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Pender County, North Carolina
Pender County Courthouse
Pender County Courthouse in Burgaw, North Carolina
Map of North Carolina highlighting Pender County
Location in the state of North Carolina
Map of the U.S
North Carolina's location in the U.S.
Founded 1875
Named for William Dorsey Pender
Seat Burgaw
Largest community Hampstead
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

933 sq mi (2,416 km²)
870 sq mi (2,253 km²)
63 sq mi (163 km²), 6.8%
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

60,203
60/sq mi (23/km²)
Congressional district 7th
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website http://www.pendercountync.gov/

Pender County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,203.[1] Its county seat is Burgaw.[2] Pender County is part of the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History[]

The county was formed in 1875 from New Hanover County. It was named for William Dorsey Pender of Edgecombe County, a Confederate general mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg.[3] It is in the southeastern section of the state and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and New Hanover, Brunswick, Columbus, Bladen, Sampson, Duplin, and Onslow counties. The present land area is 870.76 square miles (2,255.3 km2) and the 2010 population was 52,196, which has nearly doubled since 1990. The estimated county population in 2019 had increased to 63,060. [4] The county commissioners were ordered to hold their first meeting at Rocky Point. The act provided for the establishment of the town of Cowan as the county seat. In 1877, an act was passed repealing that section of the law relative to the town, and another law was enacted, whereby the qualified voters were to vote on the question of moving the county seat to South Washington or any other place which the majority of the voters designated. Whatever place was selected, the town should be called Stanford. In 1879, Stanford was changed to Burgaw, which was by that law incorporated. It is the county seat. A slave cemetery that was used by the community of Cardinal Acres up until circa 1950 was disturbed by a developer grading a site in 2021.[5]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 933 square miles (2,420 km2), of which 870 square miles (2,300 km2) is land and 63 square miles (160 km2) (6.8%) is water.[6] It is the fifth-largest county in North Carolina by land area.

National protected areas[]

  • Moores Creek National Battlefield

State and local protected areas[]

  • Angola Bay Game Land (part)
  • Bellhammon Tract (part)
  • Canetuck Tract
  • Hampstead Kiwanis Park
  • Holly Shelter Game Land (part)
  • Lea-Hutaff Island
  • Serenity Point, located in Topsail Beach

Adjacent counties[]

Major water-bodies[]

  • Black River, home to one of the oldest trees in the world (1622 years old) in Bladen County
  • Cape Fear River
  • Intracoastal Waterway
  • Northeast Cape Fear River

Major highways[]

  • I-40 I-40
  • US 17 US 17
  • US 117 US 117
  • US 421 US 421
  • NC 11 NC 11
  • NC 50 NC 50
  • NC 53 NC 53
  • NC 133 NC 133
  • NC 210 NC 210

NC 417 NC 417 (To be the future Hampstead Bypass starting in New Hanover County)

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1880 12,468
1890 12,514 0.4%
1900 13,381 6.9%
1910 15,471 15.6%
1920 14,788 −4.4%
1930 15,686 6.1%
1940 17,710 12.9%
1950 18,423 4.0%
1960 18,508 0.5%
1970 18,149 −1.9%
1980 22,215 22.4%
1990 28,855 29.9%
2000 41,082 42.4%
2010 52,217 27.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9]
1990-2000[10] 2010-2020[11]

2020 census[]

Pender County racial composition[12]
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 44,418 73.78%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 7,544 12.53%
Native American 195 0.32%
Asian 319 0.53%
Pacific Islander 23 0.04%
Other/Mixed 2,722 4.52%
Hispanic or Latino 4,982 8.28%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 60,203 people, 21,740 households, and 14,676 families residing in the county.

2000 census[]

As of the census[13] of 2000, there were 41,082 people, 16,054 households, and 11,719 families residing in the county. The population density was 47 people per square mile (18/km2). There were 20,798 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile (9/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 72.74% White, 23.58% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.03% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. 3.64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 16,054 households, out of which 29.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.00% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.20% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 29.50% from 25 to 44, 25.80% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 101.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,902, and the median income for a family was $41,633. Males had a median income of $31,424 versus $21,623 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,882. About 9.50% of families and 13.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 14.40% of those age 65 or over.


Law and government[]

Pender County is a member of the regional Cape Fear Council of Governments. The government is run by a board of commissioners with a county manager.

Presidential Voting History[]

Pender County is a strong Republican county, it has voted with the party since 1996. In the 1992 U.S presidential election, Democratic nominee Bill Clinton won the county. In the 2016 U.S presidential election, Republican nominee Donald Trump won the county with 63.3% of the vote, over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's 33.5%.

United States presidential election results for Pender County, North Carolina[14]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 21,956 64.26% 11,723 34.31% 490 1.43%
2016 17,639 63.26% 9,354 33.54% 892 3.20%
2012 14,617 59.60% 9,632 39.27% 278 1.13%
2008 13,618 57.34% 9,907 41.72% 224 0.94%
2004 10,037 58.75% 6,999 40.97% 49 0.29%
2000 7,661 54.13% 6,415 45.32% 78 0.55%
1996 5,538 46.38% 5,409 45.30% 993 8.32%
1992 4,857 39.07% 5,825 46.86% 1,748 14.06%
1988 4,926 52.84% 4,377 46.95% 20 0.21%
1984 5,079 53.73% 4,354 46.06% 20 0.21%
1980 3,018 40.05% 4,382 58.15% 136 1.80%
1976 2,063 31.56% 4,422 67.65% 52 0.80%
1972 3,327 68.90% 1,415 29.30% 87 1.80%
1968 1,007 17.76% 1,942 34.26% 2,720 47.98%
1964 1,961 37.96% 3,205 62.04% 0 0.00%
1960 1,274 31.71% 2,744 68.29% 0 0.00%
1956 1,009 31.48% 2,196 68.52% 0 0.00%
1952 1,152 36.22% 2,029 63.78% 0 0.00%
1948 304 14.22% 1,334 62.39% 500 23.39%
1944 441 20.29% 1,732 79.71% 0 0.00%
1940 305 11.94% 2,249 88.06% 0 0.00%
1936 333 12.28% 2,379 87.72% 0 0.00%
1932 270 11.87% 1,993 87.64% 11 0.48%
1928 1,300 56.57% 998 43.43% 0 0.00%
1924 253 17.51% 1,175 81.31% 17 1.18%
1920 699 30.67% 1,580 69.33% 0 0.00%
1916 400 29.20% 970 70.80% 0 0.00%
1912 19 1.52% 967 77.11% 268 21.37%
1908 373 28.63% 930 71.37% 0 0.00%
1904 168 15.69% 903 84.31% 0 0.00%
1900 543 32.19% 1,137 67.40% 7 0.41%
1896 1,164 47.70% 1,276 52.30% 0 0.00%
1892 960 48.76% 872 44.29% 137 6.96%
1888 758 51.11% 725 48.89% 0 0.00%
1884 1,246 50.79% 1,207 49.21% 0 0.00%
1880 1,234 51.31% 1,007 41.87% 164 6.82%



Communities[]

Map of Pender County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels

Map of Pender County, North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels

Towns[]

  • Atkinson
  • Burgaw (county seat)
  • Surf City
  • Topsail Beach
  • Wallace
  • Watha

Village[]

  • St. Helena

Census-designated places[]

  • Hampstead (largest community)
  • Long Creek
  • Rocky Point

Other unincorporated communities[]

  • Charity
  • Currie
  • Montague
  • Register
  • Sloop Point
  • Willard
  • Yamacraw

Townships[]

  • Burgaw
  • Canetuck
  • Caswell
  • Columbia
  • Grady
  • Holly
  • Long Creek
  • Rocky Point
  • Topsail
  • Union

Education[]

The county is served by Pender County Schools.

Notable people[]

See also[]

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Pender County, North Carolina
  • Cape Fear Museum, located in Wilmington, New Hanover County
  • National battlefield
  • North Carolina in the American Civil War

References[]

  1. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Pender County, North Carolina" (in en). https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/pendercountynorthcarolina. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ Proffitt, Martie (Apr 17, 1983). "Local history offers tasty tidbits". Star-News: pp. 8C. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fccsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ixMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4950%2C433192. 
  4. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Pender County, North Carolina; United States" (in en). https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/pendercountynorthcarolina,US/PST045219. 
  5. ^ Simmonsy, Kassie (March 16, 2021). "African American grave site disturbed by subdivision development" (in en-US). https://www.wect.com/2021/03/16/african-american-grave-site-disturbed-by-subdivision-development-project/. 
  6. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_37.txt. 
  7. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  8. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  9. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/nc190090.txt. 
  10. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  11. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37/37141.html. 
  12. ^ "Explore Census Data". https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US37141&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2. 
  13. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  14. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 
  15. ^ a b c Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963. 

External links[]

Coordinates: 34°31′N 77°53′W / 34.51, -77.89


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Pender County, North Carolina. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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