Vass is a town in Moore 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 952 at the 2020 census, up from 720 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. Vass grew up along the railroad in the late 19th century. It was originally named "Bynum" and later "Winder", before being established as Vass in 1892. The town was incorporated in 1907.

History

Vass originated as a stop on the Seaboard Railway as a station called Bynum. It was primarily a place with a siding to load lumber, turpentine and resin from the local area. In 1877, the town's name was changed from Bynum to Winder, in honor of Major John C. Winder, general manager of the Seaboard Railroad. In 1892 its name was again changed to Vass, honoring Major William Worrell Vass, who was at that time paymaster for the Seaboard Railroad. Vass remained as only a stopping place for the local train until 1907, when it was incorporated with Mr. Alex Gunter as mayor. During the 1910s the town took on new life, and through the efforts of men such as Mr. Angus Cameron the town began to grow into a thriving community.The Pilot - November 9, 1928 Cameron, who arrived in the settlement in the 1870s from his home in Harnett County, and remained until his death in 1928, is acknowledged as the community's leading benefactor. He was on the first road commission, and was able to accomplish much in the way of better roads; he served on the Board of County Commissioners and years later as mayor of Vass. He was on the local school board for around half a century and built the first school building. Cameron erected the first brick buildings in Vass; he organized the Vass Cotton Mill Company and put up the mill building. The Leslie-Taylor House was added to 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 2008. Several other structures are eligible for the National Historic Register including: the Borst House, the Angus Cameron House, the John Cameron House, the Walter Graham House, the Vass Commercial Historic District, the Vass Cotton Mill, the Village Historic and the Walter Leslie House.

Geography

Vass is in eastern Moore County along

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, ...

, which leads north to Sanford and southwest to

Southern Pines Southern Pines is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,545 as of the 2020 census, up from 12,334 in 2010. History Founded as a winter health resort for Northerners,Southern Pines North Carolina 2040 Com ...

. US-1 passes through the southeast side of the town as a four-lane freeway, while the center of Vass is served by U.S. Route 1 Business. North Carolina Highway 690 leads east-southeast from Vass to Spring Lake; Fayetteville is an additional to the southeast. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the town of Vass has a total area of , of which , or 0.65%, are water. The center of Vass sits on a low ridge which drains southwest toward the

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

and northeast to its tributary, Crane Creek. Via the Little River, Vass lies in the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River in the town of ...

watershed.

Education

Vass-Lakeview Elementary

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 750 people, 304 households, and 207 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 351 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 77.07%

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 ...

, 17.33%

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 ...

, 1.07% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 2.13% from other races, and 2.27% 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 4.53% of the population. There were 304 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% 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, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.96. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $27,188, and the median income for a family was $33,250. Males had a median income of $27,292 versus $23,125 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 $15,165. About 14.4% of families and 23.4% 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 22.9% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

*
Moore County Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Towns in North Carolina Towns in Moore County, North Carolina Populated places established in 1907