Whiteville, North Carolina

Whiteville, North Carolina
City
Columbus County Courthouse
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Columbus
Government
• Mayor	Terry Mann
Area
• Total	5.4 sq mi (13.9 km2)
• Land	5.4 sq mi (13.9 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	98 ft (30 m)
Population  (2008)
• Total	5,600
• Density	957/sq mi (369.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	28472
Area code	910
FIPS code	37-73660Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1025798Template:GR
Website	http://www.whitevillecity.com/

Whiteville is a city in Columbus County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,148 at the 2000 census. It is the only city of Columbus County and is the county seat.Template:GR

Whiteville was the birthplace and hometown of the 20th-century poet A. R. Ammons.

Whiteville is notable for being the location of the courthouse-burning scene in the 1996 film adaptation of Dorothy Allison's novel Bastard Out of Carolina. It is also regionally known for its popular N.C. Pecan Harvest Festival.

Whiteville was also the scene of then-President Bill Clinton's 1999 "Bridging the Digital Divide" speech at the Vineland Station Railroad Depot, which is now refurbished as a community center. Clinton revisited in the spring of 2008 to campaign for his wife, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Whiteville is also the home of the North Carolina Museum of Forestry, a satellite museum of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

The official newspaper serving Columbus County, The News Reporter, is also based in Whiteville and has been in circulation since 1896.

The stretch of U.S. Route 701 through Columbus County is named for Whiteville's founder, James B. White, Columbus County's first state senator.

Geography

Whiteville is located at 34°19′48″N 78°42′16″W (34.330096, -78.704533).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.4 square miles (14 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 5,148 people, 2,191 households, and 1,336 families residing in the city. The population density was 957.5 people per square mile (369.5/km²). There were 2,450 housing units at an average density of 455.7 per square mile (175.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 60.51% White, 36.67% African American, 0.64% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.56% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population.

There were 2,191 households out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 20.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 77.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,455, and the median income for a family was $34,128. Males had a median income of $35,074 versus $23,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,337. About 19.0% of families and 26.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.0% of those under age 18 and 33.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Whiteville City School system includes the following schools:

• Whiteville Primary School
• Edgewood Elementary School
• Central Middle School
• North Whiteville Academy
• Whiteville High School
• Southeastern Early College High School

Whiteville High School, home of the Wolfpack, competes in division 2A NCHSAA sports and has won 15 state championships: five in baseball (1983, 1985, 1989, 1991, and 2012), four individual track championships, one in team golf (1986), two in football (1965 and 1987), and three in basketball (1969, 1999, and 2000).

Columbus Christian Academy is a private K-12 school in Whiteville. Waccamaw Academy, which opened in the 1970s, closed in 2012.

Southeastern Community College is located a few miles to the west of Whiteville.

Notable people

Sports

• Former NFL player Chester McGlockton, who played on the undefeated 1987 State 2A Champion WHS Wolfpack Football team.
• Former MLB Pitcher Tommy Greene.
• NBA Player Chris Wilcox, who played on the WHS varsity basketball team his sophomore and junior years, leading the Wolfpack to the 1999 State 2A Basketball championship before transferring to Raleigh's William G. Enloe High School for his senior year.
• Maggie Will, golfer. Three-time winner on the LPGA Tour.

Literature

A. R. Ammons, one of the most highly lauded poets of the twentieth century. He often mentioned his growing up in Whiteville in several interviews and essays, and occasionally used Columbus County as the setting for his poetry.

Transportation

Although the railroad tracks leading from west of town toward Lake Waccamaw, have long been disconnected, Whiteville is served by the Columbus County Municipal Airport and several highways, which include U.S. Route 74, U.S. Route 76, U.S. Route 701, North Carolina Highway 130, and North Carolina Highway 131.

External links

• Official website of Whiteville, NC
• Greater Whiteville Chamber of Commerce
• Whiteville City Schools
• The News Reporter