Mount Olive, North Carolina
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Mount Olive is a town in Duplin and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of
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 ...
. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,198. It is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is home to the Mt. Olive Pickle Company and the University of Mount Olive.


History

The Mount Olive High School (Former), Mount Olive Historic District, Perry-Cherry House, Southerland-Burnette House, former United States Post Office, and Vernon 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 ...
. The Wilmington & Raleigh Railroad (which was renamed the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad in 1855) completed in 1840 ran through Mt. Olive on land sold to the railroad by Adam Winn Sr., a prominent free black landowner.


Geography

Mount Olive is located in southern Wayne County with a small portion of the town extending south into Duplin County. U.S. Route 117, a four-lane highway, runs along the western edge of Mount Olive, leading north to Goldsboro and south to
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
. North Carolina Highway 55, which crosses US 117 at the northern end of town, leads east to Kinston and west to Newton Grove. 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 of Mount Olive has a total area of , all land.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,198 people, 1,803 households, and 985 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 4,567 people, 1,770 households, and 1,125 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,012 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 82.98%
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 ...
, 12.30%
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, 0.15% Asian, 0.11%
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 ...
, 1.34% from other races, and 0.96% 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 3.17% of the population. There were 1,770 households, out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.8% were married couples living together, 22.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.01. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 14.0% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 77.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $23,984, and the median income for a family was $31,176. Males had a median income of $26,814 versus $19,224 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 $12,184. About 16.4% of families and 22.8% 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 29.6% of those under age 18 and 21.6% of those age 65 or over.


Haitian immigration wave

Between 2010 and 2012, as many as 3,000 Haitians have settled in and around Mount Olive. The newcomers' lure: the Butterball turkey processing plant and a handful of other meat producers within commuting distance of Mount Olive. Jim Johnson, a professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the new wave of Haitians in Eastern North Carolina is the classic immigrant labor story. "The jobs at Butterball are what we can call 3D: dirty, difficult and dangerous," Johnson said. "Nobody wants to do them, and the immigrants fill the gap."


Pickles

The Mt. Olive Pickle Company, established in 1926, is located on the corner of Cucumber and Vine streets. The North Carolina Pickle Festival is held the last full weekend of April each year. The annual celebration is put on by both the community of Mount Olive and the Mt. Olive Pickle Company. On New Year's Eve, the Mt. Olive Pickle Company celebrates in unusual fashion by dropping a three-foot pickle down a flagpole into a pickle tank. However, instead of midnight local time, the drop takes place at 7 p.m. The event first took place on New Year's Eve 1999.


Area landscape

Mount Olive is part of the
Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
.Preston, Julia. "Rules Collide With Reality In the Immigration Debate." ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. May 29, 2006
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Retrieved on September 20, 2011.


Education

Education in Mount Olive is administered by the Wayne County Public Schools system & Duplin County Schools located in the town include Carver Elementary School and Mount Olive Middle School. On the outskirts of town is Southern Wayne High School in
Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...
and North Duplin Jr & Sr High School. Higher education is offered through Wayne Community College in Goldsboro and the private, liberal arts institution University of Mount Olive.


Transportation


Passenger

* Air: Mount Olive is served through Mount Olive Municipal Airport for corporate and general aviation aircraft and nearby Kinston Regional Jetport with service to
Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
. Raleigh-Durham International Airport is the closest major airport with service to more than 45 domestic and international destinations. * Interstate Highway: I-40 is the closest Interstate to Mount Olive, which is located 9 miles south near Faison. * Mount Olive is not served directly by passenger trains. The closest
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
station is located in Selma. CSX freight rail goes through Mount Olive. * Bus: The area is served by Greyhound with a location in nearby Goldsboro.


Roads

* The main highways in Mount Olive are US 117 and NC 55.


Notable people

* Morrie Aderholt, former MLB player * Leora Jones, former
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
player who competed in the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...
,
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...
, and
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...
* Greg Warren, former NFL long snapper and 2x Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh SteelersGreg Warren - Football - University of North Carolina
''goheels.com''. Retrieved May 26, 2019.


References


External links


Town of Mount Olive official website

Mount Olive Tribune
{{authority control Towns in Duplin County, North Carolina Towns in Wayne County, North Carolina Towns in North Carolina