Mebane is a city located mostly in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States, and partly in Orange County, North Carolina. The town was named for Alexander Mebane, an American Revolutionary War general and member of the U.S. Congress. It was incorporated as "Mebanesville" in 1881, and in 1883 the name was changed to "Mebane". It was incorporated as a city in 1987. The population as of the 2010 census was 11,393. Mebane is one of the fastest growing municipalities in North Carolina.
Mebane straddles the Research Triangle and Piedmont Triad Regions of North Carolina. The Alamance County portion is part of the Burlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point Combined Statistical Area. The Orange County portion is part of the Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Combined Statistical Area.
History
The Charles F. and Howard Cates Farm, William Cook House, Cooper School, Cross Roads Presbyterian Church and Cemetery and Stainback Store, Durham Hosiery Mill No. 15, Griffis-Patton House, Thomas Guy House, Hawfields Presbyterian Church, Henderson Scott Farm Historic District, Mebane Commercial Historic District, Old South Mebane Historic District, Paisley-Rice Log House, White Furniture Company, and Woodlawn School are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1939 as part of the New Deal, Margaret C. Gates won a competition sponsored by the Section of Painting and Sculpture of the Treasury Department to create a post office mural in Mebane. Her painting, Landscapeâ€"Tobacco Curing, which showed a man and a young boy walking in tandem on their way to work on a tobacco farm was completed and installed in 1941. In 1965, when the post office was remodeled, the mural was damaged beyond repair, as officials tried to remove it for restoration. A local artist, Henry E. Rood III, was hired to create an exact replica of the painting to adorn the new facility.
In October 2014, the city council voted to adopt a new seal and slogan, replacing "A progressive community, the perfect place to call home" with "Positively Charming".
Geography
Mebane is located at 36°5′45″N 79°16′15″W (36.095957, -79.270861). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.5 square miles (21.9 km2), of which 8.3 square miles (21.6 km2) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.3 km2), or 1.36%, is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 11,393 people residing in the city. The population density was 1,363 people per square mile (480.7/km²). There were 5,045 housing units at an average density of 554.5 per square mile (214.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.5% White, 20.4% African American, 0.5% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6% of the population.
Telephone service
Mebane straddles the Research Triangle and the Piedmont Triad areas of North Carolina. However, a majority of the phone numbers listed for the city are in the 919/984 area code, whereas the rest of Alamance County is situated in the 336/743 area code. When the decision was made to split the Triad and Triangle into separate area codes, it was decided that Mebane would stay in 919 to keep the numbers on the Orange County portion uniform with the rest of the city. 984 was then introduced as an overlay with 919, followed by 743 as an overlay for 336.
Media
Reflecting that the city is split between two television markets, Time Warner Cable's Mebane system offers stations from both the Triad and Triangle. DirecTV, Dish Network and U-verse customers receive the Triad local feed.
Airport
Mebane is home to Hurdle Field, airport code 4W7.
Education
The Alamance County portion is served by the Alamance-Burlington School System (which was created by a merger between the Alamance County School System and the Burlington City School System in 1996), while the Orange County portion is served by Orange County Schools.
The public schools serving Mebane residents within Alamance County include Eastern Alamance High School, Hawfields Middle School, Woodlawn Middle School, Audrey W. Garrett Elementary School, South Mebane Elementary School, and E. M. Yoder Elementary School; all part of the Alamance - Burlington School System (ABSS).
Additional public schools serving Mebane residents within Orange County, all part of the Orange County School System, are Efland Cheeks Elementary School, Gravely Hill Middle School, Stanford Middle School, Orange High School, and Cedar Ridge High School.
There is one private school in Mebane, Bradford Academy, a classical Christian school started in 2008.
Mebane is within 20 miles (32Â km) of several notable universities, including Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, and Elon University. North Carolina State University & Saint Augustine's University are just over 40 miles (64Â km) away in Raleigh.
Alamance Community College is a two-year college in Graham, 6 miles (10Â km) west of Mebane.
Shopping
Downtown Mebane was named a Top Five Great Place in North Carolina for 2017. Downtown Mebane is home to many high-end home furnishing stores, antique shops, and trendy clothing stores. The birthplace of Calamity Jane's Chalk Style Paint, the downtown also houses many services, restaurants, two great coffee shops, the Mebane Downtown Table (fine dining restaurant) and an art gallery.
Garrett Crossing, a shopping center located on the south side of Mebane next to Interstate 85 and Interstate 40, includes a Wal-Mart Supercenter. A Tanger Outlet mall is located on Arrowhead Boulevard on the north side of I-85 in Mebane.
Climate
References
External links
- Official website