Tar Heel, North Carolina
Encyclopedia
Tar Heel is a town located in Bladen County
, North Carolina
, in the United States
. As of the 2000 census
, the town population was 70.
Tar Heel is home to the largest pork processing plant in the world which opened in 1992, operated by Smithfield Foods
and is located just north of the Town Limits.
Tar Heel is located on the banks of the Cape Fear River, and its major highways are NC 87 and NC 131. With Fayetteville being 25 miles to the North West, Elizabethtown 15 miles to the South East, and Lumberton 16 miles to the South West the area is excellent for residents to commute to their work.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²), all of it land.
. Col. Thomas Robeson, whom Robeson County
was named after lived in the Tar Heel Community. His home is located just to the east of Tar Heel. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places listings in Bladen County, North Carolina as Walnut Grove.
The town of Mayville, no longer in existence, was on the Robeson and Bladen County line and was the village mentioned in the diary of Elizabeth Ellis Robeson (1847–1866). Just when the village moved to what is now Tar Heel is unknown. During the American Civil War
, Colonel Thomas Purdie and Capt Daniel Munn residents of the Tar Heel area were leaders in the war, at Gettysburg
and Fort Fisher
.
The origin of the town name is different from the nickname given to the State of North Carolina
. The Town was known for the river landing. The state operated a ferry
at this landing and it was a major landing for vessels that transported agriculture goods to the market in Wilmington
. The major product was barrels of turpentine
. Tar Heel had several turpentine stills and the remains of some of the old stills can be found in the area. The results of transporting the barrels of turpentine, leaking barrels, caused a tar like material to be found around the landing and the access to the river. When the community people talked of going to the village it was said, they were going to get tar on their heels, thus the name Tar Heel.
The Town of Tar Heel is often confused with Chapel Hill's
"Tar Heel Town," which is home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
teams mascot being named Tar Heels.
of 2000, there are 70 people, 32 households, and 19 families residing in the town. The population density is 310.9 inhabitants per square mile (117.5/km²). There are 36 housing units at an average density of 60.4 persons/km² (159.9 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town is 87.14% White, 11.43% African American
, 0.00% Native American
, 0.00% Asia
n, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. 0.00% of the population are Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There are 32 households out of which 25.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% are married couples living together, 12.5% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 40.6% are non-families. 37.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.19 and the average family size is 2.89.
In the town the population is spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 2.9% from 18 to 24, 20.0% from 25 to 44, 41.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 46 years. For every 100 females there are 79.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 65.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $41,250, and the median income for a family is $62,500. Males have a median income of $51,667 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income for the town is $22,407. 3.4% of the population and 0.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 0.0% are under the age of 18 and 16.7% are 65 or older.
Bladen County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 32,278 people, 12,897 households, and 8,937 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile . There were 15,316 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, the town population was 70.
Tar Heel is home to the largest pork processing plant in the world which opened in 1992, operated by Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods, Inc. is the world’s largest pork producer and processor. Headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, it runs facilities in 26 U.S. states, including the world's largest meat-processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, and has operations in Brazil, China, France, Mexico, Poland,...
and is located just north of the Town Limits.
Geography
Tar Heel is located at 34°43′56"N 78°47′32"W (34.732353, -78.792284).Tar Heel is located on the banks of the Cape Fear River, and its major highways are NC 87 and NC 131. With Fayetteville being 25 miles to the North West, Elizabethtown 15 miles to the South East, and Lumberton 16 miles to the South West the area is excellent for residents to commute to their work.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²), all of it land.
History
This Farming Community has a history dating back to the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. Col. Thomas Robeson, whom Robeson County
Robeson County, North Carolina
Robeson County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010 it had a population of 134,168. Since then, it has been one of the 10% of United States counties that were majority-minority; its combined population of American Indian, African American and Latino residents comprise over...
was named after lived in the Tar Heel Community. His home is located just to the east of Tar Heel. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places listings in Bladen County, North Carolina as Walnut Grove.
The town of Mayville, no longer in existence, was on the Robeson and Bladen County line and was the village mentioned in the diary of Elizabeth Ellis Robeson (1847–1866). Just when the village moved to what is now Tar Heel is unknown. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Colonel Thomas Purdie and Capt Daniel Munn residents of the Tar Heel area were leaders in the war, at Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
and Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865....
.
The origin of the town name is different from the nickname given to the State of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The Town was known for the river landing. The state operated a ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
at this landing and it was a major landing for vessels that transported agriculture goods to the market in Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
. The major product was barrels of turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
. Tar Heel had several turpentine stills and the remains of some of the old stills can be found in the area. The results of transporting the barrels of turpentine, leaking barrels, caused a tar like material to be found around the landing and the access to the river. When the community people talked of going to the village it was said, they were going to get tar on their heels, thus the name Tar Heel.
The Town of Tar Heel is often confused with Chapel Hill's
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
"Tar Heel Town," which is home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
teams mascot being named Tar Heels.
Government
The town of Tar Heel is governed by a Mayor / Council governing body. The mayor and council are elected to 2 year terms. The Town's Council meets monthly. In July 2011, it was announced that no one is running for any of the four open positions in the next election. Roy Dew received 27 write-in votes and was elected mayor of Tar Heel in November, 2011.Services
The services provided by this small rural community are:- Street Maintenance, Sanitation Pickup for residents, and Street Lights.
- Police Protection is provide by the Bladen County Sheriff's Office.
- Fire Protection is provide by Tar Heel Rural Volunteer Fire Department
- Water services is provide by the Tar Heel Water Corporation.
Education
Public schools, part of the Bladen County School system, in the Tar Heel Area:- Plain View Elementary
- Tar Heel Middle School
- West Bladen High School
- Tar Heel High School consolidated with Bladenboro High School to form West Bladen High School in 2001. The Tar Heel High School records show the school was originally built in circa 1909
Churches
The Tar Heel Community is home to various churches. The list below is the churches- Love Grove Baptist Church
- Tar Heel Baptist Church
- Tar Heel Free Will Church
- Beth Car Presbyterian - Listed as Historic Site,
- Clark's Chapel
- New Life Ministry
- Purdie's Methodist - The Oldest Unalter Methodist Church in North Carolina, National Register of Historic Places listings in Bladen County, North Carolina
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there are 70 people, 32 households, and 19 families residing in the town. The population density is 310.9 inhabitants per square mile (117.5/km²). There are 36 housing units at an average density of 60.4 persons/km² (159.9 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town is 87.14% White, 11.43% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 0.00% Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, 0.00% Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. 0.00% of the population are Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
of any race.
There are 32 households out of which 25.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% are married couples living together, 12.5% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 40.6% are non-families. 37.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.19 and the average family size is 2.89.
In the town the population is spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 2.9% from 18 to 24, 20.0% from 25 to 44, 41.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 46 years. For every 100 females there are 79.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 65.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $41,250, and the median income for a family is $62,500. Males have a median income of $51,667 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income for the town is $22,407. 3.4% of the population and 0.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 0.0% are under the age of 18 and 16.7% are 65 or older.
See also
- Tar HeelTar HeelTar Heel is a nickname applied to the state and inhabitants of North Carolina as well as the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans....
- an expression that was used during the civil war and became the origin of the state's nickname - even though similar is not the origin of the town. - An American Trilogy (book)An American Trilogy (book)An American Trilogy: Death, Slavery, and Dominion on the Banks of the Cape Fear River is a 2009 is a non-fiction work by Steven M. Wise about the pig industry in North Carolina...