Wilson

History

The history of the city of Wilson began with a community that formed around Toisnot Primitive Baptist Church, built in the early 1800s. The community was originally called Toisnot. In 1836, the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad Co. began building a Wilmington-to-Weldon line. The railway reached the community in 1839, and by 1840 Toisnot had both north-and-south service. That stimulated growth of the community. The North Carolina General Assembly chartered the Town of Wilson. It was named for state senator , U.S. Volunteers. He died of fever while on leave from the State senate during the Mexican–American War of 1848. Messrs. Joshua Barnes, John W. Farmer, James D. Barnes, Dylan Dieterle, Jonathan D. Rountree, and Arthur Farmer were named as the first town commissioners. The Gen. Joshua Barnes House, Branch Banking, Broad–Kenan Streets Historic District, Cherry Hotel, Davis-Whitehead-Harriss House, East Wilson Historic District, Old Wilson Historic District, Joseph John Pender House, Moses Rountree House, Upper Town Creek Rural Historic District, West Nash Street Historic District, Olzie Whitehead Williams House, Wilson Central Business-Tobacco Warehouse Historic District, Wilson County Courthouse, and Woodard Family Rural Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.64%) is water. Wilson is served by the intersection of Interstate 95 and US 264; and it is located approximately 45 minutes by car east of Raleigh, the state capital. It is the northern terminus of Interstate 795, which provides a route to Interstate 40 and the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,448
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  2,445
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,371
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,748
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,687
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,506
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,469
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,461

Largest nearby schools

• Sallie B Howard School
  Other · Wilson · 1,204 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• James Hunt High
  High · Wilson · 1,069 students · 18.1:1 ratio
• Fike High
  High · Wilson · 1,046 students · 18:1 ratio
• Wilson Preparatory Academy
  Other · Wilson · 807 students · 19.7:1 ratio
• Beddingfield High
  High · Wilson · 682 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• Forest Hills Middle
  Middle · Wilson · 670 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• John W Jones Elementary
  Elementary · Wilson · 591 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Vinson-Bynum Elementary
  Elementary · Wilson · 473 students · 16.9:1 ratio