| Official Name: | Roxboro, North Carolina |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Motto: | "Progress Is Our Business" |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | North Carolina |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Person |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Merilyn P. Newell |
| Established Date: | 1855 |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 18.49 |
| Area Land Km2: | 18.47 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 7.03 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 7.03 |
| Population Total: | 8134 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Est: | 8212 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Density Km2: | 440.28 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1156.90 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation Ft: | 715 |
| Coordinates: | 36.3869°N -78.9811°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Postal Code: | 27573, 27574 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code(s) |
| Area Code: | 336, 743,
|
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 37-58160[2] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 2404652 |
| Blank2 Name: | Major airport |
| Blank2 Info: | RDU |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.02 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.01 |
Roxboro is a city and the county seat of Person County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 8,134 at the 2020 census. The city is north of Durham and is a part of the four-county Durham–Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 649,903 as of the 2020 Census. The Durham–Chapel Hill MSA is a part of the larger Raleigh–Durham–Cary Combined Statistical Area, which has a population of 2,043,867 as of the 2020 Census.
Roxboro is named after a town in Scotland; Roxburgh. Although spelled differently, they are pronounced the same. Prior to the official adoption of the name Roxboro, the community was known as "Mocassin Gap". The city of Roxboro was incorporated on January 9, 1855, and remains the only municipality in Person County.
The Holloway-Jones-Day House, House on Wagstaff Farm, James A. and Laura Thompson Long House, Merritt-Winstead House, Person County Courthouse, Roxboro Commercial Historic District, Roxboro Cotton Mill, and Roxboro Male Academy and Methodist Parsonage are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
On July 7, 1920, Red Roach was lynched in downtown Roxboro.
On August 15, 1941, a mob of 500 attempted to lynch Cy Winstead, a 22-year-old black man, who was accused of raping a white woman and was being held at the Person county court house. The mob was held off with tear gas by local authorities led by Sheriff M. T. Clayton until Winstead could be safely transferred to the state prison in Raleigh. No injuries were reported.[3] Ten men were indicted for the attempted lynching on October 16, 1941, on misdemeanor charges for "unlawful assembly for unlawful purpose".[4]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.03sqmi, of which 7.03sqmi is land and 0.16% is water.
Roxboro has a moderate subtropical climate, with mild weather in the spring, fall, and winter. However, summers can be hot and humid. Winter temperatures generally range from highs in the low 50s°F (10-13 °C) to lows in the upper 20s-mid 30s°F (-2 to 2 °C), though 60°F degree weather is not uncommon. The record low was -9 °F in January 1985. Spring and fall days are usually in the low to mid 70s°F (low 20s°C), with nights in the 50s°F (10-14 °C). Summer days are often in the upper 80s and low 90s °F (30-35 °C,) with very high humidity. The record high was 104 °F in July 1966. The rainiest months are July and September.
Roxboro receives an average of 7.2inches of snow per winter. Freezing rain and sleet occur most winters, and occasionally the area experiences a major, damaging ice storm. Roxboro is often dubbed the "Snow Capital of the Triangle" because it often receives the most or close to the most snow during snowstorms in central North Carolina due to its high elevation.
Mayor and City Council members are elected to four-year terms on a non-partisan, at-large basis.
Roxboro businesses include LED lighting, law firms, electrical, textile, manufacturing, aerodynamics, administrative, winery, brokering, food processing, automotive, tobacco agriculture, aluminum and paper products.[5] Roxboro is also adjacent to North Carolina's Research Triangle region, home to numerous high-tech companies and enterprises.
Largest employers:
Other businesses:
| Number | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 3,210 | 39.46% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 3,700 | 45.49% | |
| Native American | 58 | 0.71% | |
| Asian | 28 | 0.34% | |
| Pacific Islander | 1 | 0.01% | |
| Other/Mixed | 351 | 4.32% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 786 | 9.66% |
As of the census of 2010 there were 8,362 people, 3,479 households, and 1,979 families residing in the city. The population density was 1296.2/mi2. There were 4,044 housing units at an average density of 630.8/mi2. The racial makeup of the city was 44.9% White, 46.8% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.59% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 8.7% of the population. (This reporting does not take into account the massive annual influx of Hispanic migrant labor.)
There were 3,479 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were married couples living together, 22.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the city the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.1 years. For every 100 females there were 81.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,918 and the median income for a family was $42,559. Males had a median income of $27,741 versus $23,245 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,824. About 13.4% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.6% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.
See Person County, North Carolina.
Person County Parks and Recreation Department offers a wide variety of leisure services throughout the county providing a variety of recreational opportunities including playgrounds, walking tracks, picnic shelters, basketball courts, golf course, putt-putt, bicycling, fishing, swimming, tennis courts, ball fields, volleyball courts, hiking trails, horseshoe pits and restroom facilities at more than 14 sites, more than 6735acres of park land, including:
Other attractions include:
The proposed corridor was officially announced in November 2008.
It will improve the existing 4-lane divided boulevard facility to a 4- lane divided expressway from the Durham County line to Roby Barton Rd. (SR 1218).
The Transportation Planning Branch of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Person County, and the City of Roxboro initiated a study to cooperatively develop the Person County & Roxboro Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP).[8]
The city's electric system is maintained by Duke Energy and Piedmont Electric Membership Cooperative. Telephone networks include CenturyLink, wireless networks - AT&T Mobility, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless. Broadband internet is provided by CenturyLink, Electronic Solutions[9] and Charter Communications. Cable television service is available from Charter Communications and CenturyLink.
Newspapers and periodicals that serve the Roxboro and surrounding area include:
Roxboro is the city of license for two radio stations:
Roxboro is part of the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville Designated Market Area, the 24th largest broadcast television market in the United States.