In 1790, the county had 7,775 residents, including 164 families and 611 enslaved people. Many areas of the county were agriculturally productive or lay on important crossroads. The number of unincorporated communities in the county steadily increased, and the population reached had nearly doubled by 1810.[3] The most important crops in the county during the 1800s were corn, wheat, oats, rye, cotton, wool and tobacco.[5]
The county existed at the crossroads of stagecoach routes that connected places like Asheville, Salisbury and Charlotte. The Hickory Nut Turnpike was completed in 1847 to help make the route even safer and more appealing to travelers.[10]
Rutherford County was the most important gold-producing region in America from 1790 until the California gold rush of the 1840s. The town of Rutherfordton was at the center of this. German goldsmith Christopher Bechtler and his sons set up a mint just north of Rutherfordton, where they produced millions of dollars worth of US coins. The Bechtlers produced the first gold dollars in the United States.[11]
The county has a strong militia tradition, stretching back to the 18th century when it had the most well organized militia in North Carolina. Its militiamen served in the Battle of Kings Mountain and Battle of Cowpens. During the Civil War, Rutherfordton and Burnt Chimney (now Forest City) competed to raise militias to serve in the Confederate States Army.[3]
After the Civil War ended, many farmers in the region were forced to tenant farming, as they owned no land of their own. This meant that many Rutherford County residents were trapped in debt by predatory crop liens and other economic imbalances. The Rutherford Farmer's Alliance was established by D.N. Caviness in June 1888 to fight for farmer's rights, and had 300 members by 1891. The Alliance's first president was Colonel John L. McDowell.[12] The underlying economic and racial tensions led to events like the Forest City lynching.[12]
During this period of upheaval, when family and political feuds had been recently inflamed by the Civil War, Rutherford County experienced a rash of violence wreaked by the KKK, but local investigations in Rutherford County led to the prosecution of over 300 hundred Klan members and by 1872, the KKK had begun to "disappear".[13]
The construction of railroads and cotton mills in Rutherford County during the 1880s and 1890s invigorated the county's communities, none more so than Forest City. The Rutherford Railway Construction Company built a line from Rutherfordton to South Carolina, and Southern Railway and Seaboard Air Line Railroad also ran through the county.[12]
A disproportionate number of Rutherford County natives served during WWII, with about 12% participating in the war effort in some capacity. 149 Rutherford County natives died in the war, proportionately 3.5 times as many losses as other counties. The first soldier from Rutherford County to die in the war was SFC Mark Alexander Rhodes, who died aboard the USS Arizona during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.[14]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 567.25 square miles (1,469.2 km2), of which 565.44 square miles (1,464.5 km2) is land and 1.81 square miles (4.7 km2) (0.32%) is water.[16]
As of the 2020 census, there were 64,444 people, 27,970 households, and 18,874 families residing in the county.
2000 census
At the 2000 census,[26] the county had 62,899 people, 25,191 households, and 17,935 families. The population density was 112 people per square mile (43 people/km2). There were 29,535 housing units at an average density of 52 units per square mile (20 units/km2). The county's racial makeup was 86.79% White, 11.23% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 1.81% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 25,191 households, out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 11.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.80% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.80% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.60 males.
The county's median household income was $31,122, and the median family income was $37,787. Males had a median income of $28,890 versus $21,489 for females. The county's per capita income was $16,270. About 10.40% of families and 13.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.30% of those under age 18 and 13.80% of those age 65 or over.
Ancestry/ethnicity
As of 1983, the largest ancestry/ethnicity groups in Rutherford County were:[27]
Rutherford is currently a powerfully Republican county. No Democratic presidential candidate has carried Rutherford County since Jimmy Carter did so in 1976. Before 1928 when Herbert Hoover won it, however, the county was a clear-cut part of the Democratic "Solid South".
Rutherford County is governed by a board of commissioners. The County Board of Commissioners[28] includes: Chairman Bryan King, Com. Greg Lovelace, Com. David Hunt, Com. Michael Benfield, and Com. Alan Toney. The Board of Commissioners appoints a county manager to serve as the chief administrator. The current county manager is Steve Garrison who has been serving since March 16, 2015.[29]
Rutherford County has a large timber industry, as well as textile and construction materials manufacturing. The agricultural industry in Rutherfordton produces soybeans, wheat, corn, cotton, and livestock.[32]
In 2010, Rutherford County was selected as the location for a new $450 million data center for Facebook.[33][34]
Horsehead Corporation announced the construction of its new, state-of-the-art zinc and diversified metals production facility in Rutherford County, NC, near the municipality of Forest City.[35]
^Proctor, Bradley David (May 2009). The reconstruction of white supremacy: the Ku Klux Klan in piedmont North Carolina, 1868 to 1872 (Thesis). doi:10.17615/esp3-kp96. OCLC1105807085.[page needed]
