Stokes County, North Carolina

Stokes County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 44,711. Its is.

History
The county was formed in from. It was named for John Stokes, an captain severely wounded when British Colonel 's cavalry practically destroyed Buford's Virginia regiment in the  region in. After the war, Captain Stokes was appointed a judge of the for North Carolina. In the southern half of Stokes County became.

was formed primarily from blocks of land donated in 1936 and contained 6,921 acres in 2005. Many of the facilities in the park were built by the between 1935 and 1942. The park is located atop the Sauratown Mountains, and contains a visitor's center, a manmade lake, and plenty of hiking trails, climbing trails, picnic areas, and campgrounds.

Law and government
Stokes County is a member of the regional. Stokes County government is made up of 5 Elected County Commissioners with an Appointed County Manager. Other Elected Officials are the Sheriff, Clerk of Court, and Register of Deeds. School Board Members are Elected to a 5 Member Board who appoint a Superintendent.

Geography


According to the, the county has a total area of 1,181 (456 ). 1,170 km² (452 sq mi) of it is land and 10 km² (4 sq mi) of it (0.89%) is water. The county lies within the Piedmont region of western North Carolina, and most of the terrain consists of gently rolling countryside. However, the (sometimes called the Sauratown Mountains) run across the center of the county. The Sauras are named after a Native American tribe which lived in the county before European settlement. A chain of jagged ridges, the Sauratown Mountains are an isolated remnant of the Blue Ridge Mountains far to the west. Although the Sauratown Mountains occupy only 5% of Stokes County, they dominate the scenery from almost any direction, abruptly rising from 800 to 1,700 feet above the surrounding terrain. , the highest point in the chain, rises to 2,579 feet. Most of the county is less than 1,000 feet above sea level. The Dan River runs from the Northwest Corner to the Southeastern section of Stokes County (Covering over 56 Miles of River Recreation). Stokes County home to and also has the mass majority of Belews Lake (located in the southeast corner).

Townships
Stokes County is divided into nine :, , , , , , , , &.

Adjacent counties

 * - north
 * - north-northeast
 * - east
 * - south
 * - west

Wine region
Parts of Stokes County are in the.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 44,711 people, 17,579 households, and 13,043 families residing in the county. The was 38/km² (99/sq mi). There were 19,262 housing units at an average density of 16/km² (43/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 93.43%, 4.66% or , 0.24% , 0.19% , 0.05% , 0.88% from , and 0.54% from two or more races. 1.87% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 17,579 households out of which 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.60% were living together, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.80% were non-families. 22.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.50% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 31.40% from 25 to 44, 25.00% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,808, and the median income for a family was $44,615. Males had a median income of $30,824 versus $24,319 for females. The for the county was $18,130. About 6.90% of families and 9.10% of the population were below the, including 10.00% of those under age 18 and 15.90% of those age 65 or over.