East Bend, North Carolina
Location of East Bend, North Carolina
Coordinates: 36°13′3″N 80°30′33″W / 36.2175, -80.50917
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Yadkin
Area
- Total	1.3 sq mi (3.3 km²)
- Land	1.3 sq mi (3.3 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	1,066 ft (325 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	659
- Density	514.8/sq mi (198.8/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	27018
Area code(s)	336
FIPS code	37-19320[1]
GNIS feature ID	1020076[2]

East Bend is a town northeastern in Yadkin County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 659 at the 2000 census. It is a Piedmont Triad community.

Geography

East Bend is located at 36°13′3″N, 80°30′33″W (36.217471, -80.509064)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.3 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 659 people, 271 households, and 188 families residing in the town. The population density was 514.8 people per square mile (198.8/km²). There were 304 housing units at an average density of 237.5/sq mi (91.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.14% White, 1.21% African American, 0.91% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 1.67% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.50% of the population.

There were 271 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $39,333, and the median income for a family was $49,000. Males had a median income of $32,321 versus $26,667 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,611. About 3.3% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.

Nearby cities/towns

• Boonville
• King
• Tobaccoville
• Bethania
• Winston-Salem
• Lewisville

History

Native American settlement

One of the most significant Native American excavation sites in North Carolina is located near the Yadkin River west of town at Donnaha. Donnaha was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 6, 1978.^[4] Experts from Wake Forest University believe this was the site of a village of at least 100 Sioux Indians dating to the late Woodland Period.

Earl Norman, an East Bend artifact collector, donated 5,000 pieces of his collection of more than 10,000 relics to the North Carolina Department of Archives and History in 1960. ^[5]

Establishment of town

East Bend was first known as Banner's Store. It was named for merchant Martin Luther Banner. Early settler Martin Luther Banner later moved west and founded Banner Elk, North Carolina. ^[6]

The town was incorporated as East Bend, named after the east bend of the Yadkin River, in 1887. ^[7]

The J.G. Huff established the first buggy-manufacturing business in town in 1873. The Huff Buggy Factory, built in 1893, was said to be the largest buggy factory in the South. Huff closed the buggy works about 1920 and began operating a funeral home, which is still owned and operated by his heirs.^[8]

The Yadkin Ripple, a weekly newspaper still published in Yadkin County, began in East Bend in 1896.

In 1904, the town's population was 444, and it boasted of a hotel, two buggy factories, a tobacco bag factory, a bank and several stores. However, a decision by the Southern Railroad to bypass the town 1890, put a damper on the town's growth. Roger Moore, now a film critic for The Orlando Sentinel, compared East Bend to Lake Wobegon, "It's a homey town with a lot of history and a few 'might-have-beens,' " Moore wrote in The Winston-Salem Journal.^[9]

The Yadkin County Agricultural Fair was held in East Bend from 1914 until 1978. The fair was first held at the old schoolhouse. In later years was moved to a tract east of town on North Carolina Highway 67. The fairgrounds were later converted to a community softball park.^[10]

Education

Public schools

Most children in town attend East Bend Elementary School, a kindergarten through eighth-grade public community school at N.C. Highway 67 Bypass and Flint Hill Road. The school traces its history back to the East Bend Academy, which operated from 1856-1889. In 1890, it became known as Union High School. Most of the high school and its records burned in 1964. It was rebuilt at the site and became an elementary-only school after countywide consolidation in 1967. ^[11]

East Bend is one of five feeder schools for Forbush High School, which is located in the ZIP code area of East Bend south of town. Two other elementary schools are located in the East Bend ZIP code area, Forbush and Fall Creek.

Attractions

• Yadkin Islands Park, part of Pilot Mountain State Park, is located about two miles north of town.
• Davis Brothers Store, which was a general store in the early 20th century, has been renovated to become Kitchen Roselli, an Italian restaurant on Main Street. Scenes from Two Soldiers, which won the 2004 Academy Award for best live action short film, were filmed in front of Davis Brothers and the old Morse and Wade Building, a turn-of the century building that was on the National Registry but torn down in 2006.^[12]
• East Bend is located in the Yadkin Valley AVA, an American Viticultural Area. Flint Hill Vineyards, located in the Yadkin Valley AVA, is located south of East Bend and opened in 2005.^[13]

Notable residents

• Ernie Shore, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees pitcher and Babe Ruth contemporary.
• Dr. Rosebud Morse Garriott, one of the first female dentists in North Carolina. She practiced from about 1916 until the late 1970s (The Heritage of Yadkin County).
• Ben Neill Jr., trumpeter and composer.
• Harvey Dinkins (1900-1962), a farm writer for the Winston-Salem Journal and early radio and television personality for WSJS, beginning in 1946.
• Hiette Sinclair Williams (born 1872), a North Carolina legislator beginning in 1899. He later moved to Cabarrus County and represented that county for two terms (1909 and 1913).^[14]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
3. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
4. ^ North Carolina Office of State Archaeology
5. ^ An Illustrated History of Yadkin County, 1850-1980, by W.E. Rutledge Jr., Page 11
6. ^ Winston-Salem Journal article, Sept. 16, 1996
7. ^ An Illustrated History of Yadkin County, 1850-1980 by W.E. Rutledge Jr., Page 31
8. ^ An Illustrated History of Yadkin County, 1850-1980, by W.E. Rutledge Jr., Page 32
9. ^ "No Regrets," Winston-Salem Journal, September 16, 1996
10. ^ An Illustrated History of Yadkin County, 1850-1980, by W.E. Rutledge Jr., Page 36
11. ^ An Illustrated History of Yadkin County, 1850-1980, By W.E. Rutledge Jr., Page 69
12. ^ Families inspire couple's dream," Winston-Salem Journal, July 31, 2006
13. ^ Flint Hill Vineyards official website
14. ^ Members of Congress Biographies

External links

• Yadkin County Chamber of Commerce

• East Bend, North Carolina is at coordinates 36°13′03″N 80°30′33″W / 36.217471, -80.509064 (East Bend, North Carolina)Coordinates: 36°13′03″N 80°30′33″W / 36.217471, -80.509064 (East Bend, North Carolina)

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Yadkin County, North Carolina County seat: Yadkinville Townships Boonville | Deep Creek | East Bend | Forbush | North Buck Shoals | North Fall Creek | North Knobs | North Liberty | South Buck Shoals | South Fall Creek | South Knobs | South Liberty Towns Boonville | East Bend | Jonesville | Yadkinville Communities and CDPs Barney Hill | Brooks Crossroads | Courtney | Enon | Fall Creek | Footville | Forbush | Hamptonville | Huntsville | Lone Hickory | Richmond Hill | Smithtown | Swan Creek | Windsors Crossroads