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Concord, North Carolina

Concord (kän-kord) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 55,977. It is the county seat of Cabarrus County and a winner of the All-America City Award in 2004. Located near the center of Cabarrus County, it is twenty miles northeast of Charlotte.

Government

The current mayor of Concord is Scott Padgett, and the current city manager is W. Brian Hiatt.

Geography

Concord is located at (35.404340, -80.600474).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 51.6 square miles (400.6 km²), of which, 51.6 square miles (133.6 km²) of it is land and 0.02% is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 55,977 people, 20,962 households, and 14,987 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,085.3 people per square mile (419.0/km²). There were 22,485 housing units at an average density of 435.9/sq mi (168.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.83% White, 15.10% African American, 0.30% Native American, 1.22% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.35% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.80% of the population.

There were 20,962 households out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,094, and the median income for a family was $53,571. Males had a median income of $37,030 versus $26,044 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,523. About 5.8% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

NASCAR

Concord is the current home to Lowe's Motor Speedway; a NASCAR Research and Development Office; several professional race teams, including Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing, and Chip Ganassi Racing.

History

A story circulates about the origin of Concord in which two towns were vying to be made the county seat of the newly-created Cabarrus County. The powers that were decided to build a new town between those other two and make this new town the county seat, in order to bring concord to the dispute. Thus, the town of Concord was founded. This story is also used as an explanation for why the name of the North Carolina town is pronounced like the word, rather than like Concord, Massachusetts and Concord, New Hampshire ("conquered").

Concord is home to the historically black women's school, Scotia Seminary, founded in 1867. It is now the coeducational school, Barber-Scotia College.

Attractions

Sister city

Killarney, Ireland

Private schools

Religion

Concord is home to several churches, and a Jewish congregation.

Temple Or Olam, Nondenominational Judaism

Notable Residents

Robin Hayes (Politician)
The Avett Brothers (Popular Americana musicians)
Scott Jones (Three-time World Gator Wrestling Champion)
Mike Wallace (Nascar Driver)
Crissy Wallace (daughter of Mike Wallace and Nascar Craftsman Truck Series Driver)
Uncle Milty (Award-Winning Rap group)
Marc Sloop (Comedian)
Warren C. Coleman (first Black Mill owner in US) deceased
Chris Hackett (Actor and Comedian)
Katie Morris (Middle School Unicycle Prodigy)
Silda Wall Spitzer (former First Lady of New York)