Maiden, North Carolina

Maiden, North Carolina
Town
Memorial Reformed Church in Maiden
Motto:  "A town with a future" “Biggest little football town in the world”
Maiden Location within the state of North Carolina
Coordinates: 35°35′11″N81°15′35″W / 35.58639°N 81.25972°W / 35.58639; -81.25972
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Counties	Catawba, Lincoln
Government
• Mayor	Max A. Bumgarner Jr.
Area [1]
• Total	6.25 sq mi (16.20 km2)
• Land	6.19 sq mi (16.03 km2)
• Water	0.07 sq mi (0.17 km2)
Elevation [2]	833 ft (254 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,736
• Density	603.75/sq mi (233.10/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	28650
Area code	828
FIPS code	37-40660 [3]
GNIS feature ID	2406081 [2]
Website	www.maidennc.com

Maiden is a town in Catawba and Lincoln counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 3,310 at the 2010 census. ^[4]

Maiden was the first public high school in the state with an observatory ^[5] and is currently home to an Apple iCloud Data Center, covering 500,000 square feet (46,000 m²). In May 2012, Apple announced it would generate 60 percent of the Maiden facility's power itself, through a large deployment of fuel cells at the site and a 100-acre (40 ha) solar farm, with an additional 150-acre (61 ha) site 2 miles (3 km) away. ^[6]

The Catawba County portion of Maiden is part of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Lincoln County portion is part of the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

"The Biggest Little Football Town in the World" (as it has long called itself) ^[7] was incorporated on March 7, 1883 as a cotton mill site, and a trading center. ^[8] The name "Maiden" most likely is Native American in origin. ^[9]

Historians claim that the town was named after the native-grown "Maidencane" grass, which is found throughout the township to this day.

The David F. Propst House, Memorial Reformed Church, Miller–Cansler House, Franklin D. Reinhardt and Harren–Hood Farms, William Pinckney Reinhardt House, and Salem Union Church and Cemetery are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ^[10]

Geography

Maiden is located in southern Catawba County, with a small portion extending south into Lincoln County. U.S. Route 321 Business passes through the center of town as Main Street, while current U.S. Route 321, a four-lane expressway, runs southwest of the town, with access from Exit 33 west of the town and from Exit 28 in Lincoln County. Via US 321 it is 16 miles (26 km) northwest to Hickory and 23 miles (37 km) south to Gastonia.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Maiden has a total area of 5.6 square miles (14.5 km²), of which 5.5 square miles (14.3 km²) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.2 km²), or 1.22%, is water. ^[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	264		—
1900	614		132.6%
1910	664		8.1%
1920	1,266		90.7%
1930	1,628		28.6%
1940	1,803		10.7%
1950	1,952		8.3%
1960	2,039		4.5%
1970	2,416		18.5%
1980	2,574		6.5%
1990	2,574		0.0%
2000	3,282		27.5%
2010	3,310		0.9%
2020	3,736		12.9%
U.S. Decennial Census [11]

2020 census

Maiden racial composition ^[12]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	2,755	73.74%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	417	11.16%
Native American	7	0.19%
Asian	68	1.82%
Pacific Islander	2	0.05%
Other/Mixed	171	4.58%
Hispanic or Latino	316	8.46%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,736 people, 1,107 households, and 841 families residing in the town.

2010 census

As of the census ^[3] of 2010, there were 3,327 people, 1,187 households, and 848 families residing in the town. The population density was 602.3 inhabitants per square mile (232.5/km²). There were 1,258 housing units at an average density of 265.8 per square mile (102.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 80.04% White, 14.72% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 2.71% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.73% of the population.

There were 1,187 households, out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% 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 2.95.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $35,417, and the median income for a family was $44,063. Males had a median income of $29,695 versus $21,594 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,026. About 7.6% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Cherie Berry – former North Carolina Commissioner of Labor ^[13]
• Dennis Hargrove Cooke – former president of what is now East Carolina University ^[14]
• Caleb Farley – current NFL cornerback ^[15]
• Hank Parker – professional bass fisherman ^[16]
• Kevin Wilson – college football coach ^[17]

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Maiden, North Carolina
3. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved 2008-01-31.
4. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Maiden town, North Carolina". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
5. Whisenant, Jeff. "LMO Story Page". www.catawbasky.org. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
6. "Apple Data Center Will Be Totally Green by 2013". BloombergBusinessWeek. May 17, 2012. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
7. Harris, Stephen (1979). "Boom Town in 1920s: Maiden Textile, Football City". Observer-News Enterprise. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
8. Preslar, Charles (1954). A History of Catawba County. Catawba County Historical Association. pp. 355–358. The founding of Maiden was not an accident, but was the result of a definite purpose-the outgrowth of the business experience of several men. It was to be a cotton mill site, and a trading center. The town was incorporated on March 7, 1883...Maiden's act of incorporation names J. P. Rabb as mayor, and Alexander Keener, Alexander Cline and Amzi Stine as commissioners.
9. Moyer, Armond; Moyer, Winifred (1958). The origins of unusual place-names. Keystone Pub. Associates. p. 81.
10. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
11. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
12. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
13. Barrett, Mark. (October 9, 2016). Berry, Meeker differ over workplace protection. Citizen-Times. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
14. Cooke, Dennis Hargrove. High Point Museum. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
15. "Caleb Farley - Football". hokiesports.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
16. Hank Parker is a Year-Round Outdoorsman. Mossy Oak. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
17. Kevin Wilson – Ohio State Buckeyes. Retrieved October 31, 2020.

External links

• Town website