Kannapolis, North Carolina

For the film, see Kannapolis, N.C. (1941 film)

Kannapolis, North Carolina
—  City  —
Location of Kannapolis, North Carolina
Coordinates: 35°29′26″N 80°37′6″W
State	North Carolina
Counties	Cabarrus and Rowan
Area
• Total	30.4 sq mi (78.7 km2)
• Land	29.9 sq mi (77.3 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1.4 km2)
Elevation	830 ft (253 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	36,910
• Density	1,236.5/sq mi (477.4/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	28081-28083
Area code(s)	704, 980
FIPS code	37-35200
GNIS feature ID	1021013

The Kannapolis logo contains a Colonial Williamsburg architectural style cupola.

Kannapolis is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte. The population was 42,625 at the 2010 census, which makes Kannapolis the 20th largest city in North Carolina. It is the home of the Kannapolis Intimidators, the Class A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, and it is the hometown of the Earnhardt racing family.

Name

Early meaning and usage of the name was a direct reference to Cannon Mills Corporation, or James William Cannon himself. Early published name variations include Cannon-opolis and Cannapolis. A widely accepted origin of the word Kannapolis comes from the combination of the Greek words "kanna" (reeds, not looms) and "polis" (city), which some believed meant "City of Looms". Dr. Gary Freeze, Catawba College history and politics department chairman, said a Concord newspaper used the name "Cannon City" in 1906. After mill workers or newspapers called the town "Cannapolis", J.W. Cannon asked Cabarrus County commissioners to give the town the name, but starting with a K. Kannapolis historian Norris Dearmon said the K might have been to distinguish the town from his Concord mill village. Since, Freeze said, "Jim Cannon didn't study Greek," Cannon did not name the town "city of looms".

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.4 square miles (79 km²), of which 29.9 square miles (77 km²) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) (1.78%) is water.

Education

K-12

Kannapolis City Schools is the primary school system for the city. Two additional systems also serve its jurisdiction: Cabarrus County Schools and Rowan–Salisbury School System.

Higher education

Shaw University has an extramural site in Kannapolis offering undergraduate, graduate and continuing education programs.

Academic research

North Carolina Research Campus

David H. Murdock Core Laboratory at the North Carolina Research Campus

David H. Murdock, owner of real estate company Castle & Cooke, Inc. and former CEO of Dole Food Company, Inc., and Molly Corbett Broad, President of the 16-campus University of North Carolina system, unveiled plans on September 12, 2005 for the North Carolina Research Campus, an economic revitalization project that encompasses the site of the former Cannon Mills plant and entire downtown area of Kannapolis, North Carolina.

During the next few years, the NC Research Campus was developed by Castle and Cooke in collaboration with UNC General Administration and several North Carolina universities, including NC State, UNC Chapel Hill, and others. In 2008, faculty from NC State, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, NC A&T, NC Central, and Appalachian State moved into the Nutrition Research Institute building, operated by UNC Chapel Hill, and the Plants for Human Health Institute, operated by NC State. The buildings are owned by Castle and Cooke, which rents the space to the UNC system in a rent-to-own agreement.

Funding for research and education activities at NCRC comes from federal and private research grants and donations, which support individual laboratories, and from the North Carolina State budget, which supplies general operating expenses and salaries for faculty and support staff. Funding from the Legislature is disbursed to individual universities to support their operations at NCRC.

The David H. Murdock Research Institute, a not-for-profit research institute, operates a Core Lab facility that offers genomic sequencing, metabolomics profiling, and other research services.

Notable people

• Marcos Ambrose, current NASCAR driver
• Lake Speed, former NASCAR driver
• Ralph Earnhardt, former NASCAR racer (deceased)
• Dale Earnhardt, former NASCAR champion (deceased)
• Dale Earnhardt Jr., current NASCAR driver
• Carl Edwards, current NASCAR driver
• David Ragan, current NASCAR driver
• George Clinton, leader of Parliament-Funkadelic
• Mike Minter, retired NFL safety, who spent his entire career with the Carolina Panthers
• Mike Rucker, retired NFL defensive end, who spent his entire career with the Carolina Panthers
• Ethan Horton, former North Carolina Tar Heels running back and retired NFL running back/tight end
• Britt Nicole, Christian Pop Singer
• Mike Morton, retired NFL linebacker
• George Shinn, former owner of the New Orleans Hornets
• Rachel Reilly, HouseGuest on Big Brother 12 and winner of Big Brother 13

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 36,910 people, 14,804 households, and 10,140 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,236.5 people per square mile (477.4/km²). There were 15,941 housing units at an average density of 534.0 per square mile (206.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was: 77.74% White, 16.45% Black or African American, 6.33% Hispanic or Latino American, 0.86% Asian American, 0.34% Native American, 0.01% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 3.43% some other race, and 1.16% two or more races.

There were 14,804 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,532, and the median income for a family was $42,445. Males had a median income of $30,990 versus $23,277 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,539. About 7.7% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Museums

• Curb Museum for Music and Motorsports
• Dale Earnhardt Tribute
• GI Memorial House Museum
• History Room at the Kannapolis Branch of the Cannon Memorial Library
• Textile Museum and Exhibition
• Dale Trail

Parks and recreation

Private

• Kannapolis Country Club
• Kannapolis Recreation Park

Public

• Bakers Creek Park
• Dale Earnhardt Plaza
• Walter M. Safrit Park
• Veteran's Park
• Village Park
• North Cabarrus Park

Sports

• Kannapolis Intimidators, Class A Baseball
• Stewart-Haas Racing, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Team

Transportation

Kannapolis is located adjacent to Interstate 85, approximately 20 miles (32 km) north of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Concord Kannapolis Area Transit, also known as Rider, provides multiple local bus routes, with its farthest point reaching Concord Mills Mall.

Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) provides multiple transportation options including bus, vanpool or carpool. CATS provides a bus stop and parking at Kannapolis' Target/Home Depot parking lot. For bicyclists, CATS provides a fixed rack to park (and lock) your bike, or you can "Rack 'N' Ride" by placing your bike on the fold-down front rack of any CATS bus, and take your bike with you.

Amtrak's Carolinian and Piedmont train connects Kannapolis with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Raleigh and Charlotte. The Amtrak station is located at 201 South Main Street.

Film

Main article: Kannapolis, N.C. (1941 film)

In 2004, a silent film about Kannapolis, showing the everyday behavior of ordinary people, which was made in 1941 by itinerant filmmaker H. Lee Waters, was selected by the Library of Congress for listing in the United States National Film Registry, as a representative of this kind of filmed "town portrait" popular in the 1930s and 1940s.

Further reading

• Minchin, Timothy J., “‘It Knocked This City to Its Knees’: The Closure of Pillowtex Mills in Kannapolis, North Carolina, and the Decline of the U.S. Textile Industry,” Labor History 50 (Aug. 2009), 287–311

External links

• City of Kannapolis
• The Salisbury Post (daily newspaper serving Kannapolis, with archives of the former Kannapolis Citizen weekly)
• Kannapolis City Schools
• North Carolina Research Campus
• Kannapolis Macaroni Kid - Family Friendly Events Calendar