Founding
city in North Carolina, United States
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
Concord ( kon-KORD) is the most populous city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 105,240 at the 2020 census. Concord is the second-most populous city in the Charlotte metropolitan area, tenth-most populous city in North Carolina and 287th-most populous city in the U.S.
The city was a winner of the All-America City Award in 2004. Located near the center of Cabarrus County in the Piedmont region, it is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Uptown Charlotte. Concord is the home to some of North Carolina's top tourist destinations, including NASCAR's Charlotte Motor Speedway and Concord Mills.
Concord, located in today's rapidly growing northeast quadrant of the Charlotte metropolitan area, was first settled about 1750 by German and Scots-Irish settlers. The name Concord means "to bring into harmony". This name was chosen after a lengthy dispute between the German Lutherans and Scotch-Irish Presbyterians over where the county seat should be located. Concord is considered a relatively old town by US standards, as it was incorporated in 1806. Today, markers identifying the original town limits can be seen in the downtown area.
As county seat, Concord became a center of trade and retail for the cotton-producing region, especially on court days. The downtown would be crowded with farmers and townfolk, in addition to lawyers and their clients. During the antebellum era, wealth was built by planters through the cultivation of cotton as a commodity crop; the work was done by enslaved African Americans.
Based on wealth from cotton as a commodity crop and through textile manufacturing, Concord's white slave owners and business owners built some significant homes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; they range along North and South Union Street and Edgewood Avenue. Within the North Union Historic District is Memorial Garden. Located on 3 acres (12,000 m2), the garden winds through the 200-year-old cemetery of the First Presbyterian Church.
Located in the Piedmont, Concord became a site of industrialization with cotton mills in the late 19th century. Among the owners of the new mills in the area were men of the rising black middle-class in Wilmington, North Carolina, such as Warren Clay Coleman, John C. Dancy (appointed as collector of customs at the port), and others, who organized Coleman Manufacturing Company in 1897. They built and operated what is believed to have been the first cotton mill owned by blacks in the nation. They hoped to promote economic security for people of color. However, the Wilmington massacre of 1898, with white attacks on black areas of the city, caused many deaths, as well as destroying homes and businesses built by blacks since the Civil War. In 1900, Dancy was among more than 2000 black people who left the city permanently after the riot. He moved to Washington, DC, appointed as the federal Recorder of Deeds, and had served until 1910. The mill operated under black ownership through 1904, hitting difficult times after Coleman died. The brick mill building was later taken over by Fieldcrest Cannon. It was enlarged and added on to, nearly doubling its square footage.
From the time of incorporation in the late 1700s through the 1970s, Concord's jurisdiction was centered around the downtown area. Since then, most annexations have taken place west of the center-city area toward Charlotte. Portions of the city limit boundary adjoin the Cabarrus/Mecklenburg County line.
Concord is located in western Cabarrus County, and has a total area of 64.04 square miles (165.9 km2), of which 64.00 square miles (165.8 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (0.06%) is water.
Concord is located northeast of Charlotte, the largest city in North Carolina. Concord is the second-largest city in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area. It is positioned about halfway between Charlotte and Salisbury. Several other smaller cities and towns are located close to Concord, including Kannapolis, China Grove, Landis, Mount Pleasant, Harrisburg, Midland, and Locust.
Concord has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with cool to mild winters and hot, humid summers. The city is located in the Piedmont area of North Carolina, which is characterized by rolling hills and forest.
The average high temperature in the winter is 43 °F (6 °C), and the average daily low temperature is 29 °F (−2 °C). In the summer the average temperature is 79 °F (26 °C), and the average daily high temperature is 88 °F (31 °C). It is not unusual for summer daytime temperatures to reach in the mid to upper 90s and occasionally exceed 100 °F (38 °C). It is typical for winter temperatures to fall into the teens at night, but temperatures generally warm to above freezing during the day. Summer months are characterized as having cool to warm nights with very warm to hot temperatures during the day.
The area receives a generous amount of rainfall at 43.8 inches (1,110 mm) per year, with February and April being the two driest months. Rainfall in the winter is lighter but more frequent, whereas rainfall in the summer is heavier but less frequent. Thunderstorms, both light and strong, are common in the spring and summer months. The sun shines 70 percent of the time in summer and 55 percent in winter. The prevailing wind is from the southwest, with the average highest wind speed of 9 miles per hour (14 km/h) in spring.
As of the 2020 census, there were 105,240 people, 30,660 households, and 21,013 families residing in the city.
At the 2010 census, Concord's population is 79,066. Of those persons claiming to be of one race, the racial breakdown is 70.4% white, 17.8% black or African American, 2.6% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 6.4% of other races. Persons of two or more races are 2.3%. Persons belonging to the Hispanic or Latino race are 12.3%. There are 32,130 housing units in Concord. Of those housing units, 90.7% are occupied, and 9.3% are vacant.
At the 2000 census, there were 55,977 people, 20,962 households, and 14,987 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,085.3 inhabitants per square mile (419.0/km2). There were 22,485 housing units at an average density of 435.9 per square mile (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 people of any race were 7.80% of the population.
In 2000, 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 2000, 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.
Also in 2000, 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.
The earliest settlers were mainly immigrants, German Lutherans and German Reformed Protestants, and Scots or Scotch Irish Presbyterians, who began settling in Cabarrus County in the 1750s. In 1773, the Zion (Organ) Church community and the St. Johns Church community of about sixty families commissioned two men, Christopher Rintelmann from Zion Church and Christopher Lyerly from St. Johns Church, to travel to London to seek permission from King George III to acquire a preacher (and a schoolteacher) from Hanover, Germany.
Adolphus Nussmann was chosen by the Consistory of Hanover and became the first Lutheran preacher in North Carolina. He served five churches from Salisbury to Concord, and subsequently established twenty congregations and five schools in the greater Concord, Cabarrus, and Rowan county areas.
Today the county has wide religious diversity, as well as strong overall religious affiliation rates. According to the 2000 Religion Report, more than 63% of area residents are affiliated with a local religious body. Concord is home to many churches including a Jewish congregation, Temple Or Olam and several Islamic worshiping communities including The Islamic Center of Concord.
Concord has a diverse economy comprising shipping and transportation, banking, manufacturing, motorsports, and various service sectors.
Concord has many small businesses and several large employers such as Atrium Health, Cabarrus County Schools, Shoe Show, Inc., Celgard LLC, Connextions, Roush Fenway Racing, Sysco Foods, S&D Coffee, and Motor Racing Network, as well as CT Communications (also known as Concord Telephone), before being acquired by Windstream in 2007. The city is home to the international headquarters for ACN Inc.
According to the city's 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
Downtown shopping features merchants offering antiques, fine collectibles, arts and crafts, and a seasonal farmers market. Concord is also home to the large retail venue Concord Mills, and Charlotte Motor Speedway. These two are the primary economic driving forces of the city.
The Cabarrus County Courthouse was completed in 1876. A 16-foot (4.9 m) marble Civil War monument, dedicated in 1892, is located on the front lawn. The courthouse was recognized for its significance and listed in 1974 on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic courthouse now is the home of the Cabarrus Arts Council, the Davis Theater and Historic Cabarrus.
The Barber-Scotia College, Boger-Hartsell Farm, McCurdy Log House, Mill Hill, North Union Street Historic District, Odell-Locke-Randolph Cotton Mill, Reed Gold Mine, South Union Street Courthouse and Commercial Historic District, South Union Street Historic District, Spears House, Stonewall Jackson Training School Historic District, and Union Street North-Cabarrus Avenue Commercial Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Concord is the home to Charlotte Motor Speedway, a NASCAR Research and Development Office (which also is the headquarters for research for touring and sportscar racing operations), and several professional race teams, including Hendrick Motorsports, RFK Racing, Legacy Motor Club, and Chip Ganassi Racing. The speedway opened in 1959 by owner Bruton Smith, who is a native of Oakboro, North Carolina. Smith's company, Speedway Motorsports, Inc., owns Charlotte Motor Speedway. The company also owns and operates a dragstrip and dirt track facility adjacent to the speedway. Concord is also home to Windshear, Inc., a firm that owns a state-of-the-art wind tunnel facility used to test the aerodynamics of vehicles (mostly motorsports vehicles).
Concord is home to several notable attractions. This includes two malls, a museum, a family resort, a NASCAR track, and an arena and events center that can be used for multiple purposes for the entire county.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Concord, North Carolina”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.