Kannapolis, North Carolina


 * For the film, see Kannapolis, N.C. (1941 film)



Kannapolis is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte. The population was 36,910 at the 2000 census. It is the home of the Kannapolis Intimidators, the Class A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, and it is the hometown of the Earnhardt racing family.

Name
Early meaning and usage of the name was a direct reference to Cannon Mills Corporation, or James William Cannon himself. Early published name variations include Cannon-opolis and Cannapolis. A widely accepted, origin of the word Kannapolis comes from the combination of the Greek words "kanna" (reeds, not looms) and "polis" (city), which some believed meant "City of Looms".

Portion of Loop Road closed
Portion of Loop Road is closed between West A and West C Streets95 ft until October 2011. Dr. Gary Freeze, Catawba College history and politics department chairman, said a Concord newspaper used the name "Cannon City" in 1906. After mill workers or newspapers called the town "Cannapolis", J.W. Cannon asked Cabarrus County commissioners to give the town the name, but starting with a K. Kannapolis historian Norris Dearmon said the K might have been to distinguish the town from his Concord mill village. Since, Freeze said, "Jim Cannon didn't study Greek," Cannon did not name the town "city of looms".

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.4 square miles (78.7 km²), of which, 29.9 square miles (77.3 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.4 km²) of it (1.78%) is water.

K-12
Kannapolis City Schools is the primary school system for the city. Two additional systems also serve its jurisdiction: Cabarrus County Schools and Rowan-Salisbury Schools.

Higher education
Shaw University has an extramural site in Kannapolis offering undergraduate, graduate and continuing education programs.

North Carolina Research Campus
David H. Murdock, owner of Castle & Cooke, Inc. and Dole Food Company, Inc., and Molly Corbett Broad, President of the 16-campus University of North Carolina system, unveiled plans on September 12, 2005 for the North Carolina Research Campus, a massive scientific and economic revitalization project that encompasses the site of the former Cannon Mills plant and entire downtown area of Kannapolis, North Carolina.

The NC Research Campus is a joint venture between Dole Foods, Duke University and the University of North Carolina system.

Duke University will also locate its Institute for Translational Medicine to the NC Research Campus. In addition to the Institute, Duke scientists will also run the Core Lab.

Notable residents

 * Marcos Ambrose, current NASCAR driver
 * Lake Speed, former NASCAR driver
 * Ralph Earnhardt, former NASCAR racer (deceased)
 * Dale Earnhardt, former NASCAR champion (deceased)
 * Dale Earnhardt Jr., current NASCAR driver
 * Carl Edwards, current NASCAR driver
 * David Ragan, current NASCAR driver
 * George Clinton, leader of Parliament-Funkadelic
 * Mike Minter, retired NFL safety, who spent his entire career with the Carolina Panthers
 * Mike Rucker, retired NFL defensive end, who spent his entire career with the Carolina Panthers
 * Ethan Horton, former North Carolina Tar Heels running back and retired NFL running back/tight end
 * Britt Nicole, Christian Pop Singer
 * Mike Morton, retired NFL linebacker
 * George Shinn, owner of the New orleans Hornets
 * Rachel Reilly, HouseGuest on Big Brother 12 and Big Brother 13

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 36,910 people, 14,804 households, and 10,140 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,236.5 people per square mile (477.4/km²). There were 15,941 housing units at an average density of 534.0 per square mile (206.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was: 77.74% White, 16.45% Black or African American, 6.33% Hispanic or Latino American, 0.86% Asian American, 0.34% Native American, 0.01% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 3.43% some other race, and 1.16% two or more races.

There were 14,804 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,532, and the median income for a family was $42,445. Males had a median income of $30,990 versus $23,277 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,539. About 7.7% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Museums

 * Curb Museum for Music and Motorsports
 * Dale Earnhardt Tribute
 * GI Memorial House Museum
 * History Room at the Kannapolis Branch of the Cannon Memorial Library
 * Textile Museum and Exhibition
 * Dale Trail

Private

 * Kannapolis Country Club
 * Kannapolis Recreation Park

Public

 * Bakers Creek Park
 * Dale Earnhardt Plaza
 * Walter M. Safrit Park
 * Veteran's Park
 * Village Park

Sports

 * Kannapolis Intimidators, Class A Baseball
 * Stewart-Haas Racing, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Team

Transportation
Kannapolis is located adjacent to Interstate 85, approximately 20 miles (30 km) north of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Concord Kannapolis Area Transit, also known as Rider, provides multiple local bus routes, with its farthest point reaching Concord Mills Mall.

Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) provides multiple transportation options including bus, vanpool or carpool. CATS provides a bus stop and parking at Kannapolis' Target/Home Depot parking lot. For bicyclists, CATS provides a fixed rack to park (and lock) your bike, or you can "Rack 'N' Ride" by placing your bike on the fold-down front rack of any CATS bus, and take your bike with you.

Amtrak's Carolinian and Piedmont train connects Kannapolis with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Raleigh and Charlotte. The Amtrak station is located at 201 South Main Street.

Film
In 2004, a silent film about Kannapolis, showing the everyday behavior of ordinary people, which was made in 1941 by itinerant filmmaker H. Lee Waters, was selected by the Library of Congress for listing in the United States National Film Registry, as a representative of this kind of filmed "town portrait" popular in the 1930s and 1940s.