Wilkesboro, North Carolina

Wilkesboro was founded in 1800 and quickly designated as the county seat. The town is built atop a low, broad ridge which runs for over a mile along the south bank of the Yadkin River. For many decades a popular historic spot in Wilkesboro was the "Tory Oak", a large oak tree from which Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, a well-known Wilkes County patriot during the American Revolutionary War, hung Loyalist militia leaders who supported the British King and opposed American independence from Britain. The oak was located behind the old Wilkes County courthouse. During the American Civil War many of Wilkesboro's residents remained loyal to the Union and opposed the Confederacy. In March 1865 General George Stoneman, a Union cavalry leader, led a raid through the town. Shortly after the war ended, Tom Dula (Dooley), a Confederate veteran, was tried and hanged for the murder of his fiancée, Laura Foster. Many people were convinced that one of Dula's jealous ex-girlfriends murdered Foster, and that Dula was innocent of the crime. Dula's story was turned into a top-selling ballad in 1958 by the Kingston Trio, the song was entitled "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley". The story was subsequently turned into a 1959 movie starring Michael Landon as Dula, and each summer the Wilkes Playmakers present a popular play based on the story.

The Robert Cleveland Log House, Downtown Wilkesboro Historic District, Federal Building, J. T. Ferguson Store, Thomas B. Finley Law Office, J. L. Hemphill House, Johnson-Hubbard House, Old Wilkes County Jail, St. Paul's Episcopal Church and Cemetery, Wilkes County Courthouse, Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church, and Wilkesboro-Smithey Hotel are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[8]

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,413 people living in Wilkesboro. The population density was 622.5 people per square mile (14.2/km²). The racial makeup of Wilkesboro was 81.5% White, 8.9% African American, 3.0% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 4.0% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races.[9]

The population of Wilkesboro was spread out, with 21.7% being under the age of 20, 6.1% from 20-24, 21.9% from 25-44, 25.6% from 45-64, and 24.5% being 65 and over. The median age was 45.2 years old, more specifically 40.8 for males and 49.5 for females.[9]

Wilkesboro's largest industry is the Tyson Foods poultry processing plant; it is one of the largest poultry plants east of the Mississippi River.[11]

Local communication companies, Wilkes Communications and Carolina West Wireless are based in Wilkesboro.[12]

Lowe's has a call center and satellite corporate office in Wilkesboro.[13] The company employs approximately 2,000 people at its campus in Wilkesboro.[14]

Wilkesboro is served by the Wilkes County Schools system. Most of Wilkesboro's high school students attend Wilkes Central High School; it is located in the adjacent community of Moravian Falls. Wilkes Early College, based at Wilkes Community College, and one charter school, Bridges Charter School in State Road, North Carolina, offer other high-school options to Wilkesboro's students.[15] Middle school students in Wilkesboro attend Central Wilkes Middle School, located in Moravian Falls, while the elementary schools that serve the town are Wilkesboro Elementary, Moravian Falls Elementary, and CC Wright Elementary.

Wilkesboro is the home of Wilkes Community College, a public, coed, two-year college within the North Carolina Community College System. The college's enrollment is typically around 3,500 students.

Wilkesboro Town Hall

Wilkesboro is served by a few media sources based in nearby North Wilkesboro. The Record of Wilkes is published weekly and Journal-Patroit is published biweekly. Wilkes County's two largest radio stations are broadcast from North Wilkesboro: WKBC-FM (97.3 FM) broadcasts Adult Contemporary (hot AC) and WKBC (AM) (800 AM) broadcasts American Country music.

Like most of Wilkes County, Wilkesboro has long been a bastion of the Republican Party. Wilkesboro's largest religious group are the Southern Baptists, but the town does contain substantial numbers of Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Episcopalians. The first two churches to be established in Wilkes County were built in Wilkesboro; they were missionary churches for the Episcopal and Presbyterian denominations. The nearby town of North Wilkesboro contains Wilkes County's only Roman Catholic church: a parish church named for Saint John Baptist de la Salle, and part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte.

• MerleFest
• W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir
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  Wilkesboro Town Hall
  Carolina West Wireless Community Commons
• Wilkes Communications Pavilion
• Heritage Square Splash Pad
• Wilkes Heritage Museum
• Rolling Pines Disc Golf Course
• Wilkesboro Sundial
• Wilkes Community College
• Ben Long Frescoes at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
• Cub Creek Park and Mountain Biking Trails
• Hidden Oaks Dog Park
• Blue Ridge Artisan Center at The 1915 Building
• Yadkin River Greenway

• Rhoda Bryan Billings, law professor and jurist, the second woman to serve as Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
• Chang and Eng Bunker, the original Siamese twins
• Zach Galifianakis, stand-up comedian and character actor
• Deneen Graham, first black woman to be crowned Miss North Carolina in 1983
• Richard N. Hackett, Congressional Representative from 1907 to 1909[18]
• Jim Hamby, former MLB player[19]
• Junior Johnson, former NASCAR driver who tallied 50 wins in his career
• Montford Stokes, former United States Senator and Governor of North Carolina from 1816 to 1832

• Official website