Monroe is a city in
Union CountyUnion County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 123,677; its 2008 population was estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be 193,255. Its county seat is Monroe. It is often referred to by the nickname "Sweet Union".- History :The county was...
,
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 26,228 at the 2000 census. It is the
seat of governmentA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
of Union County.
Monroe is located at (34.988760, -80.549792). Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport (EQY) is located five miles to the northwest of Monroe.
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of 24.9 square miles (64.4 km²), of which, 24.6 square miles (63.6 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km²) of it (1.13%) is water.
In 1843, the first Board of County Commissioners, appointed by the General Assembly selected an area in the center of the county to be called Monroe, as the county seat.
Monroe is a city in
Union CountyUnion County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 123,677; its 2008 population was estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be 193,255. Its county seat is Monroe. It is often referred to by the nickname "Sweet Union".- History :The county was...
,
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 26,228 at the 2000 census. It is the
seat of governmentA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
of Union County.
Geography
Monroe is located at (34.988760, -80.549792). Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport (EQY) is located five miles to the northwest of Monroe.
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of 24.9 square miles (64.4 km²), of which, 24.6 square miles (63.6 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km²) of it (1.13%) is water.
History
In 1843, the first Board of County Commissioners, appointed by the General Assembly selected an area in the center of the county to be called Monroe, as the county seat. Monroe was incorporated in 1843. Monroe was named for James Monroe, the country’s fifth president.
Monroe was home to the Starlite Speedway in the 1960's to 70's. On May 13, 1966 the 1/2 mile dirt track hosted NASCAR's Independent 250. Darel Dieringer won the race.
Monroe is also the hometown of
Jesse HelmsJesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
, the late U.S. Senator from North Carolina who served five terms (1973 - 2003) in the Senate. Helms was a prominent (and often controversial) national leader of the
Religious RightThe Christian right, also known as the Religious Right and the Evangelical Bloc, is a term used predominantly in the United States of America to describe a spectrum of right-wing Christian political and social movements and organizations characterized by their strong support of conservative social...
wing of the Republican Party, and played a key role in helping
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
become President of the United States. Helms's father was the Police Chief of Monroe for many years. The Jesse Helms Center is in neighboring Wingate, NC.
Monroe also became a focal point during the
Civil Rights MovementThe Civil Rights Movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. It was accompanied by much civil unrest and popular rebellion. The process was long and tenuous in many countries, and most of these movements did not achieve or...
. In 1958, local NAACP Chapter President
Robert F. WilliamsRobert Franklin Williams was a civil rights leader, author, and the president of the Monroe, North Carolina NAACP chapter in the 1950s and early 1960s...
defended a nine-year-old African-American boy who had been kissed by a white girl in an incident known as the
Kissing CaseThe Kissing Case was an incident in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.In 1958 in Monroe, North Carolina, two African American children, seven-year-old Fuzzy Simpson and nine-year-old Hanover Thompson, were arrested for violating the state's Anti-miscegenation laws. They had participated...
. A second African-American boy, aged seven, was also convicted and sentenced to live in a juvenile reformatory until he was 21 for simply witnessing the act. In 1961, Williams was accused of kidnapping a man and woman, members of the Ku Klux Klan, who had taken shelter in his house during a moment of high racial tensions. Williams went into exile and lived in
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
and
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
before returning to the United States as an adviser to the United States government. Williams is one of Monroe's most famous residents, and he was a leading figure in the Civil Rights Movement.
Demographics
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 26,228 people, 9,029 households, and 6,392 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 1,067.5 people per square mile (412.2/km²). There were 9,621 housing units at an average density of 391.6/sq mi (151.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 60.12% White, 27.78% African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.37% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.39% of the population.
There were 9,029 households out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,457, and the median income for a family was $44,953. Males had a median income of $30,265 versus $22,889 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $17,970. About 11.7% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.
Local Media
The local community web site and blog is
Monroe Scoop, Monroe, NC
The local newspaper is
The Enquirer-Journal, which is published six days a week.
Famous Residents
- Walter P. Carter
Walter Percival Carter was a civil rights activist and a central figure in Baltimore’s civil rights movement, organizing demonstrations against discrimination throughout Maryland...
, civil rights activist
- Speedy Thompson
Alfred "Speedy" Thompson was a NASCAR pioneer and driver in the Grand National [now Sprint Cup] series from 1950 to 1971, capturing 20 wins along the way.-Racing career:...
, former NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947-48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
driver
External links