Murfreesboro, North Carolina facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Murfreesboro, North Carolina
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Location of Murfreesboro, North Carolina
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| Country | United States |
| State | North Carolina |
| County | Hertford |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.29 sq mi (5.93 km2) |
| • Land | 2.24 sq mi (5.80 km2) |
| • Water | 0.05 sq mi (0.13 km2) |
| Elevation | 85 ft (26 m) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 2,835 |
| • Estimate
(2019)
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2,961 |
| • Density | 1,322.47/sq mi (510.54/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code |
27855
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| Area code(s) | 252 |
| FIPS code | 37-45640 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1021587 |
Murfreesboro is a town in Hertford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,835 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Chowan University.
Contents
Geography
Murfreesboro is located at 36°26′28″N 77°5′49″W / 36.44111°N 77.09694°W (36.440983, -77.096901).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²), of which, 2.2 square miles (5.6 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.82%) is water.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 466 | — | |
| 1870 | 753 | 61.6% | |
| 1880 | 645 | −14.3% | |
| 1890 | 674 | 4.5% | |
| 1900 | 657 | −2.5% | |
| 1910 | 809 | 23.1% | |
| 1920 | 621 | −23.2% | |
| 1930 | 1,000 | 61.0% | |
| 1940 | 1,550 | 55.0% | |
| 1950 | 2,140 | 38.1% | |
| 1960 | 2,643 | 23.5% | |
| 1970 | 4,418 | 67.2% | |
| 1980 | 3,007 | −31.9% | |
| 1990 | 2,580 | −14.2% | |
| 2000 | 2,045 | −20.7% | |
| 2010 | 2,835 | 38.6% | |
| 2019 (est.) | 2,961 | 4.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 939 | 35.85% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,346 | 51.39% |
| Native American | 3 | 0.11% |
| Asian | 19 | 0.73% |
| Other/Mixed | 94 | 3.59% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 218 | 8.32% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,619 people, 1,081 households, and 552 families residing in the town.
History
Before European Settlement
The first recorded inhabitants of the area were Native Americans from the Nottoway, Meherrin and Chowanoke tribes.
The first European to visit the area was John White of Roanoke Colony in the 16th century. It was also visited by an expedition from Jamestown, Virginia in the 17th century.
The last native inhabitants, the Chowanokes, were expelled after warring with the English in 1675 and 1676. After that, they were moved to a reservation east of the Chowan River in what is now Gates County, North Carolina.
The Beginning of Settlement to the American Revolution
The first known deed to property in the area is a land grant dated November 5, 1714 to Henry Wheeler for a tract on the Meherrin River which included what is now Murfreesboro. Several other transactions quickly followed and in 1735, Joseph Parker founded the Meherrin Church, making it the second oldest Baptist church in North Carolina. (now known as the Meherrin Baptist Church)
On May 27, 1746, James Jordon Scott sold 150 acres (0.61 km2) on the Meherrin River, (part of Wheeler's original grant) to an Irish immigrant, William Murfree of Nansemond County, Virginia. On December 12, 1754, the General Assembly designated Murfree's Landing as a King's Landing where imports and exports would be inspected by a representative of the King.
Revolution to the American Civil War
On July 17, 1781, British forces led by Banastre Tarleton and Tarleton's Raiders attacked Maney's Neck near Murfree's Landing. William Murfree's son, Hardy Murfree led a local militia that repulsed the attack at Skinner's Bridge.
William Murfree contributed 97 acres (390,000 m2) of land surrounding Murfree's Landing in 1787 to the growing settlement to form a town. The town was chartered by the General Assembly and renamed Murfreesboro on January 6, 1787. This act also provided for the establishment of a public dock as the town was located at the northernmost point of navigation on the Meherrin river.
Murfreesboro was designated by the US Congress in 1790 as an official port of entry, and the customs records indicate a profitable three-cornered trade with New England and the West Indies.
In 1809, the Hertford Academy was established in Murfreesboro and opened for business in 1811. In 1814, Harriet Sketchly and Martha Sketchly arrived and expanded the female department of the academy considerably so that by 1849, it became the Chowan Baptist Female Institute, the forerunner of Chowan University.
In 1831 Murfreesboro sent armed forces led by Captain Solon Borland to Southampton County, Virginia to quell Nat Turner's slave rebellion.
Attractions
The David A. Barnes House, The Cedars, The Columns, Cowper-Thompson House, Freeman House, Melrose, Murfreesboro Historic District, Myrick House, Myrick-Yeates-Vaughan House, Francis Parker House, Princeton Site, William Rea Store, Roberts-Vaughan House, and John Wheeler House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The old Murfreesboro public school (which housed grades 1 - 12 until 1972) has been remodeled into the Brady C. Jefcoat Museum housing the collections of Brady Jefcoat, a Raleigh, North Carolina native. It includes hundreds of well-preserved ordinary items from the late 19th and early 20th century, including functional phonographs, radios, washing machines, and agricultural implements, as well as a wide variety of other novelties.
Education
Local children may attend Riverview Elementary School and Hertford County Middle School, both of which are part of the Hertford County Public Schools system.
Chowan University, a small Baptist university, is located in Murfreesboro.
Notable residents
- William Hill Brown, author of the first American novel.
- Tim Cofield, former NFL and CFL linebacker
- Sallie Southall Cotten, writer and clubwoman
- Curtis Deloatch, former cornerback in the NFL
- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, an Al Qaeda leader, attended Chowan University in 1983
- Hardy Murfree, lieutenant colonel from North Carolina during the American Revolutionary War
- Julian Myrick, insurance salesman and promoter of tennis
- William N. H. Smith, Democratic congressman and North Carolina Supreme Court justice
- Dwight Stephenson, center in the NFL, 5x First Team All-Pro selection and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Fred Vinson, former NBA player and current coach
- John H. Wheeler, first United States ambassador to Nicaragua and head of the United States Mint
See also
In Spanish: Murfreesboro (Carolina del Norte) para niños
