Como is a town in

Hertford County Hertford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,552. Its county seat is Winton. It is classified within the region known in the 21st century as the Inner Banks. History H ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, United States. The population was 91 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Como is located in northern Hertford County and

U.S. Route 258 U.S. Route 258 (US 258) is a spur of US 58 in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. The U.S. Highway runs from US 17 Business and NC 24 Business in Jacksonville, North Carolina north to Virginia State Route 143 (SR 143) at Fort Monr ...

runs through the community, leading southwest to

Murfreesboro Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

and northeast to Franklin, Virginia. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, Como has a total area of , of which , or 0.30%, are water.

History

The town is notable for being the birthplace of

Richard Gatling Richard Jordan Gatling (September 12, 1818 – February 26, 1903) was an American inventor best known for his invention of the Gatling gun, which is considered to be the first successful machine gun. Life Gatling was born in Hertford County, Nort ...

, inventor of the

Gatling gun The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling. It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon. The Gatling gun's operation centered on a cyc ...

.Marker A-26 - NC Highway Historical Marker Program
Retrieved February 1, 2021. The church he attended, Buckhorn Baptist Church, is still active today. Another well-known resident was the hoodoo root doctor Jim Jordan, who died in the early 1960s. Jordan, who was

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, was the subject of the biographical book ''The Fabled Dr. Jim Jordan'' written by F. Roy Johnson of nearby Murfreesboro. Hare Plantation House, Riddick House, and

Vernon Place Vernon Place, also known as the Cowper-Taylor House, is a historic plantation house located near Como, Hertford County, North Carolina. It is dated to the late-1820s, and is a two-story, five-bay, T-plan, transitional Federal / Greek Revival fram ...

are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 78 people, 35 households, and 22 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 23.3 people per square mile (9.0/km²). There were 44 housing units at an average density of 13.1 per square mile (5.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 83.33%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

and 16.67%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. There were 35 households, out of which 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.78. In the town, the population was spread out, with 17.9% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 38.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,250, and the median income for a family was $45,417. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $18,750 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $15,769. There were no families and 3.5% of the population living below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including no under eighteens and 15.4% of those over 64.

References

{{authority control Towns in Hertford County, North Carolina Towns in North Carolina