Wilkesboro is a town in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,687 at the 2020 census. The town is located along the south bank of the

Yadkin River The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in North Carolina, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river are impounded by dams for water, p ...

, directly opposite the town of North Wilkesboro. Wilkesboro is a Small Town Main Street community and has recently revitalized its historic downtown to include the Carolina West Wireless Community Commons, Wilkes Communications Pavilion, Heritage Square and Splash Pad. Cub Creek Park is adjacent to the downtown and contains many amenities, which include baseball, walking trails, mountain biking trails, trout fishing, dog park, basketball, tennis, and

pickleball Pickleball is an indoor or outdoor racket/paddle sport where two players (singles), or four players (doubles), hit a perforated hollow polymer ball over a net using solid-faced paddles. Opponents on either side of the net hit the ball back and ...

courts, picnic shelters, etc. Wilkesboro is also the home of the annual MerleFest, Carolina in the Fall, and Brushy Mountain Peach & Heritage festivals.

History

Wilkesboro was founded in 1800 and quickly designated as the county seat. The town is built atop a low, broad ridge which runs for over a mile along the south bank of the Yadkin River. For many decades a popular historic spot in Wilkesboro was the "Tory Oak", a large oak tree from which Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, a well-known Wilkes County patriot during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, hanged Loyalist militia leaders who supported the British King and opposed American independence from Britain. The oak was located behind the old Wilkes County courthouse. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, many of Wilkesboro's residents remained loyal to the Union and opposed the Confederacy. In March 1865 General George Stoneman, a Union cavalry leader, led a raid through the town. Shortly after the war ended,

Tom Dula Thomas C. Dula (June 23‚ 1844 – May 1, 1868) was a former Confederate soldier who was convicted of murdering Laura Foster. National publicity from newspapers such as ''The New York Times'' turned Dula's story into a folk legend. Although Lau ...

(Dooley), a Confederate veteran, was tried and hanged for the murder of his fiancée, Laura Foster. Many people were convinced that one of Dula's jealous ex-girlfriends murdered Foster, and that Dula was innocent of the crime. Dula's story was turned into a top-selling

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

in 1958 by the Kingston Trio, the title of which was Tom Dooley. The story was subsequently turned into a 1959 movie starring

Michael Landon Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in '' Bonanza'' (1959–1973), Charles Ingalls in '' Little House on the P ...

as Dula, and each summer the Wilkes Playmakers present a popular play based on the story. The

Robert Cleveland Log House Robert Cleveland Log House is a historic home located at the Wilkes Heritage Museum in Wilkesboro, Wilkes County, North Carolina. It was originally located east of Purlear near junction of SR 1300 and 1317, and moved to its present location in ...

, Downtown Wilkesboro Historic District, Federal Building,

J. T. Ferguson Store J. T. Ferguson Store, also known as the Ferguson Store or Parker Electric Co., is a historic commercial building located at Wilkesboro, Wilkes County, North Carolina. It was built in 1887, and is a two-story brick building with a distinctive press ...

, Thomas B. Finley Law Office, J. L. Hemphill House, Johnson-Hubbard House, Old Wilkes County Jail,

St. Paul's Episcopal Church and Cemetery St. Paul's Episcopal Church and Cemetery is a historic church on Cowles Street between Woodland Boulevard and West Street in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as a Historic Place in Wilke ...

, Wilkes County Courthouse, Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church, and Wilkesboro-Smithey Hotel are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 3,687 people, 1,386 households, and 808 families residing in the town.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,413 people living in Wilkesboro. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 622.5 people per square mile (14.2/km). The racial makeup of Wilkesboro was 81.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 8.9%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 3.0% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 4.0% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races.
/ref> The population of Wilkesboro was spread out, with 21.7% being under the age of 20, 6.1% from 20-24, 21.9% from 25-44, 25.6% from 45-64, and 24.5% being 65 and over. The median age was 45.2 years old, more specifically 40.8 for males and 49.5 for females.

Economy

Wilkesboro's largest industry is the

Tyson Foods Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, based in Springdale, Arkansas, that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork after JBS S.A. It annually ...

poultry processing plant; it is one of the largest poultry plants east of the Mississippi River. Local communication companies, Wilkes Communications and Carolina West Wireless are based in Wilkesboro.

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. (), often shortened to Lowe's, is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States and Canada. A ...

has a call center and satellite corporate office in Wilkesboro.Our Work Environment
" Lowe's. Retrieved on October 3, 2012. The company employs approximately 2,000 people at its campus in Wilkesboro.

Education

Wilkesboro is served by the Wilkes County Schools system. Most of Wilkesboro's high school students attend Wilkes Central High School; it is located in the adjacent community of

Moravian Falls Moravian Falls is a waterfall in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Geology The waterfall is located on Moravian Creek, where it flows over a large bedrock to a lower plunge pool. Natural history The falls is privately owned by a campground who ha ...

. Wilkes Early College, based at Wilkes Community College, and one charter school, Bridges Charter School in State Road, North Carolina, offer other high-school options to Wilkesboro's students. Middle school students in Wilkesboro attend Central Wilkes Middle School, located in Moravian Falls, while the elementary schools that serve the town are Wilkesboro Elementary, Moravian Falls Elementary, and CC Wright Elementary. Wilkesboro is the home of Wilkes Community College, a public, coed,

two-year college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

within the

North Carolina Community College System The North Carolina Community College System (System Office) is a statewide network of 58 public community colleges. The system enrolls over 500,000 students annually. It also provides the North Carolina Learning Object Repository as a central lo ...

. The college's enrollment is typically around 3,500 students.

Media

Wilkesboro is served by a few media sources based in nearby North Wilkesboro. The Record of Wilkes is published weekly and Journal-Patroit is also published weekly. Wilkes County's two largest radio stations are broadcast from North Wilkesboro: WKBC-FM (97.3 FM) broadcasts

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

( hot AC) and WKBC (AM) (800 AM) broadcasts American

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

Transportation

Public transportation

WTA, Wilkes Transportation Authority, is a local shuttle service based in Wilkesboro that utilizes vans and buses to serve Wilkes County. Fares range from $2-$24, but are typically around $4. There is scheduled shuttle service that runs every hour roughly and unscheduled service that allows for riders to request a van pick up in any part of the county.

Intercity Bus

Daily bus service is available on

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

. Sunway buses are advertised as Greyhound Express buses and the bus stop is in front of the Former Federal Building located at 207 West Main Street, Wilkesboro. Bus service goes to Boone, NC and

Greensboro, NC Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the U ...

, known as the Mountaineer East/West line with prices as low as $4. Passengers can connect to Greyhound services throughout the East Coast via the J. Douglas Galyon Depot where the line ends.

Major Highways

Politics and religion

Like most of Wilkes County, Wilkesboro has long been a bastion of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

. Wilkesboro's largest religious group are the

Southern Baptists The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wo ...

, but the town does contain substantial numbers of Methodists,

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

, and

Episcopalians Anglicanism is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Euro ...

. The first two churches to be established in Wilkes County were built in Wilkesboro; they were missionary churches for the Episcopal and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

denominations. The nearby town of North Wilkesboro contains Wilkes County's only

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church: a parish church named for Saint John Baptist de la Salle, and part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte.

Attractions

* MerleFest * W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir * Wilkesboro Town Hall 2015

Carolina West Wireless Community Commons *Wilkes Communications Pavilion *Heritage Square Splash Pad *Wilkes Heritage Museum *Rolling Pines Disc Golf Course *Wilkesboro Sundial *Wilkes Community College *Ben Long Frescoes at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church *Cub Creek Park and Mountain Biking Trails *Hidden Oaks Dog Park *Blue Ridge Artisan Center at The 1915 Building *Yadkin River Greenway *

North Wilkesboro Speedway North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short oval racetrack located on U.S. Route 421, about east of the town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, or 80 miles north of Charlotte. It measures and features a unique uphill backstretch and downhill fr ...

Notable people

Rhoda Bryan Billings Rhoda Bryan Billings (born September 30, 1937) is an American lawyer and a former justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Billings is a native of Wilkesboro, North Carolina. She earned her law degree from Wake Forest University School of L ...

, law professor and jurist, the second woman to serve as Chief Justice of the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

Chang and Eng Bunker Chang Bunker and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Siamese-American conjoined twin brothers whose fame propelled the expression " Siamese twins" to become synonymous for conjoined twins in general. They were widely exhibited as ...

, the original Siamese twins *

Zach Galifianakis Zachary Knight Galifianakis (born October 1, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He appeared in ''Comedy Central Presents'' special and presented his show ''Late World with Zach'' on VH1. Galifianakis has starred in films including ''Th ...

, stand-up comedian and

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

* Deneen Graham, first black woman to be crowned

Miss North Carolina The Miss North Carolina competition selects the representative for the state of North Carolina to compete in the annual Miss America competition. The competition has been held in Raleigh every year since 1978. Prior to that, it was held in vario ...

in 1983 * Richard N. Hackett, Congressional Representative from 1907 to 1909 * Jim Hamby, former MLB playerJim Hamby Profile
''The Baseball Cube''. Retrieved 21 March 2019. * Junior Johnson, former

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

driver who tallied 50 wins in his career * Montford Stokes, former

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

and 25th

Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Wilkes County, North Carolina Towns in North Carolina County seats in North Carolina Populated places established in 1800