Sanford, North Carolina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sanford is a city in Lee County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 23,220 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lee County^GR6.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Business and Industry
4 Schools
5 History
6 Notable residents
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Sanford is located at 35°28′33″N, 79°10′32″W (35.475881, -79.175463)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 62.5 km² (24.1 mi²). 62.3 km² (24.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.33%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 23,220 people, 8,550 households, and 5,899 families residing in the city. The population density was 372.5/km² (964.7/mi²). There were 9,223 housing units at an average density of 147.9/km² (383.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 55.87% White, 29.19% African American, 0.50% Native American, 1.06% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 11.93% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.03% of the population.

There are 8,550 households, out of which 34.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 people and the average family size was 3.15 people.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,804, and the median income for a family was $39,447. Males had a median income of $30,527 versus $23,393 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,038. About 14.8% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Business and Industry

Because Sanford sits where white beach sand from the coast meets the Piedmont clay, the city has the right ingredients to be a large producer of clay bricks. Some even call Sanford the brick capital of the world. Sanford also produces textiles and has recently seen the influx of the biotech industry with the Wyeth Vaccinesfacility becoming one of the areas largest employers.

The largest employer in Sanford is Static Control Components,manufacturer of antistatic equipment and component parts for remanufactured laser printer toner cartridges. Static Control is notable for its legal battle, and eventual win against Lexmark regarding the latter aspect of its business.

Sanford is also home to Coty, Inc., a cosmetics and perfume manufacturer whose brands inclue J-Lo, Celine Dion and Calgon.

The Sanford Herald
The city's newspaper of record is the Sanford Herald, which has published continuously since 1930. The newspaper is owned by Paxton Media Group, based in Paducah, Ky., and it has been run by three generations of the Horner family:
• W.E. Horner Sr. (Founder and Publisher Emeritus)
• William E. Horner Jr. (Publisher, 1991-98)
• Bill Horner III, Publisher (current publisher)
The Herald is currently a six-day-a-week morning newspaper and is a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations and of the North Carolina Press Association. In February, 2007, The Herald named Billy Liggett as editor.

[edit] Schools

Sanford is home to two high schools. Lee County High School and Southern Lee High School. Southern Lee High School opened its doors in the 2005-2006 school year. The two schools have developed a rivalry in which, Lee County won the first basketball game 62-60 on a last second shot. Lee County also won the first football game, 56-33, with their halfback, Rashon Kennedy, running for over 400 yards. There are also two middle schools East Lee Middle School and West Lee Middle School. There are various Elementary Schools including the year-round school Tramway Elementary School.

[edit] History

Sanford was named for C.O. Sanford, a railroad engineer instrumental in the building of the rail lines through the area.

Sanford is located in Lee County, North Carolina, which was formed from parts of the surrounding three counties in 1907. On creation of the new county, both Sanford and Jonesboro were the major towns in the area. Rather than decide which would be the county seat, the decision was to place the county's new courthouse directly between the two towns. For decades, Lee County was the only county in the United States to have a courthouse with an RFD address. In the late 20th century Sanford had grown to such an extent that it eventually merged with Jonesboro. The town of Jonesboro became Jonesboro Heights, and the name of Sanford was kept for the town.