Rich Square Richsquare | |
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![]() Commercial buildings in Rich Square (2020) | |
Coordinates: 36°16′26″N77°17′02″W / 36.2739423°N 77.2839064°W | |
Country | United States |
State | North Carolina |
County | Northampton |
Elevation | 72 ft (22 m) |
Population | |
• Total | 894 |
GNIS feature ID | 2407205 [1] |
Website | richsquarenc |
Rich Square (also known as Richsquare) [2] [1] is an American town of 894 people in Northampton County, North Carolina.
Quakers were some of the earliest settlers in Northampton County, being established there by the early 1750s. The congregation in Rich Square was established in 1760, and was once a center for the Religious Society of Friends in North Carolina. By 1832, they were a minority in Rich Square, though they continued working to relocate former slaves into free states. [3]
In 1947, Godwin Bush was a black man in Northampton County who escaped a lynching by a white mob; two all-white grand juries refused to indict the seven white kidnappers. In response, local pastor and businessman Paul A. Bishop promoted a black-led boycott of white-owned businesses in Rich Square (contemporaneously described by a black community leader as "a town that didn't like black folk.") Many of the boycotted stores went out of business. [4]
On July 26, 1959, Lieutenant Colonel William Rankin was flying his US Marine Corps F8U Crusader from Naval Air Station South Weymouth in Massachusetts to Naval Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina. When he lost all power at an altitude of 47,000 feet (14,000 m), he ejected into the −70 °F (−57 °C) air and began uncontrolled decompression through an intense thunderstorm and hail for the next 40 minutes. After "the most prolonged and fantastic parachute descent in history", he eventually landed near Rich Square, from where he was rescued by a local farmer and eventually taken to Ahoskie, North Carolina for triage. (The plane came down near Scotland Neck, North Carolina.) [5]
In 1968, the federal government of the United States established the Family Development Training Project in Rich Square, an effort up uplift families in poverty by simultaneously educating all members thereof at government expanse. On a 50-acre (20 ha) parcel of town, twelve training and support buildings were constructed to support the 50 families living in 50 colocated mobile homes. Eligible families must have been employed by two or more employers in the preceding year, and annually earn less than US$2,500(equivalent to $21,904 in 2023). In 1974, The Family Coordinator called the five-year program "one of the most unique and successful programs ever developed in the United States". [6]
The Duke-Lawrence House is a recognized example of Georgian architecture in Rich Square, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in October 1980. [7] The local Holoman-Outland House was recognized for its Colonial Revival architecture and listed on the register in October 2001. [8]
The town of Rich Square [9] is located in Northampton County, North Carolina, at 36°16′26″N77°17′02″W / 36.2739423°N 77.2839064°W , with an elevation of 22 meters (72 ft). [1]
As of the 2020 United States census, the population of Rich Square was 894 people in 337 of the town's 414 housing units. The median age was 62.2 (± 7.4), with 44.5 percent (± 10.7%) of the town aged 65 or older, and only 9.1 percent (± 4.8%) under 18. [9]
In Rich Square, 4.4 percent (± 4.1%) of residents were foreign-born (all of whom were naturalized citizens), and only 5.0 percent (± 4.4%) spoke a language other than English at home. Four residents (0.4%) were Native Americans, one (0.1%) was Asian, 578 (64.7%) were Black or African American, 26 (2.9%) were Hispanic or Latino, 270 (31.1%) were White people, nine (1%) were of another race or ethnicity, and 24 (2.7%) were multiracial people. [9]
In town, 18.0 percent (± 9.3%) of residents had at least a bachelor's degree, while seven percent had a graduate degree or higher. The employment rate was 38.7 percent (± 13.1%), and 5.5 percent (± 5.7%) of the men were veterans. The town's median household income was $29,375 (± $15,623), as compared to the state's rate of $61,972 (± $541), which left 34.0 percent (± 16.6%) of locals living in poverty. [9]
In the 1960s, Rich Square was governed by a town council. Local funeral home director Joseph Gordon was the first African American elected to the body, in 1967. [10]
In the 1950s, Rich Square had two high schools: Rich Square High School [11] [12] and W. S. Creecy High School. [4]
Montgomery County is a rural county located in the southern Piedmont of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,751. Its county seat is Troy.
Hampshire County is a historical and judicial county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 162,308. Its most populous municipality is Amherst, its largest town in terms of landmass is Belchertown, and its traditional county seat is Northampton. The county is named after the county Hampshire, in England. Hampshire County is part of the Springfield, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Together with Hampden County, Hampshire County municipalities belong to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.
Newberry County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 37,719. Its county seat is Newberry. The name is of unknown origin, although one theory suggests that it was named by Quaker settlers in honor of their home of Newberry, a suburb of London in the United Kingdom.
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Northampton County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,471. Its county seat is Jackson.
Mitchell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,903. Its county seat is Bakersville.
Hertford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,552. Its county seat is Winton. It is classified within the region known in the 21st century as the Inner Banks.
Halifax County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,622. Its county seat is Halifax.
Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,451. Its county seat is Snow Hill.
Bertie County is a county located in the northeast area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,934. Its county seat is Windsor. The county was created in 1722 as Bertie Precinct and gained county status in 1739.
Anson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,055. Its county seat is Wadesboro.
Pittsboro is a town in Chatham County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,743 at the 2010 census and 4,537 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Chatham County.
Jackson is a town in Northampton County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 513 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County.
Seaboard is a township in Northampton County, North Carolina, United States, created as a company town by the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad, approximately 10 miles northeast of Weldon in the mid-1840s as a place for railroad employees to live.
Severn is a town in Northampton County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 276 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area. Severn is the home of Severn Peanut Corporation, the owners of the Hampton Farms brand of roasted peanuts.
Wilson is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. It is the 23rd most populous city in North Carolina. Located approximately 40 mi (64 km) 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 49,459 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and is also an anchor city of the Rocky Mount-Wilson-Roanoke Rapids CSA, with a total population of 297,726 as of 2018.
Mebane Holoman Burgwyn (1914–1992) was an award-winning American author of children's books.
Holoman–Outland House is a historic home located near Rich Square, Northampton County, North Carolina. It was built in 1920, and is a two-story, Colonial Revival / American Foursquare style brick dwelling with a one-story kitchen wing. It has a hipped roof with hipped dormer, full-width one-story front porch with Doric order columns, porte-cochère, and a two-level squared bay with a modified Palladian window. Also on the property are the contributing cow shed (1920) and pump house and smokehouse (1920).
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)A jet pilot's harrowing account of his high-altitude bail-out through a thunderstorm that held him in its grip for forty minutes after he jumped.
One cold night in 1965, Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins disappeared from a patrol in South Korea. Forty years later he has resurfaced. In his first interview since leaving North Korea, he tells the Review his story
The exact location of the plane is not published in a bid to protect the historic site
At a rural crossroads in Halifax County, black farmers chart a new destiny for their families through the Tillery resettlement program.