Taylorsville, North Carolina

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Taylorsville
subdivision_name = United States


imagesize =
image_caption =
image_

mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption =


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = North Carolina
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Alexander
population_total = 1799
population_as_of = 2000 census
settlement_type = Town
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 5.2
established_date =
government_type =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Guy Barriger
established_title =
area_land_km2 = 5.2
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 2.0
area_land_sq_mi = 2.0
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0
elevation_m = 378
elevation_ft = 1240
latd = 35 |latm = 55 |lats = 4 |latNS = N
longd = 81 |longm = 10 |longs = 28 |longEW = W
timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 28681
area_code = 828
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 37-66960GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0995905GR|3
footnotes =
website = [http://www.taylorsvillenc.com/ www.taylorsvillenc.com]

|thumb|Location of Taylorsville, North Carolina

Taylorsville is a town in Alexander County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,799 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Alexander County.GR|6

Taylorsville is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Taylorsville is located at coor dms|35|55|3|N|81|10|28|W|city (35.917869, -81.174561).GR|1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²), all of it land.

History

The Town of Taylorsville was formed in 1847 along with Alexander County. As stated in the Heritage of Alexander County, published by the Alexander County Genealogical Society: A commission of William Dula of Caldwell Co., Dr. James Calloway of Wilkes, Co., Milton Campbell of Iredell Co., and Robert Allen, Reuben Watts and Robert L. Steel of Alexander County were named to select a site as near the center of the county as possible for the seat of justice. The town was named Taylorsville in honor of General Zachary Taylor who at that time was in Mexico engaged in a war.

The land for the town was donated by J.M. Bogle who gave 22 acres, William Matheson who gave 13 acres and James James who gave 11 3/4 acres for a total of 46 3/4 acres. Most of the land was woodland and the road from Statesville to Morganton passed to the South of town.

A commission of Alexander C. McIntosh, R.L. Steel, Sion Harrington, J.H. Newland, and George Swain, treasurer, were appointed to lay out the town of Taylorsville and sell lots to raise money for the building of a courthouse and jail.

An auction of lots was held August 11, 1847 and 47 lots were sold. The second sale was November 30, 1847 and 10 lots were sold. At a third auction on March 8, 1848, five lots were sold. The total amounted to $6,674.75.

The Town of Taylorsville was incorporated in 1851.

The first mayor was John Watts and was appointed by the commissioners. The boundaries of the incorporated town would be square and each side 160 poles or one-half mile.

For more interesting information on the history of the Town of Taylorsville, visit the Alexander County Library. The information on this page is from the Heritage of Alexander County (pages 30-33). Photos 1909 & 1976 and the streets & lots drawing are also from the book, Heritage of Alexander County.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 1,799 people, 746 households, and 446 families residing in the town. The population density was 897.6 people per square mile (347.3/km²). There were 819 housing units at an average density of 408.6/sq mi (158.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 82.71% White, 11.40% African American, 0.11% Native American, 1.06% Asian, 3.50% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.17% of the population.

There were 746 households out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.9% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the town the population was spread out with 20.6% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 25.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 84.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $24,875, and the median income for a family was $34,063. Males had a median income of $29,737 versus $20,135 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,876. About 12.7% of families and 21.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.8% of those under age 18 and 21.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable Residents

*Harry Gant (retired NASCAR driver)
*Harry Deal and the Galaxies (longtime "beach music" rock group)
*Angela Gail Sigmon, actress
*Geoff Wike (architect)

References

External links

* [http://www.taylorsvillenc.com/ Official website of Taylorsville, NC]
* [http://www.alexandercentral.com/ Alexander Central High School]
* [http://www.alexander.k12.nc.us/taylor/tay.htm Taylorsville Elementary School]