Rural Hall is a town in Forsyth 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. It is a part 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 ...

. The population was 3,360 at the 2020 census. The town has one public park: Covington Memorial Park.

Geography

Rural Hall is located in northern Forsyth County. It is bordered to the south by the city of

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Uni ...

, and the village of Tobaccoville is to the west. Downtown Winston-Salem is to the south via

North Carolina Highway 66 North Carolina Highway 66 (NC 66) is a North Carolina state highway that travels from Horneytown to Johnstown, connecting the towns and communities of eastern Forsyth and Stokes counties. Route description NC 66 begins at exit 63 ...

and

U.S. Route 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major U.S. Highway in the Central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows a north ...

. 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 Rural Hall has a total area of , of which , or 0.32%, is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,351 people, 1,360 households, and 857 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 2,464 people, 1,081 households, and 705 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,160 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 79.38%

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 ...

, 12.26%

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 ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.12%

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 ...

, 6.82% from other races, and 0.89% 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 8.32% of the population. There were 1,081 households, out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% 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, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.83. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $36,477, and the median income for a family was $46,116. Males had a median income of $31,939 versus $26,435 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 $19,593. About 6.6% of families and 8.9% 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 10.9% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

History

The earliest settler was Anthony Bitting (1738-1804), who was born in Pennsylvania to a German American family. In the 1770s he moved from

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

to Maryland, then to southern Virginia. He supplied material to the Continental Army and may have participated in the battle of Guilford Court House. His descendants still live in the county. His grandson, Benjamin Lewis Bitting (1832-1922), built the house that gave Rural Hall its name. Another early settler was Johann Adam Geiger (Kiger) who donated to the Nazareth Evangelical Lutheran Church, which still serves the community today. The town developed after the Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley Railroad erected a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

in 1887.Powell, William S. ''The North Carolina Gazetteer: A Dictionary of Tar Heel Places'', Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1968. Rural Hall now is the operational center of the

Yadkin Valley Railroad The Yadkin Valley Railroad is the trade name of the Piedmont and Atlantic Railroad and is a shortline railroad operating two lines leased from the Norfolk Southern Railway (Then purchased outright in 2009) originating out of Rural Hall, North Car ...

, and many of the Yadkin Valley locomotives can be found idling there when not working. The Rural Hall Depot was 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 ...

in 1983.

External links

Town of Rural Hall official website

Rural Hall Elementary School

References

{{authority control Towns in Forsyth County, North Carolina Towns in North Carolina Populated places established in 1887