CHATHAM COUNTY COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

Introduction

A community can be defined in many ways. Heller (1989) defines community in three ways: community as locality, the relational community, and community as collective political power. Chatham County, and the various communities within Chatham County, can variously be described as encompassing all of these aspects of community. Community as locality refers to the geographic notion of community, in which people come together because of physical proximity. Examples of this type of community within Chatham County include Fearrington Village, the Governor's Club, Jordan Grove, and Moncure. Relational community refers to the social cohesion that develops with close interpersonal ties. Common interests bring people together into this type of community, and social relationships are formed because of those interests. Groups such as the He Cares and De Madre a Madre support groups, and men's and women's clubs found in many of Chatham County's churches are examples of relational communities within the county. Community as collective political power refers to the organization of individuals for social action. People form these types of communities because of a desire to influence political leaders. Chatham County's Agribusiness Council and the Hispanic Liaison are examples of this type of community within Chatham County.

This section provides an overview of Chatham County, the larger community within which all of these various communities are found. We begin with an exploration of Chatham County's history and geography, the present circumstances of its economics and social climate, and a discussion of recent changes that could affect its future. Chatham County has a history of racial and ethnic diversity beginning with its original occupants, several tribes of Native Americans and early European immigrants. For many years, the majority of the population consisted of African Americans and Whites. More recently, like North Carolina in general, Chatham County has experienced an influx of Latinos. Although Chatham County is primarily rural in character, recent growth in certain areas of the county poses significant challenges and opportunities for residents.

Geography

Chatham County is located in the geographic center of North Carolina, less than 46 miles from Raleigh, the state capital (Tetterton & Tetterton, 1998). The county is bordered on the north by Alamance, Orange, and Durham Counties, on the south by Lee and Moore Counties, on the west by Randolph County, and on the east by Wake and Harnett Counties (Chatham County, North Carolina, 1999). Composed of gently rolling hills, the county covers 708.9 square miles in total area (Tetterton & Tetterton, 1998). Elevations within the county vary from 200 feet in the southeastern region to 770 feet in the northwestern region (Hadley, Morton, and Stroud, 1976). Oak-Hickory-Pine forest is the prevailing unit of natural vegetation (Hadley et al., 1976). The county has 108,363 acres of farmland with 117 acres being the average size of a farm (Chatham County, North Carolina Statistical Abstract, 1996). The predominant soils are from the red-land and gray-land groups, each covering 40% of the total area of the county (Hadley et al., 1976). The three main rivers of the county-Haw, Deep, and Rocky-unite to form the upper portion of the Cape River near the southeastern part of Chatham (Hadley et al., 1976). Other water resources include the Shearon Harris Reservoir, New Hope River, and B. Everett Jordan Lake (Tetterton & Tetterton, 1998, p. 48). The man-made, 46,768 acre Jordan Lake, completed in the early 1970s, serves multiple purposes including flood control, water supply, water quality control, recreation, and fish and wildlife conservation (Jordan Lake, 1999).

Pittsboro was established as the county seat on January 6, 1787 (Chatham County, North Carolina, 1999). Other towns of the county include Siler City in the western part of the county, Goldston, Bear Creek, Bennett, and Bonlee in the southwestern part of the county, Moncure in the southeastern part of the county, and Bynum in the northeastern part of the county (Tetterton & Tetterton, 1998).

History

Settlers from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany arrived in the area now known as Chatham County in 1745 (Hadley et al., 1976). Early settlers traveled up the Cape Fear River from the North Carolina coast or over land from Pennsylvania and Virginia. Prior to 1700, explorers, hunters, and traders passed within 10 to 12 miles of the northwestern corner of Chatham County as they traveled along a trading path to the Native Americans of the Catawba region. Native Americans are thought to have lived in the Chatham County area centuries before the settlers arrived (Hadley et al., 1976). Tribes specific to the region included the "Cape Fear Indians," the Eno, the Sissapahaw, and the Keyawees (Molloy, 1996).

Chatham County was named for the first Earl of Chatham, William Pitt, to honor his defense of American rights in the British Parliament (Hadley et al., 1976). Prior to 1771, the area that is now Chatham County was originally part of Orange County. The county was created because of the difficulties officials faced governing expansive Orange County, which was then ten times larger than it is today (Chatham County, North Carolina, 1999).

Slavery was an integral part of life in North Carolina through the Civil War. According to the first Federal census in 1790, Chatham County had a total population of 9,221, including 1,632 slaves owned by 310 slave holders (Hadley et al., 1976). By 1850, the county's population included 12,164 Whites, 5,985 slaves, and some 300 free Blacks (London, 1923). Slaves served mainly as domestic servants and farm and plantation laborers. Much of the early growth of industry in Chatham County relied on slave labor. For example, prior to the Civil War, slaves were forced to construct a plank road from Pittsboro to Fayetteville, accelerating trade within these areas (London, 1923).

After the Civil War, both African Americans and Whites in the county worked farms; ran their own businesses such as stores, restaurants, funeral homes, and banks; and worked to improve their communities. While agriculture was the primary source of livelihood in Chatham County, higher crop yields and production methods that required fewer workers allowed more people to move into enterprises other than agriculture. In the latter half of the 19th century, logging, grist mills, mining, and manufacturing were subsequently of greater importance in the county. As electricity replaced water as the source of power, the centers of business were also able to move away from water sources. After the Great Depression of the 1930's, livestock production replaced subsistence farming as the major form of agriculture, while textile mills and furniture production continued to grow in importance (Hadley et al., 1976).

Economics

Most (81%) of Chatham's population of 45,204 lives in rural areas of the county, with only 19% living in towns: 13.2 % of the population lives in Siler City, 4.6 % lives in Pittsboro, and 1.2% reside in other towns (Chatham County Economic Development Commission Updated Report, 1999). Pittsboro, Siler City, and Goldston are the only three towns in Chatham County that are incorporated. Due to the proximity to Raleigh, Durham, Research Triangle Park, and Chapel Hill, over 46% of Chatham residents commute outside the county for employment. Based on the number of people employed, the major industries in the county are manufacturing (45%), retail trade (13.3%), services (13.2%), government (11.1%), and construction (6.8%). The companies with the largest workforce are poultry processors, followed by manufacturers of polyester fiber and hosiery, upholstery fabrics, and plastics (see Table 1). The following are the top contributors to the tax base in Chatham County: Carolina Power & Light Co., Allied Signal, Inc., Governor's Club, Carolina Meadows, Weyerhaeuser Co., and Mastercraft Fabrics Corp. (Chatham County Economic Development Commission Updated Report, 1999). Governor's Club, a gated community, and Carolina Meadows, a retirement community, are both located in Northern Chatham and are the third and fourth largest sources of tax revenue for the county. This demonstrates the importance of real estate development in Chatham County.

Source: Economic Development Commission Updated Report, 1999

Small businesses are also a vital part of the economic health of the county with 832 businesses each employing under 49 employees. Many of these smaller businesses specialize in wood processing, furniture production, electronics, software and Internet consulting, steel fabrication, and machining.

Agriculture remains an important business in the county, accounting for 31% of the total county income in 1994 (Chatham County, North Carolina Statistical Abstract, 1996). As of 1997, there were 956 farms in Chatham County, with an average farm size of 118 acres. Chatham County ranked second in the state for beef cows, fourth in the state for cattle, and twelfth in the state for hay production in 1998 (North Carolina Department of Agriculture, 1999). The five top agricultural products are poultry, forestry (trees, shrubs and lumber), milk, tobacco, and cattle. Like many other rural areas in the U.S., lower fixed crop prices have forced farmers to raise more and more food on less land. Though the number of small farms has remained the same in recent years, many farmers have divided their land, selling part of it for residential development, and using the remainder for part-time, recreational ventures (S. Groce, personal communication, October 20, 1999).

In recent years, Chatham County has undergone a number of changes that have fundamentally altered the character of parts of the county. Among these changes are an influx of Latino immigrants, particularly in and around Siler City, and growing development in the northern portion of the county. This development is made up primarily of retirement communities and subdivisions of professionals who commute to Chapel Hill, Research Triangle Park, Raleigh, and other parts of the Triangle to work. These changes have provided challenges to the current county residents, but can also be seen as real opportunities as the character of Chatham County diversifies.

Latino Immigration

Like the rest of North Carolina, Chatham County has over the past five or so years experienced an unprecedented increase in the number of Latinos moving to the county, predominantly from parts of Mexico (M. Ravenel, personal communication, October 4, 1999). Some estimates have put the number of Latinos currently residing in the county at close to 10,000 (Shapard, 1999). The challenges of determining just how many of these new residents there are will be discussed later in this document; however, it is important to note here the challenges and opportunities facing the county as a result of this immigration. Because these newcomers come from different cultures and speak a different language, it is inevitable that misunderstandings will arise. In addition, the burgeoning population may place a strain on county-provided services. This can be illustrated by the August 18, 1999, letter that was sent by the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, asking for assistance establishing which immigrants were in the county illegally and deporting those who were, causing fear among some members of the Latino community (Case, 1999). Despite these misunderstandings, the increase in the number of Latinos has had many positive effects on the county, not the least of which has been a significant contribution to the local labor force and economy. Chatham County's Latino residents work in local industries such as furniture manufacturing and poultry processing plants, and Latino consumers make up a large portion of the local economy. In fact, a Walmart superstore planned for Siler City is expected to rely heavily on the buying power of Latinos (Cuadros, 2000). Other positive results of the increase in the Latino population will be discussed later in this document.

Growing Development

Another important change to have affected the county in recent years has been the rapid development of portions of the county close to high tech and other professional jobs in Wake, Durham, and Orange counties, and an increase in the number of retirement communities in the county. Similar to the challenges surrounding the new Latino residents, this new development may cause concern among longtime residents. The people moving into these new communities are for the most part not only new to Chatham County, but also to Central North Carolina, and are often new to the state of North Carolina and to the South. This means that the new county residents tend to identify more with the Triangle area as a whole than with traditionally rural Chatham County. As stated previously, this real estate development contributes heavily to the tax base. However, it has also placed a burden on the county's resources, as new roads, schools, and county services have had to be provided for the new residents. In 1999, the Chatham County Commissioners voted unanimously to implement an impact fee on new residential construction in the county. The $1,500 fee on single family homes was enacted to help pay for the cost of new schools (Riggsbee, 1999).

The strengths and challenges of Chatham County lie in its ability to adapt to the many aspects of growth including its growing diversity. Economic shifts in the county have resulted from increased real estate development, which is in demand as the population increases. Increases in numbers of residents seeking county services will continue. The many interconnected issues related to the changing social environment will need to be balanced to provide a good quality of life for all who call Chatham County home.

Methodology

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Chatham County Community Profile