Catawba is a town in Catawba 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 603 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...

– Lenoir– Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area. As with the county, the name recalls the

Catawba people The Catawba, also known as Issa, Essa or Iswä but most commonly ''Iswa'' ( Catawba: ), are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, known as the Catawba Indian Nation. Their current lands are in South Carolina, on the Catawba Ri ...

, the

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

who once inhabited the area.

History

The Catawba Historic District, Alexander Moore Farm, Murray's Mill Historic District, and Powell–Trollinger Lime Kilns 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

Catawba is located on the northeastern border of Catawba County. Its northeastern boundary is the shore of the Catawba River in

Lake Norman Lake Norman is an man-made lake, artificial fresh water lake in southwest North Carolina. The largest lake in the state, it was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Hydroelectric Station, Cowans Ford Dam by ...

. North Carolina Highway 10 passes through the center of the town, leading north to Exit 138 on

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

and southwest to Newton. U.S. Route 70 crosses NC 10 north of the center of Catawba and leads east to Statesville and west to

. 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 ...

, Catawba has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.60%, is water.

Demographics

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 2010, there were 604 people, 270 households, and 208 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 285 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 65.90%

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 ...

, 30.37%

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 ...

, 1.00% Asian, 2.15% from other races, and 0.57% 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 5.59% of the population. There were 270 households, out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% 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, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.6% were non-families. 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.93. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $42,031, and the median income for a family was $42,083. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $21,645 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 $20,933. About 8.2% of families and 9.2% 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 12.6% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Shane Burton former NFL defensive tackle * Justin Harper former NFL wide receiver *

Bryan Harvey Bryan Stanley Harvey (born June 2, 1963) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the California Angels of the American League and the Florida Marlins of th ...

former

MLB 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 and 2x

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

selection * Hunter Harvey MLB pitcher and son of Bryan HarveyHunter Harvey Stats
''Baseball-Reference''. Retrieved October 31, 2020. *

Bobby Isaac Robert Vance Isaac (August 1, 1932 – August 14, 1977) was an American stock car racing driver. Isaac made his first NASCAR appearance in 1961, and quickly forged a reputation of one of the toughest competitors of the 1960s and 1970s. He was most ...

1970

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

champion * Vernon Lowrance U.S. Navy vice admiral who was a decorated submarine commander during

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 ...

* Bobby Lutz former head basketball coach at UNC-Charlotte * Jeremy Mayfield former NASCAR driver * Mitchell S. Setzer North Carolina state representative

References

{{Authority control Towns in Catawba County, North Carolina North Carolina populated places on the Catawba River