Bladenboro is a town in

Bladen County Bladen County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

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. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,648.

History

Establishment and early years

Development around Bladenboro, a farming community also known in its earliest days for its

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps) is a fluid obtainable by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principall ...

and lumber, began to take off after a railroad was built through the area in 1859. In 1885, brothers R.L. and H.C. Bridger came to Bladenboro from Little River, South Carolina, to operate a turpentine business. They soon became involved in the timber business and operated a cotton gin. The brothers and their descendants would have a major effect on the shaping of the town and its economy for much of the next century. Major businesses, owned and operated by members of the Bridger family and which employed many area residents, have included Bridger Corporation (a farming supply company and general store no longer in operation), Bladenboro Cotton Mills (established in 1912 and later sold to become Highland Mills), and the Bank of Bladenboro (established in 1908 and now part of First Citizens Bank). The town of Bladenboro was incorporated in 1903.

Beast of Bladenboro

In 1954, Bladenboro received national attention for several mysterious animal killings, mostly of dogs and livestock, in the area. The animals had broken jaws and had been drained of blood in a fashion not unlike the supposed attacks of

Chupacabra The chupacabra or ''chupacabras'' (, literally 'goat-sucker', from , 'sucks', and , 'goats') is a legendary creature, or cryptid, in the folklore of parts of the Americas. The name comes from the animal's purported vampirism the chupacabra is ...

. However, sightings describe the attacker as resembling a cat or wolf, which led to the local legend known as the " Beast of Bladenboro." In 2008, the

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

television series '' Monster Quest'' performed an analysis concerning these attacks, which were beginning to happen again, and concluded that the attacker might have been a

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

Recent years

Bladenboro's downtown was heavily damaged by hurricanes

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chinese Elm ''Ulmus parvifolia'' Christianity * Matthew the Apostle, one of ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Geography

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 has a total area of , all land.

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 1,718 people, 762 households, and 471 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 832 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 80.33%

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 ...

, 17.81%

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 ...

, 0.93% Native American, 0.17%

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 ...

, 0.47% from other races, and 0.29% 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 people of any race were 1.22% of the population. There were 762 households, out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% 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, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.83. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $19,300, and the median income for a family was $30,900. Males had a median income of $28,438 versus $21,154 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 $15,102. About 23.2% of families and 30.0% 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 46.9% of those under age 18 and 23.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Paul V. Nolan (1923-2009), Tennessee state legislator, 1969–1970. Trelonnie Owens, Professional Athlete, graduated from Bladenboro High School. He led the Bulldogs to the state 1-A title in 1990 and was named player of the year by the NCHSAA. Owens played collegiately at Wake Forest. He had a productive professional career playing professional basketball. Most of his pro years were spent in South America. Owens played for the Uruguay national basketball team at the 2003 and 2004 South American Basketball Championships , as well as the men's basketball tournament at the 2003 Pan American Games and the 2003 Tournament of the Americas . https://www.wwaytv3.com/bladen-countys-trelonnie-owens-named-assistant-basketball-coach-south-view/ https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trelonnie_Owens

Schools

Public schools, part of the Bladen County School system, include: *Bladenboro Primary School (grades K-4) *Bladenboro Middle School (grades 5–8) *West Bladen High School (grades 9–12) Former public schools include: *Bladenboro High School (consolidated with Tar Heel High School to form West Bladen High School) *Bladenboro Primary School (now part of Bladenboro Elementary School) *Spaulding Monroe Middle School (now part of Bladenboro Middle School) *Spaulding Monroe High School (consolidated with Bladenboro High School, which later consolidated with Tar Heel High School to form West Bladen High School)

References

{{authority control Towns in North Carolina Towns in Bladen County, North Carolina