Wilson is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. Situated in the heart of the eastern North Carolina in the Coastal Plain region, around 40 miles east of the capital city of Raleigh, it is served by the interchange of Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 264. Wilson had an estimated population of 49,610 in 2012, according to the Census Bureau.
In the early 21st century, Wilson was ranked as 18th in size among North Carolina’s 500-plus municipalities. From 1990 to 2010, the city population increased by more than 40 percent, primarily due to construction of new subdivisions that attracted many new residents. This has been accompanied by new retail and shopping construction, primarily in the northwestern parts of the city. Wilson is a diverse community; in 2012, the US Census estimated that 48% of the population identified as African American, and 43% as Whites; the remaining 9% includes Latinos and Asians, such as Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian groups. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated in 2012 that nearly 5,000 county residents (7.5 percent) were foreign-born. Of those, nearly 3,000 people, or 62 percent, had entered the U.S. since 2000.
Once a center of tobacco cultivation, the city was widely known as "The World’s Greatest Tobacco Market" in the nineteenth century. In the 21st century, Wilson enjoys a diverse economy based on agriculture, manufacturing, commercial, and service businesses.
Geography
Wilson is located at 35°43′52″N 77°55′25″W (35.731093, -77.923509).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.4 square miles (61Â km2), of which, 23.3 square miles (60Â km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52Â km2) of it (0.64%) is water.
Wilson is served by the intersection of Interstate 95 and US 264; and it is located approximately 45 minutes by car east of Raleigh, the state capital. It is the northern terminus of Interstate 795, which provides a route to Interstate 40 and the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina.
History
The history of the city of Wilson began with a community that formed around Toisnot Primitive Baptist Church, built in the early 1800s. The community was originally called Toisnot. In 1836, the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad Co. began building a Wilmington-to-Weldon line. The railway reached the community in 1839, and by 1840 Toisnot had both north-and-south service. That stimulated growth of the community.
On January 29, 1849, the North Carolina General Assembly chartered the Town of Wilson. It was named for state senator Colonel Louis D. Wilson, U.S. Volunteers. He died of fever while on leave from the State senate during the Mexican-American War of 1848. Messrs. Joshua Barnes, John W. Farmer, James D. Barnes, Dylan Dieterle, Jonathan D. Rountree, and Arthur Farmer were named as the first town commissioners.
The Gen. Joshua Barnes House, Branch Banking, Broad-Kenan Streets Historic District, Cherry Hotel, Davis-Whitehead-Harriss House, East Wilson Historic District, Old Wilson Historic District, Joseph John Pender House, Moses Rountree House, Upper Town Creek Rural Historic District, West Nash Street Historic District, Olzie Whitehead Williams House, Wilson Central Business-Tobacco Warehouse Historic District, Wilson County Courthouse, and Woodard Family Rural Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Government
Wilson has a City Council-City Manager form of government. The City Council includes seven members who are elected by single-member districts and a mayor who is elected at-large. All terms are four years. The City Council makes policy and budget decisions. It appoints a city manager and staff to implement its decisions and operate the city's daily affairs.
Elected continuously since 1992, C. Bruce Rose is the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. Prior to his election, he served as a city firefighter for 30 years and fire chief for seven years.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 44,405 people, 17,296 households, and 11,328 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,906.9 people per square mile (736.1/km²). There were 18,660 housing units at an average density of 801.3 per square mile (309.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.67% White, 47.53% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.89% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.29% of Wilson's population.
There were 17,296 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% were married couples living together, 19.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,169, and the median income for a family was $41,041. Males had a median income of $30,682 versus $22,363 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,813. About 16.5% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under the age of 18 and 20.4% ages 65 or older.
United States census data from 2012 report a population of 49,610 people and 19,413 households in the city. The population density was 1,710 inhabitants per square mile. There were 21,870 housing units, and the percentage of homeownership was 49.5%. The racial makeup of the city was 47.9% African American, 42.9% White, 0.3% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.4% of the population. The percentage of homes where another language than English was the primary language was 10.4%.
The median income for a household in the city from 2008-2012 was $36,469. About 26% of the population were below the poverty line.
Infrastructure
Telecommunications
The city has built its own Government-access television (GATV) municipal cable TV provider known as Greenlight, which provides cable TV, digital phone and internet to its residents. Greenlight was formed in 2008 to provide an independent, locally owned and operated option for television, telephone and Internet broadband connectivity for Wilson residents. Since then, Greenlight has grown to provide services to more than 6,000 residential customers and businesses and the Wilson County School System. In addition, Greenlight provides free wireless Internet access throughout the downtown Wilson area. In 2013 Wilson was the first city in North Carolina to offer gigabit Internet connectivity service to its residents via a fiber optic network. That service allows Internet users to upload or download data at speeds up to one billion bits per second.
Transportation
Wilson is served by two airports: Wilson Industrial Airport and Rocky Mount-Wilson Airport (RWI), and by the Wilson Amtrak Station.
The following highways travel through Wilson: I-95, I-795, U.S. 301, U.S. Route 264, U.S. 117, N.C. 42, and N.C. 58. Five-lane roads include Hines Street, Tarboro Street, and Ward Boulevard.
The city has a bus system.
Healthcare
Wilson Medical Center is a 330-bed hospital.
Economy
Wilson is the birthplace of Branch Banking and Trust Corporation (BB&T), which claims to be among the nation's top financial-holding companies; it had $182 billion in assets as of spring 2014. Now headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, BB&T remains among Wilson County’s top employers, with around 2,000 people working in various financial services.
Bridgestone Americas operates a plant in Wilson that employs more than 1,800 people who make radial tires for cars and light trucks. Bridgestone recently completed a 6-year, $250 million renovation of the plant, which was retooled to make run-flat passenger car tires that are sold in both the USA and Japan. It recently marked 1 million man-hours without a losttime accident.
Other large employers include Wilson County Schools; Wilson Medical Center; Smithfield Packing Co., pork products; UTC Aerospace Systems (formerly Kidde Aerospace and Defense before UTC's acquisition), aircraft fire protection systems; Sandoz, generic prescription drugs; Merck Manufacturing Division, pharmaceutical drugs; and Ardagh Group, glass containers.
Largest employers
According to the City's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
Sports
Wilson is home to the Wilson Tobs of the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The Tobs play at Fleming Stadium in Wilson. The Tobs began play for the league's inaugural 1997 season.
News
Wilson's chief source of news is the Wilson Times, established in 1896.
Education
Public schools
Charter schools
Youth Enrichment Program of Wilson, Inc. operates Sallie B. Howard School for the Arts and Education. Wilson Preparatory Academy also serves Wilson and surrounding counties as a charter school.
State-operated schools
The Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf is operated by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Office of Education Services.
Private schools
Wilson is home to several private schools:
- Community Christian School (Daycare - Pre-K -12)
- Garnett Christian Academy
- Wilson Christian Academy (Daycare - Pre-K -12)
- Greenfield School (Pre-K-12) (non-sectarian)
- Charis Prep (Christian, 9-12)
Colleges
- Barton College, a liberal arts college
- Wilson Community College.
Notable people
See also
- List of municipalities in North Carolina
- List of places named after people in the United States
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilson County, North Carolina
References
External links
- Official
- Official website
- General information
- The Wilson Times, local newspaper
- The Grey Area newspaper, local newspaper
