Union County, North Carolina

Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 201,292.[1] Its county seat is Monroe.[2]

Union County
U.S. county
Union County Courthouse in 2017
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 34°59′N 80°32′W
Country United States
State North Carolina
Founded1842
SeatMonroe
Largest townIndian Trail
Area
 • Total640 sq mi (1,700 km2)
 • Land632 sq mi (1,640 km2)
 • Water8.0 sq mi (21 km2)  1.3%%
Population
 • Estimate 
(2019)
239,859
 • Density319/sq mi (123/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts9th
Websitewww.co.union.nc.us

Union County is included in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The county was formed in 1842 from parts of Anson County and Mecklenburg County. Its name was a compromise between Whigs, who wanted to name the new county for Henry Clay, and Democrats, who wanted to name it for Andrew Jackson. The Helms, Starnes, McRorie, and Belk families were prominent in the town as well as Monroe and Charlotte. Most of these families came from Goose Creek Township.

Monroe, the county seat of Union County, also became a focal point during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1958, local NAACP Chapter President Robert F. Williams defended a nine-year-old African-American boy who had been kissed by a white girl in an incident known as the Kissing Case. A second African-American boy, aged seven, was also convicted and sentenced to live in a juvenile reformatory until he was 21 for simply witnessing the act. In 1961, Williams was accused of kidnapping an elderly white couple, when he sheltered them in his house during a very explosive situation of high racial tensions. Williams fled and went into exile in Cuba and in the People's Republic of China before returning to the United States.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 640 square miles (1,700 km2), of which 632 square miles (1,640 km2) is land and 8.0 square miles (21 km2) (1.3%) is water.[3]

Adjacent counties

Major highways


Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
185010,051—
186011,20211.5%
187012,2179.1%
188018,05647.8%
189021,25917.7%
190027,15627.7%
191033,27722.5%
192036,0298.3%
193040,97913.7%
194039,097−4.6%
195042,0347.5%
196044,6706.3%
197054,71422.5%
198070,38028.6%
199084,21119.7%
2000123,67746.9%
2010201,29262.8%
Est. 2019239,859[4]19.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7]
1990-2000[8] 2010-2014[1]

As of the census[9] of 2010, there were 201,292 people, 67,864 households, and 54,019 families residing in the county. The population density was 194 people per square mile (75/km²). There were 45,695 housing units at an average density of 31.4 per square mile (12.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.0% White, 11.7% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 5.3% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. 10.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 67,864 households out of which 42.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.60% were married couples living together, and 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present. 6.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.3.

In the county, the population was spread out with 32.90% under the age of 20, 4.7% from 20 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.2 years. The population was 49.4% male. Northern Union County has the southern foothills of the Uwharrie Mountains

Communities
Map of Union County, North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels

City

Towns

Villages

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Townships
  • Goose Creek
  • Jackson
  • Marshville
  • Monroe
  • New Salem
  • Vance
  • Buford
  • Lanes Creek
  • Sandy Ridge

Politics, law and government

In the early twentieth century, Union County was typically firm "Solid South" Democratic apart from the 1928 election when anti-Catholicism reduced Al Smith's margin of victory in the county to only seven percentage points. Union County remained classically "Solid South" until after the Civil Rights Movement. The first Republican to win the county was Richard Nixon[10] with less than forty percent of the vote in a three-way race in 1968. Following Nixon's election, the trend towards liberalism in the Democratic Party has turned Union into a strongly Republican county over the past half-century. The last Democrat to win Union County was Jimmy Carter in 1980, and since then no Democrat has won more than 36 percent of the county's vote.

Presidential election results
Presidential election results[11]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 63.1% 66,707 32.5% 34,337 4.4% 4,666
2012 64.5% 61,107 34.3% 32,473 1.2% 1,148
2008 62.9% 54,123 36.2% 31,189 0.9% 777
2004 70.2% 42,820 29.5% 17,974 0.3% 207
2000 67.6% 31,876 31.6% 14,890 0.8% 395
1996 57.0% 18,802 35.0% 11,525 8.0% 2,643
1992 51.7% 16,542 33.7% 10,789 14.6% 4,661
1988 65.7% 17,015 34.1% 8,820 0.2% 61
1984 70.5% 16,885 29.4% 7,048 0.2% 35
1980 45.8% 9,012 51.2% 10,073 3.1% 603
1976 36.7% 6,184 62.8% 10,578 0.5% 78
1972 71.6% 10,264 27.1% 3,886 1.3% 186
1968 38.7% 5,290 26.5% 3,630 34.8% 4,761
1964 37.0% 4,229 63.0% 7,208
1960 35.3% 4,030 64.7% 7,393
1956 34.5% 3,362 65.5% 6,383
1952 33.8% 3,790 66.2% 7,416
1948 14.4% 738 66.2% 3,407 19.4% 999
1944 16.3% 1,114 83.7% 5,729
1940 8.1% 634 91.9% 7,179
1936 7.4% 601 92.6% 7,480
1932 10.3% 710 88.8% 6,103 0.8% 57
1928 46.3% 2,448 53.7% 2,840
1924 19.6% 672 79.5% 2,721 0.9% 32
1920 25.2% 1,404 74.8% 4,168
1916 20.8% 702 79.0% 2,662 0.1% 4
1912 3.9% 92 75.9% 1,786 20.2% 476

Union County is a member of the regional Centralina Council of Governments.[12]

Education

Events
Entering Union County on North Carolina Highway 200
  • Brooklandwood in Mineral Springs is the site of the Queens Cup Steeplechase, one of steeplechase horse racing's major annual events. The program consists of several races, and is held the last Saturday of April. The schedule of events also features a Jack Russell Terrier judging contest. Over 10,000 people typically attend the event.
  • The Union County town of Marshville is the site of the Boll Weevil Festival, an annual street fair and carnival that takes place every fall.

See also

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  4. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  5. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  6. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  7. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  8. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  9. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  10. Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 95-96 ISBN 0786422173
  11. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  12. "Centralina Council of Governments". Retrieved August 10, 2019.

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