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Watauga's
population in 1960 was 17,529, decreasing 4.6% from
the 18,342 total for the 1950s. However, the population
of Watauga County increased 33.5 % from 1960-1970,
compared to an 11.5% increase for the state. |
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17,529
people lived in Watauga County in 1960. 21% of the
population was urban, 38.5% rural non-farm, and 40.5
rural farm. |
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3928
more people moved into than moved out of the area
during the decade, with births outnumbering deaths
as well. |
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Watauga's
population per square mile was 55.3, with each household
averaging 3.55 people. |
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Of
the 17,529 residents of Watauga, 17,296 were Caucasian,
228 African-American, 2 Japanese and 3 others. |
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Females
outnumbered males in Watauga, 8989 to 8540. |
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7284
or 41.7% of the population was under 20 years of age.
8715 or 49.7% was between 20-64, with 1530 or 8.7%
were over 65. |
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The
median age for Watauga decreased from 24.8 in 1960
to 23.8 in 1970. The under-18 population decreased
during the decade as well, while persons over 65 remained
the same. |
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3940
males and 3982 females were legally married in Watauga. |
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3,686
people lived within the Boone Township. The most populated
township in the county, the township of Boone increased
by 23.9% in size in 1960. |
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982
people made their home in Blowing Rock in 1960. |
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From
1962-1970, per capita personal income rose from $1,065
to $2,157, more than doubling. |
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In
1960, approximately 55.7% of adults in North Carolina
over 25 had from no schooling to eight years of schooling.
26.6% of adults over 25 in the Town of Boone had no
schooling or less than eight years, with only 30.3%
of Watauga County adults over 25 having 1-4 years
of high school compared to 38.2% for the state. 18.4%
adults over 25 had completed 1-3 years of college,
with Watauga having only 6.7% of the population meeting
those criteria. 25.6% of Boone's population finished
four or more year of college due in large part to
its proximity to the university. |
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School
enrollment for the county in 1969 totaled 4331 students. |
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Approximately
73.1% of families in Watauga had an income of less
than $5000 per year. |
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In
1962, Watauga ranked 87th in North Carolina in per
capita income, rising to 57th place in 1966. |
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In
1960, 5503 people were employed in Watauga. 963, or
24.9% of males were farmers, while 18.6% were professionals.
467 females worked in "clerical" or "sales"
positions with 70.2% of the work force being male
and 29.8% female. |
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In
1960, workers averaged $57.29 per week, rising to
$74.20 per week in 1967, an increase of $22.95. |
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In
1960, Watauga had 726 residents going outside the
county to work, with only 107 residents of other counties
coming into Watauga to work, equaling a net loss of
619 workers. 386 or 53% of those workers went to Caldwell
County alone. |
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In
1967, Appalachian State Teachers College became Appalachian
State University, and by 1969 employed 548 people. |
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From
1961 to 1971, 74% of the growth in population for
Watauga County was directly due to growth in the university. |
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In
1960, 2370 students attended Appalachian State Teacher's
College. |
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Manufacturing
showed a 148.4% increase in 1960. Agriculture was
the only category showing a decline. From 1962 to
1967, agriculture showed a loss of 73.7%. |
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In
1969, The Annual State Farm Census stated that 11,616
acres in the county were used for crop production,
down 11% from 1967. Corn for grain was down 130 acres
to 557 in 1969. All hays were down 823 acres to 8096.
Corn for silage was up 67 acres to 471. Tobacco was
up 19 acres to 629. Sows were numbered at 174 head,
milk cows at 1830 head, beef cattle at 4324 head,
hens/pullets at 15,587 birds and 6115 people lived
on farm tracts. |
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In
1964, there were 1569 farms with an average size of
63.4 acres. However, two farms were over 500 acres,
one was over 1000 acres, and another over 2000 acres. |
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In
1964, the average age of a farmer was 54.4 years,
with 74.8% of farmers being over the age of 45. |
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In
1964, Watauga produced approximately 14.4% of all
cherries in North Carolina. The total value of livestock
sold that year equaled $1,531,450. |
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Approximately
18.3% of dwellings were vacant in the county in 1960,
with 6.2% vacant in Boone. 77.6% of occupied dwellings
in 1960, were owner occupied, with 56% of occupied
dwellings in Boone occupied by owners. 44% were renter
occupied. |
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In
1960, of the 899 housing units in Boone, 19 did not
have indoor plumbing, while 22 did not have hot water.
Out of 5554 housing units in Watauga, 152 did not
have hot water and 751 had no indoor plumbing. |
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The
1960 Forest Inventory for Watauga showed 112,500 acres
of total commercial forest area with hardwoods occupying
87% of that total. |
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New
River Mental Health began serving Watauga in 1962. |
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On
March 23, 1967, Watauga County Hospital opened. |
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Watauga
had two banks in 1969 with combined resources of $523,399,349,
First National Bank of Eastern NC and Northwestern
Bank. |
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The
Beech Mountain community began in 1965 as a private
resort developed by the Carolina Caribbean Corporation. |
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The
present courthouse was completed in 1968. |
