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Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 118,227. Its county seat is Hillsborough6.
History The county was formed in 1752 from parts of Bladen County, Granville County, and Johnston County. It was named for the infant William V of Orange, whose mother Anne, daughter of King George II of Great Britain, was then regent of the Dutch Republic. In 1771 Orange County was greatly reduced in area. The western part of it was combined with the eastern part of Rowan County to form Guilford County. Another part was combined with parts of Cumberland County and Johnston County to form Wake County. The southern part of what remained became Chatham County. In 1777 the northern half of what was left of Orange County became Caswell County. In 1849 the western third of the still shrinking county became Alamance County. Finally, in 1881 the eastern half of the county's remaining territory was combined with part of Wake County to form Durham County. Law and government Orange County is governed by a five-member board of commissioners. The commissioners are elected to four-year terms in at-large partisan elections, which are held in November of even-numbered years. The current members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners are Moses Carey, Jr, Valerie P. Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, Stephen H. Halkiotis, and Barry Jacobs. All are Democrats. The three seats currently held by Gordon, Halkiotis, and Jacobs will be contested in the November 2006 election. Incumbents Gordon and Jacobs will face Democratic challenger Mike Nelson, former mayor and alderman of Carrboro, and Republican challenger Jamie Daniel. (Incumbent Halkiotis will retire when his term expires.) Orange County is a member of the regional Triangle J Council of Governments. See also: List of commissioners of Orange County, North Carolina Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,039 km² (401 mi²). 1,036 km² (400 mi²) of it is land and 4 km² (1 mi²) of it (0.34%) is water. The county is drained, in part, by the Eno River. Townships The county is divided into seven townships: Bingham, Cedar Grove, Chapel Hill, Cheeks, Eno, Hillsborough, and Little River. Adjacent Counties Demographics As of the census² of 2000, there were 118,227 people, 45,863 households, and 26,141 families residing in the county. The population density was 114/km² (296/mi²). There were 49,289 housing units at an average density of 48/km² (123/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 78.05% White, 13.79% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 4.10% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.96% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. 4.46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 45,863 households out of which 28.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.60% were married couples living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.00% were non-families. 28.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.95. In the county the population was spread out with 20.30% under the age of 18, 21.00% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 20.40% from 45 to 64, and 8.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 90.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,372, and the median income for a family was $59,874. Males had a median income of $39,298 versus $31,328 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,873. About 6.20% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.00% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over. Cities and towns Notable residents | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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