Spencer

History

The town was named for Samuel Spencer, first president of the Southern Railway, who is credited with establishment of the railroad's mechanical Spencer Shops at the site in 1896. The site was approximately the midpoint of the railroad's mainline between Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, D.C. As the shops were being built the Southern Railway developed a town, also named Spencer, alongside the shops for worker housing. Initially, the Southern partitioned 85 acres into 500 lots. Instead of creating a traditional "company" town in which the workers rented houses Southern sold the lots to workers or businesses for $100 apiece. The deeds did contain restrictive covenants which maintained that a dwelling costing in excess of $400 and approved by a Southern appointed architect be built within a year. The Southern donated lots for religious institutions. Southern also helped establish a YMCA in the town. The community grew quickly and by 1901 had 625 residents. By the 1920s it had 4,000 residents. The former Spencer Shops were phased out during the 1950s through 1970s and have now become the location of the North Carolina Transportation Museum. The Alexander Long House, Southern Railway Spencer Shops, and Spencer Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,147
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  3,639
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  3,402
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,169
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,645
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,640
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  2,459
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,420

Largest nearby schools

• East Rowan High
  High · Salisbury · 1,032 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Salisbury High
  High · Salisbury · 959 students · 18.1:1 ratio
• Erwin Middle
  Middle · Salisbury · 759 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• West Rowan Middle
  Middle · Salisbury · 648 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• Faith Academy Charter School
  Elementary · Faith · 601 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• North Rowan High
  High · Spencer · 589 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Granite Quarry Elementary
  Elementary · Salisbury · 560 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• Southeast Middle
  Middle · Salisbury · 559 students · 19.3:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2019-03-26
  8 km E of Archdale, North Carolina
• M 2.68 — 2018-06-10
  2 km NE of Hays, North Carolina
• M 2.58 — 2015-11-15
  10 km S of Denton, North Carolina
• M 2.5 — 2006-11-03
  6 km S of Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• M 2.6 — 2006-10-17
  7 km S of Winston-Salem, North Carolina