Granville County, North Carolina

Granville County, North Carolina

Location in the state of North Carolina

North Carolina's location in the U.S.
Founded 1746
Seat Oxford
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

537 sq mi (1,391 km²)
531 sq mi (1,375 km²)
5 sq mi (13 km²), 1.02%
Population
 - (2010)
 - Density

59,916
91/sq mi (35/km²)
Website www.granvillecounty.org

Granville County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 59,916. Its county seat is Oxford[1].

Contents

History

The county was formed in 1746 from Edgecombe County. It was named for John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, who as heir to one of the eight original Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina, claimed one eighth of the land granted in the charter of 1665. The claim was established as consisting of approximately the northern half of North Carolina and this territory came to be known as the Granville District, also known as Oxford.

In 1752 parts of Granville County, Bladen County, and Johnston County were combined to form Orange County. In 1764 the eastern part of Granville County became Bute County. Finally, in 1881 parts of Granville County, Franklin County, and Warren County were combined to form Vance County.

During the late 1800's and early 1900's Granville County played a pivotal role as tobacco supplier for the southeast United States. With many farms and contracts tied to major tobacco companies like, American Tobacco Company, Lorillard, Brown & Williamson, and Liggett Group the local farmers became prosperous. With the Great Depression came a plague new to the people of Granville County. The Granville Wilt Disease as it became known as destroyed tobacco crops all across northern North Carolina. Tobacco Researcher James Frederick Webb with help of colleagues found a cure for the famine at the Tobacco Research Center located in Oxford.

Education

The Granville County School System contains 4 high schools with 2 subsidiaries, 4 middle schools, and 9 elementary schools.

High Schools

Junior High

Elementary

Law and government

Granville County is a member of the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments. Granville County is governed by a commissioner/manager form of government under the laws of the state of North Carolina. Granville County has seven commissioner electoral districts.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 537 square miles (1,390.8 km2), of which 531 square miles (1,375.3 km2) is land and 5 square miles (12.9 km2) (1.02%) is water.

Townships

The county is divided into nine townships: Brassfield, Dutchville, Fishing Creek, Oak Hill, Oxford, Salem, Sassafras Fork, Tally Ho, and Walnut Grove.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census of 2010[2], there were 59,916 people in 20,628 households residing in the county. The population density was 111.6 people per square mile (43.1/km²). There were 22,827 housing units at an average density of 42.5 per square mile (16.4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 60.4% White, 32.8% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.5% Asian, less than 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.9% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. 7.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 20,628 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.90. In the county the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 12.0% from 25 to 34, 24.1% from 35 to 49, 20.7% from 50 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 114.7 males.

The median income[3] for a household in the county was $48,196, and the mean household income was $55,849. The median and mean income for a family was $56,493 and $64,311, respectively. The per capita income for the county was $21,201. About 7.6% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Unincorporated communities

See also

References

  1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  2. ^ United States Census 2010, US Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-11-15
  3. ^ US Census FactFinder Retrieved 2011-11-15

External links