Gibson is a town in Scotland 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 540 at the 2010 census.

History

Gibson was originally located in Richmond County, North Carolina. A post office was built in the area in 1846, and the town was named for its first postmaster, Noah Gibson. In 1883 the Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad made plans to build a spur line to Gibson to bring goods to the locale and ship

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

out from local residents to markets. In anticipation of the railroad connection, Gibson residents erected a depot, hotel, academy, and several additional stores. The spur was built in 1884 and opened on July 1 with daily rail service to

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

. In 1891 the Charleston, Sumter and Northern Railroad line from Bennettsville, South Carolina was linked to the Air Line at the Gibson depot. Scotland County was created in 1899 and Gibson became a part of the new jurisdiction. The town was incorporated that year. In 1904 a bank was established. A civic ruritan club was founded in 1946. The rail depot was later restored and turned into a community center.

Geography

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 of it land.

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 2000, there were 584 people, 213 households, and 146 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 247 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 49.66%

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 ...

, 42.12%

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 ...

, 6.85% Native American, 0.68% from other races, and 0.68% 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 0.86% of the population. There were 213 households, out of which 34.7% 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, 23.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.37. In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.4% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $21,696, and the median income for a family was $27,125. Males had a median income of $27,143 versus $19,167 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 $15,542. About 24.1% of families and 23.6% 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 36.6% of those under age 18 and 15.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

Works cited

* * * {{authority control Towns in Scotland County, North Carolina Towns in North Carolina