Wilmington, North Carolina
Categories: Cities in North Carolina | New Hanover County, North Carolina
For other places called Wilmington, see Wilmington
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Wilmington is a city currently located in New Hanover County, North Carolina. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 75,838. It is the county seat of New Hanover County6. It was named in honor of Spencer Compton, the Earl of Wilmington, who was Prime Minister under George II.
Wilmington was settled on the Cape Fear River. Wilmington offers its historic downtown as a main tourist attraction and business center and is minutes away from nearby beaches. The city residents have the advantage of living nestled between a river and the ocean.
Wilmington is also known as the childhood home of basketball great Michael Jordan and journalist David Brinkley; famous Wilmington natives include Sugar Ray Leonard, Charles Kuralt, Charlie Daniels and Meadowlark Lemon. It is also home to the WWII Battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55). Now a war memorial, the ship is open to public tours and is on display across from the downtown port area. The town is home to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, the Wilmington Hammerheads USL soccer team, and the Cape Fear Museum.
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Geography
Wilmington is located at 34°13'24" North, 77°54'44" West (34.223232, -77.912122)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 107.4 km² (41.5 mi²). 106.2 km² (41.0 mi²) of it is land and 1.2 km² (0.5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.16% water.History
Although there had been attempts to settle the Cape Fear region in the 1600s, the first permanent English settlers established themselves in the area in the 1720s. The town of Wilmington was incorporated in 1739. In the following decades the town prospered as a major outlet of naval supplies for the British navy. During the Civil War the port was a major base for Confederate blockade runners. It was captured by Union forces only in February of 1865, approximately one month after the fall of Ft. Fisher had closed the port. Since almost all the action was some distance from the city itself, a number of Antebellum homes and other buildings are still extant.
In November 1898 Wilmington was the scene of a violent attack by a well-organized group of whites who burned an African American printing press, and then went to the north side of town where a number of Blacks were killed and many were run out of town. At the same time, the Republican Mayor and city council were forced to resign, leading many to characterize what happened in Wilimington as a coup d'etat. Events in Wilmington--which was the largest city in the state at the time--helped make North Carolina into a Democratic Party-controlled state. They also helped instituted Jim Crow and disenfranchisement.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 75,838 people, 34,359 households, and 17,351 families residing in the city; according to census bureau estimates, the 2004 population is 93,292. The population density is 714.2/km² (1,849.8/mi²). There are 38,678 housing units at an average density of 364.2/km² (943.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 70.57% White, 25.82% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.14% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. 2.63% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 34,359 households out of which 20.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.5% are married couples living together, 14.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 49.5% are non-families. 36.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.10 and the average family size is 2.77.
In the city the population is spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 17.2% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $31,099, and the median income for a family is $41,891. Males have a median income of $30,803 versus $23,423 for females. The per capita income for the city is $21,503. 19.6% of the population and 13.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 25.9% of those under the age of 18 and 12.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Passenger transportation
- Located on the Cape Fear River delta at the Atlantic Ocean, Wilmington has a sizable seaport.
- Interstate Highway: The eastern terminus of I-40 is in Wilmington, I-140 is under construction, and there are plans to extend I-20 to Wilmington.
- Wilmington is not currently served by passenger trains, though a link between the city and Raleigh, the state capital, is in the planning stages.
- The Wilmington International Airport serves the area.
- Bicycle: The NC-DOT Cape Fear Run bicycle route connects Apex to Wilmington and closely parallels the RUSA 600km brevet route.
Media
Newspapers
The Wilmington Morning Star is the dominant daily newspaper in the area.
Television stations
The Wilmington telvision market is ranked 139 in the United States, and is the smallest DMA in North Carolina.
- WWAY-TV, Channel 3, ABC
- WECT-TV, Channel 6, NBC
- WILM-TV, Channel 10, CBS/UPN
- WSFX-TV, Channel 26, FOX
- WBW-TV, Channel 29, WB
- WUNJ-TV, Channel 39, PBS/UNC-TV
Sister cities
Wilmington is a sister city with the following cities:
External links
- Official website of Wilmington, NC
- Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce
- Cape Fear Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Wilmington Wiki opened May 21st 2005
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Local or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Local or Microsoft Virtual Earth