About+The+Area

Including-history of the area, nearby competing areas, demographics

Ali, John, and Gary

I have found q4 2009 demographic info for Pender County and the surrounding counties (Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow, Sampson). Each profile includes 2006 population, education level, income and employment information. There is also a map that show location of(some including names) schools, hospitals, colleges, major rivers, streams and waterbodies. Finally there is a list of major employers. I have downloaded pdf's for each county. I found the information on the north carolina website NC.gov. The link to the profiles is [|NC County Profiles]. Contact me and I will send you the pdf's combined...gary Basic totals

The following summary is from a NC state coop extension 2009 plan of work for Pender County located at URL: http://pender.ces.ncsu.edu

Pender County is located in southeastern North Carolina and is a county undergoing great transitions. The eastern part of the county includes the coastal towns of Topsail Beach and Surf City. This area is growing at a tremendous rate (9.82% increase from 2000 to 2002), with many retirees coming for the coastal environment. While most of the increase in population has been in the coastal region, several large subdivisions are on the books for the western part of the county. These include three subdivisions with more than 1,000 homes each. The western part of the county is primarily rural with an abundance of livestock, row crop and horticultural crop farming. The two areas of the county are separated by a 65,000 acre NC Wildlife Game Land, further dividing the county. Pender County is a large county by North Carolina Standards, including 557,261 total acres with 62,714 acres of farm land and 33,369 acres of cropland. Major crops grown in Pender County include Blueberries ($6 Million), Corn ($5 Million), Soybeans ($3 Million) and Nursery/Greenhouse Crops ($10 Million). Major Livestock enterprises include Hogs ($41 Million) and Poultry ($12 Million). Annual farm income has surpassed the $100 Million mark for the past three years. There has been a nine percent increase in farm income during the past seven years. Pender currently ranks second in blueberry production, fifth in turkey production and seventh in hog production in North Carolina. Agriculture is the main source of income in Pender County with Tourism a close second Currently, 48,724 people call Pender County home. Of those, 13.5% reside in municipalities with the remainder in rural areas. The population of Pender County towns and (percent growth) are: Atkinson 254 (7.63%), Burgaw 3,748 (12.32%), St. Helena 464 (17.47%), Surf City 1,395 (26.70%), Topsail Beach 558 (18.47%), and Watha 175 (15.89%). The population is evenly divided among males and females. Caucasians account for 73%, Blacks/African Americans 12% and Hispanic/Latino 12%. Age divisions include 20% under 15 years of age, 11% between 16-24, 30% between 25-44, 26% between 45-64 and 14% above 65 years of age. I have also found a list of Parks in Pender County, Info on Angola Bay game lands, Info on Cape Fear River Basin Coastal land Trust protected areas (a map). Contact me and I will send the files...Gary 

Ali, here's the webstie for learning opportunities ...Lisa [] (I don’t know where the parks are located in NC, but maybe someone from NC will.)

This is all the information I could find about competition (parks and SNHA) and zoning. - Lisa

Here are the figures for number of students in Pender Co and the sorrounding counties. I looked into any 4-H and scouting groups in the area. They all seem to have well-developed programs but I haven't found any numbers. I do have contact info for the people who should be able to get me the numbers if we decide that's necessary.