Eden, North Carolina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Eden, North Carolina | |
| Motto: Land of Two Rivers | |
 |
|
| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State | North Carolina |
| County | Rockingham |
| Area | |
| - Total | 15.2 sq mi (39.3 km²) |
| - Land | 15.0 sq mi (38.9 km²) |
| - Water | 0.2 sq mi (0.4 km²) |
| Elevation | 591 ft (180 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 15,908 |
| - Density | 1,060.1/sq mi (409.3/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 27288-27289 |
| Area code(s) | 336 |
| FIPS code | 37-20080[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0984623[2] |
Eden is a city in Rockingham County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,908 at the 2000 census. The city was incorporated in 1967 through the consolidation of three separate towns: Leaksville, Spray, and Draper.
Due to this and the history of the town, several small historic downtown areas have opened up, such as Leaksville, which has tried to become a tourist attraction.
The city's motto is "The Land of Two Rivers" [1].
Contents |
[edit] Geography
Eden is located at (36.506434, -79.745092)[3]. The Smith and the Dan river have their confluence on the south side of Eden. The Dan River flows along Eden's southern border while the Smith river flows from the north bisecting the city on its route to meet the Dan River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.2 square miles (39.3 km²), of which, 15.0 square miles (38.9 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (1.12%) is water.
[edit] William Byrd
Eden was a 70,000-acre (280 km2) estate owned by William Byrd (a businessman of Virginia & North Carolina. The estate was originally called "The Land of Eden"
In the last years of William Byrd II's live he dreamed of bringing large numbers of Swiss Protestants to the Land of Eden, Which eventually included over 100,000 acres (400 km2) in Virginia. He visualized an industrious, self-sufficient colony that would thrive on the abundance of the frontier. Byrd's dream was not to be realized. After years of negotiations, at least one boatload of Swiss did sail from Europe but they were shipwrecked in a December gale off the coast of Virginia and none of the few survivors are believed to have reached Eden. Byrd died August 26, 1744 as the Land of Eden began to be surrounded by the settlement of Scotch-Irish whom Byrd had compared to the "Goths and Vandals."
Eden descended to William Byrd III who shared none of his father's dreams of colonization. Young Byrd married Elizabeth Hill Carter in 1748. He sought to dispose of Eden to gain cash to support his grand lifestyle. He was finally successful on November 8, 1755 when he sold 26,000 acres (110 km2) in North Carolina to two merchant brothers from the island of Antiqua, Simon and Francis Farley. By this time settlement was increasing at a considerable pace. The Farley brothers attempted to create plantations on some of the richest acres but more frequently settlers simply moved onto the land and created homesteads. In 1762 James Parke Farley, son of Francis Farley, went to Williamsburg to attend the College of William and Mary and soon after married Elizabeth Hill Byrd, daughter of William Byrd III and Elizabeth Hill Carter.
[edit] Sauratown Tract
The settlers that were now coming into the Dan River Area knew little of William Byrd. They were familiar with an old Indian Village in the area near Town Creek and the Farley holdings. It was natural that this became a location of easy geographical reference. The 26,000 acres (110 km2) were soon termed the Sauratown tract and in 1775 James Parke Farley and his new bride moved from cosmopolitan Williamsburg, Virginia to the Sauratown. In doing this he attempted to claim that Sauratown was his, create new plantations, and to drive off the squatters. He built a home overlooking the Dan River. Farley was also a member of the 3rd Provincial Congress which met at Hillsboro. In 1776, however, the family left the Sauratown, partly due to Elizabeth Farley's father suicide, or even her dislike of frontier atmosphere. Therefore, Sauratown was unmanaged, and James Parke Farley was killed during the Revolutionary War leaving his wife and four daughters to fend for themselves. Farley's Widow married Reverend John Dunbar and he made an attempt at management but failed. Finally, the Governor became involved in settling the legal interests of the Farley heirs. The 26,000 acres (110 km2), during the time being, became a magnet for settlement due to its adjointment to the Petersburg-Salem road that crossed the Smith River at an Island Ford. In 1795, on the Southwest edge of the Sauratown and along the main road, the town of Leaksville was established. In 1798, Joseph Cloud resurveyed the tract and divided it into two equal shares. A year later, two of the Farley daughters, Maria Farley and Rebecca Parke Farley sold their shares to Patrick Henry of Virginia. The same Patrick Henry to deliver the "Give me Liberty or give me death speech," who on his deathbed June 6, 1799 gave the land to two of his sons, Alexander Spottswood Henry and Nathaniel West Henry. Over the century that Sauratown was in existence it drew many prominent families to the Land of Eden including the Brodnax, Ruffin, Morehead, Henry, and Winston families. Also the signifigent Scottish presence brought the families of Gallaway, Scales, Watt, Lenox, Campbell, and Moir. Other famous peoples who are known to have been in the county include General Lighthorse Harry Lee, Wiley Jones, and General John Simon Farley (British).
[edit] Slavery
The settlement of Eden cannot be examined without interpretation of the impact of slavery. The common roots of all African Americans in not only Eden, but in the entire county can be traced back to a large influx that occurred just prior to the revolution. On June 20, 1775 the Moravians in their dairy noted that James Parke Farley had located on his plantation on the Dan River, "100 negroes whom he bought from Antiqua." After all, Farley's father and uncle were both Antiquan merchants who had bought the 26,000 acres (110 km2) from William Byrd III. After the war with Farley killed during the war, little record remains as to what happened to the 100 slaves, it is very possible that they remained and their descendants now constitute a large part of the population. Aside from the Farley there were few wealthy families that had the money to afford slaves. The Scales and Galloway's are the only other families known to have had slaves in the area prior to the revolution.
[edit] Major Industry
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 15,908 people, 6,644 households, and 4,371 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,060.1 people per square mile (409.2/km²). There were 7,368 housing units at an average density of 491.0/sq mi (189.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.43% White, 22.15% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.03% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.34% of the population.
There were 6,644 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 85.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,670, and the median income for a family was $35,259. Males had a median income of $29,443 versus $21,797 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,275. About 13.9% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.6% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.
Eden boasts an average of 8 churches per square mile.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Eden, North Carolina is at coordinates Coordinates:
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
