Wilkes County, North Carolina

Wilkes County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 65,632; in July 2006 the U.S. Census estimated the county's population at 67,310. Its is.

History
The county was formed in from parts of  and Washington District (now ), the first meeting of the court met in John Brown's house near Brown's Ford. The act became effective February 15, 1778, and this is when the county celebrates its anniversary. It was named for the political radical, who lost his position as Lord Mayor of London due to his support for the colonists during the American Revolution.

In the northern and western parts of Wilkes County became. In parts of Wilkes County and  were combined to form. In another part of Wilkes County was combined with parts of Caldwell County and  to become. In additional parts of Wilkes County and Caldwell County were combined with parts of Ashe County and  to form. Numerous boundary adjustments were made thereafter, but none resulted in new counties.

Government, Media, and Medicine
Wilkes County is governed by a group of elected county commissioners. An elected Board of Education controls the county's public school system. Wilkes County is a member of the regional. The Wilkes Regional Medical Center, founded in 1951 as Wilkes General Hospital, is the largest hospital in northwestern North Carolina. Wilkes County has two local newspapers: the Wilkes Journal-Patriot and the Wilkes Record. The Journal-Patriot is published three times per week and the Record is published once every week. The county has three radio stations: -FM (FM 97.3), which plays music; -AM (AM 800), which plays American ; and WWWC (3WC) (AM 1240), which plays. In 2006 WKBC-FM was voted the best radio station in the listening area by the music critics of Charlotte's  magazine.

Geography and Climate
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,968 (760 ). 1,961 km² (757 sq mi) of it is land and 7 km² (3 sq mi) of it (0.36%) is water. Wilkes County is located on the eastern slope of the, a part of the chain. The county's elevation ranges from 900 feet in the east to over 4,000 feet in the west. The Blue Ridge Mountains run from the southwest to the northeast, and dominate the county's western and northern horizons. Thompkins Knob, the highest point in the county, rises to 4,121 feet (1256 meters). The foothills and valleys of the Blue Ridge form most of the county's midsection, with some elevations exceeding 2,000 feet. , located in the foothills of northern Wilkes County, is one of the most visited state parks in North Carolina. The, an isolated spur of the Blue Ridge, form the county's southern border. Wilkes County's terrain gradually becomes more level and less hilly as one moves to the east and south; the far eastern section of the county lies within the region of North Carolina. The largest river in Wilkes is the, which flows through the central part of the county. The county's three other major streams, all of which flow into the Yadkin, are the, , and Mulberry Creek. Following the devastating of  and, the US Army's Corps of Engineers constructed the  Dam and Reservoir on the Yadkin River four miles west of Wilkesboro. Opened in 1962, the dam created a lake with a shoreline of 55 miles. The lake is used for boating, swimming, fishing, and waterskiing; it is especially noted for its excellent. The W. Kerr Scott lake is the largest body of water in Wilkes.

Due to its wide range of elevation, Wilkes County's climate varies considerably. In the winter, it is not unusual for it to be sunny with the temperature in the forties in the county's eastern section, while at the same time it is snowing or sleeting with the temperature in the low thirties or even twenties in the county's mountainous west and north. Generally speaking, Wilkes receives ample amounts of precipitation, with frequent thunderstorms in the spring and summer months; and snow, sleet, and freezing rain all occur at times during the winter, with the frequency increasing with the altitude. Severe weather is not common in Wilkes but does occur. Tornadoes are extremely rare, but severe thunderstorms can bring strong winds which can down trees and power lines, as well as cause. Wilkes County is far enough inland that rarely cause problems, but the rare hurricane which moves inland quickly enough may cause damage, as with  in 1989. Due to the numerous creeks and streams which run through its valleys, Wilkes is especially prone to devastating. The two most memorable floods occurred in 1916 and 1940, killing a number of residents and causing millions of dollars in damages. Since the opening of the W. Kerr Scott Dam in 1962, the Yadkin River has not flooded in the county.

Transportation
Wilkes County is served by a number of major highways. However, the only multilane which goes through the county is. Other major highways include, , , and. The provides air transport into and out of the county.

Religion
Since colonial times Wilkes County has been overwhelmingly Christian. The two earliest churches to be established in Wilkes were the and. However, by the 1840's the had eclipsed them, and the Baptists have remained the dominant church in Wilkes. The county also contains substantial numbers of, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, , and. Historically, few lived in Wilkes, but the recent immigration of  and  has increased their numbers; and a large Catholic church is now located in North Wilkesboro. By contrast, relatively few or members of other non-Christian faiths have settled in the county.

Townships
The county is divided into twenty-one : Antioch, Beaver Creek, Boomer, Brushy Mountains, Edwards, Elk, Hays, Jobs Cabin, Lewis Fork, Lovelace, Moravian Falls, Mulberry, New Castle, North Wilkesboro, Rock Creek, Somers, Stanton, Trap Hill, Union, Walnut Grove, and Wilkesboro.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Education
There are four public in the county: , East Wilkes, North Wilkes, and West Wilkes. There are also four public and thirteen public. The county also has several private schools; most of them are associated with one of the larger churches in the county. The only college in Wilkes is (WCC), a public  within the. WCC is the home of the popular bluegrass and folk music festival ",".

Wine region
Wilkes County is part of the, an. s made from s grown Wilkes County may use the Yadkin Valley on their labels. With the decline of farming, some Wilkes County farmers have switched to wine-making, and have hired experts from Europe and California for assistance. As a result, wine-making is growing in popularity in both Wilkes and surrounding counties.

Famous Natives

 * (1734-1820), the famed explorer and pioneer, lived in Wilkes County for several years, and married a Wilkes County native, before moving west to.
 * (1738-1806), was a distinguished in the North Carolina militia during the . He was one of the American commanders at the famous  in 1780.
 * (1751-1839), the first President of the.
 * (1762-1842), and  of  from 1816 to 1832. In 1832 he was appointed by President  to lead the Federal Indian Commission in what is now ; he is believed to be the only veteran of the  buried in that state.
 * (1811-1874), the world-famous, who were a popular attraction in Asia, Europe, and North America in the nineteenth century, settled in Wilkes County in the 1850s and married two local sisters.
 * (1822-1864), a of  in the  during the.
 * (Dooley) (1844-1868), a Confederate veteran of the Civil War who was tried and hanged shortly after the war for the murder of his fiancee, Laura Foster. Dula was the subject of a top-selling 1958 by the, entitled "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley".
 * (1931-), in the 1950s, Johnson became a legend in the rural South by consistently outrunning law-enforcement officials in auto chases while delivering homemade liquor to his customers. Johnson then became a champion  racer, winning 50 NASCAR races before his retirement.
 * (1941-2007), well-known racer who won the 1973 NASCAR championship. After his retirement he became a popular racing analyst for the,  and  television networks.
 * (1917-), the senior from West Virginia since 1959. Byrd is the longest-serving Senator in history.
 * (1948-), since 1997 the Commissioner of the (ACC), one of the nation's premiere college sports conferences.
 * (1879-1981), poet and newspaper publisher who served as North Carolina's from 1953 to 1981.
 * (1969-), a popular stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared on such television shows as ', ', ', and numerous programs on the network, such as '.
 * Deneen Graham (1964-), the first black woman to be crowned (1983).

Trivia
Wilkes County was once known as the " Capital of the World", and was a leading producer of illegal homemade liquor. From the 1920s to the 1950s some young Wilkes County males made their living by delivering moonshine to North Carolina's larger towns and cities. Since this often involved outrunning local police and federal agents in auto chases, the county became one of the birthplaces of the sport of. The, opened in 1947, was the first (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing) track. As noted above, Wilkes County native and resident was one of the early superstars of NASCAR, as well as a legendary moonshiner. Johnson was turned into a national celebrity by the writer in a classic 1965 article for  magazine. Wolfe's article was later turned into the 1973 movie , starring and. and were two other well-known NASCAR drivers from Wilkes. Unfortunately, the North Wilkesboro Speedway was closed following the 1996 NASCAR season after two new owners moved North Wilkesboro's races to their tracks in and. However, in September 2007 a real-estate developer, Worth Mitchell, announced his intention to buy the speedway and reopen it for auto racing; his goal is to reopen the track by early 2010.

As noted above, another well-known Wilkes native was (Dooley), a Confederate veteran of the American Civil War who was tried and hanged shortly after the war for the murder of his fiancée, Laura Foster. To this day many people believe that one of Dula's jealous ex-girlfriends murdered Laura Foster, and that Dula was innocent of the crime. The case was given nationwide publicity by newspapers such as , and thus became a folk legend in the rural South. Dula's legend was popularized in 1958 by the top-selling song "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley." Dula's story was also turned into a 1959 movie starring as Dula, and each summer the Wilkes Playmakers present a popular play based on the story. In 2001, Tom Dula was acquitted of all charges after a petition was sent around Wilkes County and to the county seat.

In 1988 legendary folk music guitarist  and singer Bill Young started the  music festival in, the county seat. Held on the campus of Wilkes Community College, and named in honor of Doc's late son Merle Watson, Merlefest has grown into the largest folk and bluegrass music festival in the United States, drawing over 85,000 music fans each year. Wilkes County is also home to the annual, which is held in downtown North Wilkesboro in October. The festival, which attracts over 160,000 visitors each year, is one of the largest single-day arts and crafts fairs in the Southern United States.

A curious political fact about Wilkes County is that it is one of the few counties in the Southern United States which has never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. The county's strong affiliation with the Republican Party dates from the American Civil War, when most of the county's residents opposed and the, and viewed the Democratic Party as being the "pro-secession" party. During the Civil War people in neighboring counties often called Wilkes County "The Old United States", in reference to the county's pro-Union sentiment. Although the county is heavily Republican, and make up less than 5% of the county's population, in 2002 the county's voters elected Luther Parks as a county commissioner. Parks, a Democrat, is the first African-American to hold a county office. He received more votes than any other candidate. In 2006 Parks was re-elected, and again he received the largest number of votes.

Despite its rural character and small population, Wilkes County has been the birthplace of numerous large industries. , the second-largest chain of home-improvement stores in the nation (after ) was started in Wilkes County in 1946. Until recently Lowe's had its corporate headquarters in Wilkes County, but the company has since relocated its headquarters in, a fast-growing suburb of. However, Lowe's still maintains a large number of corporate offices in the county. Other industries which started in Wilkes County are (now headquartered in ) and The Northwestern Bank, which was once North Carolina's fourth-largest banking chain until it was merged with the  Bank in Charlotte. The Carolina Mirror Company, still in, was for many years the largest mirror factory in the United States. Holly Farms, in Wilkesboro, was the largest poultry producer in the Southeastern United States until it was bought by. Wilkes County remains one of the largest producers of in the Eastern United States, and many of the county's farmers are poultry farmers for Tyson Foods. Like many places in North Carolina, Wilkes County has suffered in the last quarter-century from the closing of many of its textile and furniture factories, which have moved to low-wage locations in and.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 65,632 people, 26,650 households, and 19,321 families residing in the county. The was 33/km² (87/sq mi). There were 29,261 housing units at an average density of 15/km² (39/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 92.95%, 4.16% or , 0.14% , 0.32% , 0.04% , 1.71% from , and 0.66% from two or more races. 3.45% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 26,650 households out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.10% were living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.50% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.60% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 25.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,258, and the median income for a family was $40,607. Males had a median income of $27,346 versus $21,089 for females. The for the county was $17,516. About 8.80% of families and 11.90% of the population were below the, including 13.20% of those under age 18 and 17.20% of those age 65 or over.

Wilkes County Chambers of Commerce

 * The Wilkes County Chamber of Commerce