Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

Mecklenburg County is a located in the  of. As of 2006, the population was 827,445. Its is. It is the most populous county in the state.

History
Mecklenburg County was formed in from the western part of. It was named for the   (-), who had become queen consort of  the previous year. She is also the eponym of Mecklenburg County's county seat and largest city,.

In the part of Mecklenburg County west of the  became. The was allegedly signed on, ; if the document is indeed genuine, Mecklenburg County was the first part of the  to declare independence from. In the northeastern part of Mecklenburg County became. Finally, in the southeastern part of Mecklenburg County was combined with the western part of  to become.

, the eleventh, was born here in in what is now Pineville.

Law and government
Mecklenburg County is a member of the regional.

The County has two governing bodies: the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. Both are nine member boards, with six district representatives and three representatives elected at-large by the entire county. The current chairman of the Mecklenburg BOCC is Jennifer Roberts.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,415 (546 ). 1,363 km² (526 sq mi) of it is land and 52 km² (20 sq mi) of it (3.65%) is water.

Municipalities
Mecklenburg County contains seven (7) municipalities including the City of Charlotte and the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville (north of Charlotte); and the towns of Matthews, Mint Hill, and Pineville (south and east of Charlotte). Extra-territorial jurisdictions within the county are annexed by municipalities as soon as they reach sufficient concentrations.

One common school district, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), serves the entire county.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - southeast
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - west
 * - northwest

Major Roadways

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 * [[Image:Charlotte Route 4 shield.svg|25px]]

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 695,454 people, 273,416 households, and 174,986 families residing in the county. The was 510/km² (1,322/sq mi). There were 292,780 housing units at an average density of 215/km² (556/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 64.02%, 27.87% or , 0.35% , 3.15% , 0.05% , 3.01% from , and 1.55% from two or more races. 6.45% of the population were or  of any race, and growing. This is especially evident around the town of Pineville/South Blvd. and the area of Eastland/Central in Charlotte.

There were 273,416 households out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.70% were living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.00% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.10% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 36.40% from 25 to 44, 20.30% from 45 to 64, and 8.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 96.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,579, and the median income for a family was $60,608. Males had a median income of $40,934 versus $30,100 for females. The for the county was $27,352. About 6.60% of families and 9.20% of the population were below the, including 11.50% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.



Original Townships of Mecklenburg County
In, the North Carolina State Legislature revised laws that govern how cities may annex adjacent areas, allowing municipalities to annex unincorporated lands without permission of those residents. Due to decades of an aggressive annexation policy, cities (especially Charlotte) have greatly expanded their borders, diminishing or totally engulfing all of the original 15 Townships of Mecklenburg County. Although seldom mentioned by residents anymore, the U.S. Census still recognizes all of the Townships except Sharon Township.(see modern map).
 * Charlotte Township - completely annexed into the City of Charlotte
 * Mallard Creek Township - greatly reduced by Charlotte annexation
 * Crab Orchard Township - greatly reduced by Charlotte annexation
 * Clear Creek Township - greatly reduced by Charlotte and Mint Hill annexation
 * Morning Star Township - almost entirely annexed by Charlotte, Mint Hill, and Matthews
 * Sharon Township - completely annexed into Charlotte and eliminated
 * Providence Township - almost entirely annexed into Charlotte
 * Pineville Township - mostly annexed by the City of Pineville
 * Steele Creek Township - greatly reduced by Charlotte annexation
 * Berryhill Township - greatly reduced by Charlotte annexation
 * Paw Creek Township - greatly reduced by Charlotte annexation
 * Long Creek Township - greatly reduced by Charlotte annexation
 * Deweese Township - reduced by Davidson and Cornelius annexation
 * Huntersville Township - reduced by Huntersville annexation
 * Lemley Township - mostly beneath since it was created in, and reduced by Huntersville annexation

Notable residents

 * Abraham Alexander, (1717-1786), on the commission to establish town of, North Carolina state legislator
 * fictional character of novelist
 * , (1795-1849), 11th President of the United States. Polk was born in Mecklenburg County in 1795; his family moved to when he was an adolescent.
 * , (born 1918), world-famous who has led religious revivals in many nations around the world. He has also served as a spiritual advisor to many U.S. Presidents.
 * Brigadier General ,(–), was a militia general during the.
 * , (1767-1809), born in Mecklenburg County, later from
 * , (1756-1808), born in Mecklenburg County, and  of
 * ,  correspondent