Browse / United States / North Carolina / Old Fort
Old Fort
North Carolinatown
Old Fort
Total population
555
Median home value
$135,900
Bachelor's+
Median income
$47,500
Demographic figures from US Census Bureau · ACS 5-year estimates. Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.
City facts
Facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Overview
Old Fort is a town in McDowell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 811 in the 2020 U.S. census, down from 908 in 2010.
Read more on WikipediaHistory & geography
History
Before the arrival of European settlers, the area that is now Old Fort was populated by the Catawba and Cherokee. In the 1500s, Spanish explorers came through the area. It was called Davidson's Fort and was the post for military expeditions such as that of Gen. Griffith Rutherford in 1776. On January 25, 1872, the town of Catawba Vale was founded. The town name was changed to Old Fort on February 23, 1873, honoring its origins. In the 1950s the Supreme Court of North Carolina dismissed a case brought by students attempting to attend the all-white school in Old Fort. They were told to attend Hudgins High School, a school for blacks, away in Marion. In 1984, the town began free weekly Mountain Music concerts, held in the historic Rockett Building each Friday night downtown. They attracted large audiences and numerous musicians. In mid-2014, the organization that ran Mountain Music lost its arrangement with the building owner, and the weekly music shows ended after 27 years.
Geography
Old Fort is east of Asheville and west of Morganton. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. The town is surrounded by Pisgah National Forest which includes bogs, cove forests, fens, and hemlock forests. Temperature variations between night and day can reach 21 degrees in the summer and 23 degrees in the winter. The annual average precipitation at Old Fort is . Rainfall is fairly uniformly distributed throughout the year. The wettest month of the year is March, with an average rainfall of .
Excerpted from the corresponding Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Demographics & economy
Race & ethnicity
Source: US Census Bureau — American Community Survey, 5-year estimates.
Geography
Coordinates & boundaries from the US Census TIGER/Line shapefiles.
Climate
Current forecast
Forecast for Old Fort, NC from NOAA NWS API.
Air quality
Industrial & pollution facilities
Natural hazard risk
Health (adults)
Age-adjusted prevalence estimates from CDC PLACES (latest release).
Walkability
Amenities nearby
Wildlife & biodiversity
Schools
Largest nearby schools
- McDowell High SchoolHigh · Marion · 1,416 students · 15.1:1 ratio
- West McDowell Middle SchoolMiddle · Marion · 605 students · 15.1:1 ratio
- West Marion Elementary SchoolElementary · Marion · 377 students · 12.6:1 ratio
- Old Fort Elementary SchoolElementary · Old Fort · 316 students · 13.7:1 ratio
- Pleasant Gardens Elementary SchoolElementary · Marion · 304 students · 13.8:1 ratio
- Foothills Community SchoolMiddle · Marion · 188 students · 15.7:1 ratio
- McDowell Virtual AcademyHigh · Marion · 140 students · 20:1 ratio
Public K–12 schools within ~10 mi from Urban Institute Education Data Portal (NCES Common Core of Data, 2022).
Earthquake history
Photos
Sights & places nearby
Notable people from here
Geography & sun
Elevation, sunrise/sunset and daylight from Open-Meteo. Solar climatology from NASA POWER.
Nearby airports
Public attention
Pageview totals from the Wikimedia Pageviews API.
Books about Old Fort
Search results from Open Library.
Recent natural events nearby
Ground air-quality sensors
Recently spotted species
Nearest stream gauge
Events
Gallery
Sources
- • Wikipedia
- • US Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates)
- • NOAA National Weather Service
- • Wikidata
- • NCES via Urban Institute Education Data Portal
- • CDC PLACES
- • Open-Meteo / sunrise-sunset.org
- • Wikipedia Pageviews API
- • Open Library