Weldon is a town in Halifax County,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States. The population was 1,655 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Roanoke Rapids () is a city in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,229 at the 2020 census and is the largest community in Halifax County. It is the principal city of the Roanoke Rapids Micropolitan Statistical ...

Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In 1752, Daniel Weldon purchased 1,273 acres of land on the

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the ...

. His plantation became known as Weldon's Landing. As it was just below the

fall line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially the place rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the ...

, Weldon's Landing was the westernmost point of navigation along the Roanoke. The Roanoke Canal was built in 1823 to bypass the rapids and open up trade to Virginia. The aqueduct across Chockoyotte creek was built near Weldon's Landing, bringing an economic boom to the area. The canal is now dry, and is a hiking trail open to the public. Weldon was the first

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

hub in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

. The Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad terminated in Weldon. In 1841, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad was completed, also terminating in Weldon. At the time, it was the longest railroad in the world. This led to the incorporation of the town in 1843. The Petersburg and Roanoke Railroad in 1848 and the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad in 1853 both extended to terminate in Weldon. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, both railroad bridges over the Roanoke were burned. Only the Seaboard and Roanoke rebuilt their bridge. Grace Episcopal Church and the Weldon Historic District are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Geography

Weldon is located in northern Halifax County and is bordered to the west by Roanoke Rapids, the county's largest community, and to the north by Northampton County, across the

. U.S. Route 301 passes through the town, leading south to Rocky Mount and north to

Emporia, Virginia Emporia is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, surrounded by Greensville County, United States. Emporia and a predecessor town have been the county seat of Greensville County since 1791. As of the 2020 census, the population ...

. U.S. Route 158 runs east–west through the town, connecting the downtown area with

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

at the town's western border. US 158 leads east to Murfreesboro and west into the southern part of Roanoke Rapids. Interstate 95 leads north to Emporia and south to Rocky Mount, providing a highway alternative to US 301. Located on the Roanoke River, Weldon calls itself the " Rockfish Capital of the World" due to abundant fishing during the May spawning season. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,444 people, 656 households, and 472 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,374 people, 532 households, and 358 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . There were 624 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 36.17%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 62.74%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.15% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.07%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.07% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population. There were 532 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 22.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% 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 3.05. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 23.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $32,668, and the median income for a family was $35,750. Males had a median income of $26,154 versus $25,438 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $16,322. About 18.6% of families and 22.5% of the population were 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 ...

, including 30.5% of those under age 18 and 16.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Colonel Samuel Weldon Revolutionary War * Kentwan Balmer, NFL defensive end * King V. Cheek, lifelong educator * Cedric Jones, former NFL

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

* Jackie Mason, comedian * Gentry O. Smith, American foreign service officer * Jimmy Soul, vocalist * Benjamin S. Turner, businessman and politician * Garland H. White, preacher and politician

Education

The local education agency in Weldon is Weldon City Schools. In addition to an elementary school, middle school and Weldon High School, the city is home to Roanoke Valley Early college.

References

External links

Town of Weldon official website
{{authority control Towns in Halifax County, North Carolina Towns in North Carolina Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina micropolitan area