Hamptonville, North Carolina

Hamptonville is an unincorporated community located in southwestern Yadkin County, North Carolina, United States. Hamptonville is named for Henry Hampton (1750-1832), a colonel in the Revolutionary Army ["An Illustrated History of Yadkin County 1850-1980", by W.E. Rutledge Jr., Page 19 ] . Hampton set aside land for a town in 1806.

As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP of Hamptonville (ZIP code 27020) had a population of 5,901. It is a Piedmont Triad community. The community is primarily rural and agricultural.

Demographics

Hamptonville's Zip Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) has a population of about 5,901 as of the 2000 census. The population is 50.1% male and 49.9% female. About 94% of the population is white, .6% African-American, 0.1% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 9.4% Hispanic, and 4.48% of another races. 0.8% of people are two or more races. There are no native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders.

The average household size is 2.6 people, and the average family has 3.0 people. There are 2,491 houses, with 90.9% of them occupied, 82.7% bought and 17.3% rented. There are 226 vacant housing units.

The median household income is $37,241 with 9.7% of the population (6.6% of families) living below the poverty line.

Transportation

Interstate 77 and U.S. Route 421 intersect in the community. The four-lane highways provide easy access to Charlotte to the south and Winston-Salem to the east. U.S. Route 21 also runs through Hamptonville.

Nearby cities/towns

Nearby towns/cities are: Yadkinville, Jonesville, Elkin, Statesville, Union Grove, Harmony and Boonville.

Business and development

Blue Rhino operates a propane tank regional distribution center in Hamptonville. Lydall Corporation (NYSE: LDL) [ [http://lydall.com Lydall corporate website] ] operates an automotive thermal/acoustical plant in the area.

A location at the intersection of two heavily-traveled highways has lured some commercial growth to the area. However, a lack of public utilities has slowed development.

Yadkin County officials awarded contracts in 2006 to extend water and sewer service to the area. Part of the county's $5.2 million public utilities project calls for extending water lines from nearby Jonesville along U.S. 21 south and from Yadkinville west to the I-77/U.S. 421 interchange [ The Tribune article, January 7, 2007] . Further, sewer service will be offered though a line along U.S. 421 extended from west of Yadkinville to the interchange. The project is expected to start in March 2007, according to The Tribune.

The Hamptonville Post Office moved to a temporary site in a small shopping center at 2943 Rocky Branch Road in 2005, but is looking for a new larger site. ["New Post Office Slated for Hamptonville," "The Yadkin Ripple", April 5, 2007]

Early village

Hamptonville was first established in the late 1700s and chartered in 1818. The center of the village was Flat Rock Baptist Church, one of the oldest Baptist churches in western North Carolina. The church, which was first called Petty's Meeting House, can trace its history back to at least 1783. A historical marker was erected at the church, which is still active, in 2003.

Up the road from the church is the Hampton House, which is believed to be the oldest residence in Yadkin County.

At one time, the town well was in the middle of the street, but it was paved over when U.S. 21 was built in the area in 1940. Kit Carson was said to have stopped at the well for water while his family was traveling from Virginia to Tennessee. ["An Illustrated History of Yadkin County, 1850-1980", by W.E. Rutledge Jr., Page 21]

The postal area of Hamptonville includes a number of historic communities, including Brooks Crossroads, Buck Shoals, Windsors Crossroads and part of Lone Hickory.

Attractions

*The Windsor’s Crossroads Community Building, a two-story schoolhouse constructed about 1915, is at the intersection of Buck Shoals and Windsor Roads near the Iredell County line. The building has hosted an old-time music jam on Friday nights since 1990 [ [http://www.carolinamusicways.org/events/yadkin/events_musicjams.html Carolina Music Ways] ] .
*The area is part of the Yadkin Valley wine region. Four vineyards located within a five-mile radius make up the Swan Creek Wine Trail in the area: Buck Shoals, Raffaldini, Windy Gap and Laurel Gray wines [ [http://www.buckshoalsvineyard.com/winery.htm Buck Shoals Vineyard website] ] .
*It is not unusual to spot Amish buggies in the community. A small Amish community settled in the area, beginning in the 1980s. The Shiloh General Store, 5520 St. Paul Church Road, is an Amish-run store that sells baked goods, cheeses, spices and hand-crafted children's toys and furniture [ [http://www.visitnc.com/tools_search_detail.asp?Propertyid=40950 visitNC.com] ] .

Public schools

Most students in the area attend [http://www.yadkin.k12.nc.us/schools/wys/West_Yadkin_School.htm West Yadkin Elementary School] , a kindergarten through eighth-grade public community school on Old U.S. Highway 421. The school opened in 1935 as a high school, but became an elementary-only school after consolidation in 1967. ["An Illustrated History of Yadkin County, 1850-1980", By W.E. Rutledge Jr., Page 69 ] The school was mostly rebuilt after a 1986 countywide bond referendum.

West Yadkin is a focal point for the community and one of the largest schools in Yadkin, with about 800 students. [ [http://www.yadkin.k12.nc.us/schools/wys/West_Yadkin_School.htm West Yadkin Elementary School website] ]

West Yadkin is one of three feeder schools for [http://www.yadkin.k12.nc.us/schools/shs/ Starmount High School] , which is located north of the Hamptonville area on Longtown Road.

Notable residents (former and current)

* Sir Leo Arnaud (1904-1991), French-born composer of "Bugler's Dream", which has been used as the Olympics theme on U.S. television since 1968.
*Alfred "Teen" Blackburn, North Carolina's last surviving Confederate veteran.
*William Henry Harrison Cowles, a four-term United States congressman and colonel in the 1st Regiment of North Carolina Cavalry during the Civil War [ [http://www.ibiblio.org/mtnivy/BAJ/crouch.htm#cowles Historical Sketches of Wilkes County] ]
*Andrew C. Cowles, brother of Col. W.H.H. Cowles and a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1860-1864
*Kathy Fleming, Miss North Carolina 1977
*Col. John A. Hampton, a North Carolina senator and Yadkin County attorney
* State Rep. George M. Holmes
*Jeanette W. Hyde, the U.S. ambassador to Antigua, Barbados, Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St.Vincent and the Grenadines, 1994-1997. [ [http://www.americanambassadors.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Members.view&memberid=116 Council of American Ambassadors website] ]
*William Nelson Ireland (1905-1955), a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1950, principal of West Yadkin High School and insurance agent.
*Junior Johnson, NASCAR great
*Santford Martin, influential editor of the Winston-Salem Journal

External links

* [http://www.yadkinchamber.org/ Yadkin County Chamber of Commerce official site]
* [http://www.yadkin.k12.nc.us/schools/wys/West_Yadkin_School.htm West Yadkin Elementary School official site]
* [http://www.wysports.org West Yadkin youth sports]

References