county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Randolph County, North Carolina
Randolph County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 144,171. Its county seat is Asheboro.
Randolph County is included in the Greensboro- High Point, NC Metropolitan Statistica ...
, United States. The population was 27,156 at the 2020 census. It is part of the
Greensboro
Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...
Metropolitan Area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
of the
Piedmont Triad
The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, and ...
and is home of the state-owned
North Carolina Zoo
The North Carolina Zoo, formerly the ''North Carolina Zoological Park'', is a zoo in Asheboro, North Carolina, housing 1,700 animals of more than 250 species, primarily representing Africa and North America. It is one of two state-supported zo ...
.NC Zoological Park Funding and Organization (PDF) Retrieved on 2010-10-08.
History
Asheboro was named after Samuel Ashe, the ninth governor of North Carolina (1795–1798), and became the county seat of Randolph County in 1796. It was a small village in the 1800s, with a population of less than 200 through 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 ...
; its main function was housing the county courthouse, and the town was most active when court was in session. Asheboro's population only began to grow significantly following its connection to railroads: the High Point, Randleman, Asheboro and Southern Railroad first served the city in 1889, followed by the Montgomery Railroad in 1896.
Asheboro emerged as a textile production center in the 20th century with the opening of the Acme Hosiery Mills in 1909. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the city's manufacturing sector grew to include batteries, wires and food products. The city's main tourist attraction, the
North Carolina Zoo
The North Carolina Zoo, formerly the ''North Carolina Zoological Park'', is a zoo in Asheboro, North Carolina, housing 1,700 animals of more than 250 species, primarily representing Africa and North America. It is one of two state-supported zo ...
, opened in 1974.
Asheboro suffered from an economic downturn in the 2000s due to a decline in its traditional manufacturing industries amid increasing competition from overseas; the national news program ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
'' described it as a "dying town" in 2012.
In recent years, Asheboro has flourished into a vibrant city. North Carolina's largest economic developments are occurring in Asheboro, and future job growth is strong.
Housing rehabilitation projects are ensuring safer, more attractive housing for residents.
In 2015, Sunset Avenue in Downtown Asheboro was named a Great Main Street by the North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association.
In 2016, Asheboro received the All-America City Award, a prestigious award that honors communities developing innovative solutions to pressing problems. Asheboro received the award for its efforts to "ensure that all our children are healthy and successful in school and life."
Historic buildings
The following buildings in Asheboro 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 ...
Central School
A central school was a selective secondary education school with a focus on technical and commercial skills in the English education system. It was positioned between the more academic grammar schools and the ordinary elementary schools where m ...
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 city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.58%) is water. Asheboro is known as the center point of North Carolina. Although Asheboro is located in the gently rolling
Piedmont plateau
The Piedmont ( ) is a plateau region located in the Eastern United States. It is situated between the Atlantic Plain and the Blue Ridge Mountains, stretching from New York in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont Province i ...
region of central North Carolina, far to the east of the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...
, the town and surrounding area are surprisingly hilly. The town lies within the
Uwharrie Mountains
The Uwharrie Mountains () from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
monadnock
An inselberg or monadnock ( ) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain.
In Southern Africa, a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, an ...
s which have been worn down by erosion to high hills. As such, Asheboro gives the impression of being in a more mountainous area than it actually is.
Climate
The climate of Asheboro is a warm temperate climate (Cfa), with cool winters and hot summers.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 27,156 people, 10,841 households, and 6,130 families residing in the city.
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 21,672 people, 8,756 households, and 5,516 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 9,515 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 69.45%
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 ...
, 12.08%
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 ...
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 ...
, 7.72% from other races, and 1.80% 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 30.9% of the population.
There were 8,756 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.
Economy
Top employers
According to Asheboro's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were:
In October 2012
Hyosung
Hyosung Group is a major South Korean conglomerate established in 1966. The company operates across diverse sectors including textiles, heavy industries, chemicals, and information & communication.
History
* 1966: Foundation of Tongyang Ny ...
USA announced the closure of the Asheboro wire plant and loss of 310 jobs. Built by Goodyear and acquired by Hyosung in 2011, the plant makes wires for use in car and truck tires.
Black & Decker Corp was one of the main employers in the mid 1990s; one of its products, the SnakeLight, sold millions after being introduced in late 1994. The plant employed about 1,100 workers in 1998 and was one of the three biggest employers in Randolph County.
Coastal Plain League
The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area f ...
Caraway Speedway
Caraway Speedway is a short track located near Asheboro, North Carolina, U.S. Caraway Speedway was built in 1966 as a dirt track. The track was paved in 1972 and joined the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series family as a asphalt short track ...
, a
Whelen Southern Modified Tour
The Southern Modified Auto Racing Teams (SMART) Tour is a Modified stock car racing series racing in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of The United States. The series began in 1989, NASCAR took over the series in 2005. During ...
racing location.
* Lake Reese, a 900 acre lake that hosts fishing tournaments.
Retail
Asheboro Mall
The Asheboro Mall (previously Randolph Mall) is an enclosed shopping mall in Asheboro, North Carolina. It features Dunham's Sports and Belk as its anchor stores. It is managed by Hull Property Group.
History
Asheboro Mall opened in 1982 as Rand ...
opened in 1982.
Transportation
Routes include
U.S. Route 220
U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a spur route of US 20. It runs in a north–south layout in the eastern United States, unlike its parent route as well as conventionally even-numbered highways, which run east-west. US 220 extends for ...
and
Interstate 73
Interstate 73 (I-73) is a north–south Interstate Highway, currently located entirely within the US state of North Carolina. It travels , from northwest of Rockingham, North Carolina to northeast of Stokesdale, North Carolina, Stokesdale, ...
/
Interstate 74
Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange with I-75 in ...
, which connect it to
Greensboro
Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...
,
U.S. Route 64
U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,281 miles (3,672 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route ...
bypasses most of Asheboro to the south, while it goes through more of the city limits as a separate business route. U.S. 64 also connects the city to Raleigh, and
North Carolina Highway 49
North Carolina Highway 49 (NC 49) is a 177.8-mile (286.1 km) primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It traverses much of the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, connecting the cities of Charlotte, North ...
, which connects the city to Charlotte.
Asheboro Regional Airport serves general aviation traffic to and from the city. The closest airport with scheduled passenger service is
Piedmont Triad International Airport
Piedmont Triad International Airport (; commonly referred to locally as "PTI") is an airport located in unincorporated Guilford County, North Carolina, west of Greensboro, serving the Piedmont Triad region of Greensboro, High Point and Winsto ...
in Greensboro.
Education
Asheboro City Schools operates public schools serving the city.
Fayetteville Street Christian School, located in Asheboro, is the largest private school in Randolph County.
In addition the Randolph County Schools has its headquarters in Asheboro.
Notable people
*
Sam Ard
Samuel Julian Ard (February 14, 1939April 2, 2017) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He won two NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series championships, in 1983 and 1984. Ard also made one NASCAR Winston Cup start. He reti ...
, former
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
driver; 1983 and 1984
Nascar Busch Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...
Scott Bankhead
Michael Scott Bankhead (born July 31, 1963) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from -. Bankhead also pitched for Team USA in the 1984 Olympic Games. He attended the University of North Ca ...
,
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
*
Chuck Bown
Richard Charles Bown Jr. (born February 22, 1954) is an American former NASCAR champion. His last ride came in 1999. He lives with his wife in Asheboro, North Carolina. He is the older brother of former fellow NASCAR competitor Jim Bown.
1970s ...
, former NASCAR driver; 1990
Nascar Busch Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...
Champion
*
Lane Caudell
Lane Caudell (born April 25, 1952) is an American actor and singer-songwriter who appeared in the films '' Goodbye, Franklin High'', and ''Hanging on a Star'' and played Woody King on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' (1982–1983) ...
, musician and actor
*
Keith Crisco
John Keith Crisco Sr. (April 22, 1943 – May 12, 2014) was an American businessman and public official from the State of North Carolina.
Early life and career
Born in 1943 in Stanly County, North Carolina, Crisco graduated from Pfeiffer U ...
Congressional Representative
A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY)
**Democratic Part ...
from 1921 to 1930
* Nick Coe, professional football defensive lineman
*
Sean Patrick Goble
Sean Patrick Goble (born November 1, 1966), known as the Interstate Killer, is an American serial killer and former truck driver who kidnapped and murdered at least four women in the southern United States between 1994 and 1995. Since his arrest ...
, serial killer
*
Andy Headen
Andrew Roosevelt Headen (born July 8, 1960) is an American former professional football linebacker for six seasons for the New York Giants in the National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron fo ...
, former
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
linebacker for the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...
from 2009-2020
*
Elizabeth Lail
Elizabeth Dean Lail (born March 25, 1992) is an American actress. She played Anna (Frozen), Anna in the fantasy series ''Once Upon a Time (TV series), Once Upon a Time'' (2014) and Guinevere Beck in the Netflix thriller series ''You (TV series), ...
, actress known for her role as
Guinevere Beck
''You'' is an American psychological thriller novel series, written by Caroline Kepnes, and television series, developed by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, following bookshop owner Joe Goldberg in a satire of romantic comedies, as he struggles ...
in ''
You
In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers.
History
''You'' comes from ...
North Carolina Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...
*
Reynolds Price
Edward Reynolds Price (February 1, 1933 – January 20, 2011) was an American poet, novelist, dramatist, essayist and James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University. Apart from English literature, Price had a lifelong interest in Biblical ...
,
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
,
essayist
An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...
and educator, resident of the town in the 1930s and 1940s
*
Julius Ramsay
Julius Ramsay is an American film director, editor, and producer. He is known for directing two feature films and episodes of '' The Walking Dead'', ''The Purge'', and other television series. Ramsay has received multiple Emmy nominations. Ramsa ...
,
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
-nominated television director and editor
* Marmaduke Swaim Robins, lawyer, private secretary to the civil war era governor, state legislator, and newspaperman. His son served as mayor of Asheboro.
*
Joe Spinks
Joseph S. Spinks (born June 20, 1972) is an American-Dutch retired basketball player and coach. He played eight seasons for ABC Amsterdam in the Netherlands and is considered one of the best players to have played in the Eredivisie. Spinks also ...
, professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
North Carolina Governor
The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a term of four ye ...
from 1865 to 1868 during early
Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...