), all of it land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,623 people, 748 households, and 412 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,028.0 people per square mile (396.6/km²). There were 845 housing units at an average density of 535.2/sq mi (206.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.50% White, 1.91% African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.86% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.88% of the population.

There were 748 households out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.9% were non-families. 42.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 25.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.70.

In the town the population was spread out with 18.1% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 30.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 75.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $21,653, and the median income for a family was $34,712. Males had a median income of $30,227 versus $25,234 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,894. About 15.3% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 19.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

The town was founded on March 6, 1834 and named after Captain Otway Burns, a naval hero of the War of 1812. In 1909 a statue of Captain Burns was given to the town by his grandson, Walter Francis Burns, Sr. and was set on a granite pedestal in the center of the town square. It has an inscription which reads, in part, "He Guarded Well Our Seas, Let Our Mountains Honor Him."

One of the oldest buildings is the Nu-Wray Inn, built in 1833 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [1] The Parkway Playhouse, the oldest continually operating summer stock theater company is located in Burnsville, and was started in 1947 by W.R. Taylor (a professor of drama from the Woman's College of North Carolina-now the University of North Carolina-Greensboro) and a group of dedicated community leaders.

In 2006, the Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair observed its 60th anniversary. This event, which attracts thousands of unique artists and tourists is held during the first weekend of August.