thumb|upright|An old water tower in Butner
Butner is a town in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,397 as of the 2020 census. Butner was managed by the state of North Carolina from 1947 through 2007.
History
The area eventually comprising the town of Butner was originally land along the Occaneechi Path, a Native American trade route. Following the arrival of European settlers, it became a rural community populated by farmers. In August 1941, the U.S. federal government beginning planning for the development of a military facility in the area, motivated partly by its proximity to a rail line. Following the United States' entry into World War II that December, planning hastened and in January 1942 the government ordered locals to vacate their land. The government ultimately evicted between 400 and 500 families and razed most of their homes and agricultural buildings to make way for a U.S. Army camp. Construction commenced in March and Camp Butner officially opened in August 1942. It was named for Major General Henry W. Butner (1875–1937), a North Carolina native. Thousands of soldiers were trained at the camp for service overseas. By April 1946, activity at the facility had declined significantly and it was officially closed in January 1947. The state converted its former infirmary into a psychiatry hospital. A civilian community subsequently developed around the hospital's new workforce. Some former camp facilities were retained by the residents for their own use such as its recreation center and churches, others were repurposed as homes, and some were demolished so their materials could be used in new construction.
In 2003, a seven-member elective Butner Advisory Council was created to advise the North Carolina Secretary of Health and Human Services on governance of the town. Following legislation passed by the North Carolina General Assembly, Butner became an incorporated community effective November 1, 2007 and the advisory council was turned into a town council.
Geography
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File:Gazebo Park.JPG|Gazebo Park
File:Lake Holt.JPG|Lake Holt
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Butner is located in southwestern Granville County. Interstate 85 passes through the town, southeast of the town center, with access from Exits 186, 189, and 191. I-85 leads northeast to Oxford, the Granville County seat, and southwest to Durham. Butner is bordered to the east by the city of Creedmoor.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.18%, is water. The town's layout is heavily influenced by the original development of Camp Butner. and many other streets in the town are named with numbers and letters.
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census
| align-fn = center
2020 census
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Butner racial composition
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)
| 3,421
| 40.74%
|-
!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
| 2,663
| 31.71%
|-
!scope="row"| Native American
| 27
| 0.32%
|-
!scope="row"| Asian
| 46
| 0.55%
|-
!scope="row"| Pacific Islander
| 2
| 0.02%
|-
!scope="row"| Other/Mixed
| 324
| 3.86%
|-
!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino
| 1,914
| 22.79%
|}
As of the 2020 census, Butner had a population of 8,397. There were 2,982 households and 2,022 families residing in the town. The median age was 36.5 years. 23.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.1% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 106.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.9 males age 18 and over.
27.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 72.9% lived in rural areas.
Of all households, 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. 41.4% were married-couple households, 18.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. for a household in the town was $45,437, and the mean income for a household was $51,466. The median and mean incomes for families were $53,186 and $55,847, respectively. The per capita income for the town was $17,654. About 4.1% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.
Infrastructure
The area surrounding Butner includes:
- Camp Butner Training Center (Run by the North Carolina National Guard, consisting of roughly 5,000 acres)
- Federal Correctional Complex, Butner (4 units and one medical center, consisting of Camp Butner for males only, FCI Butner Low, FCI Butner Medium I, FCI Butner Medium II, and Federal Medical Center)
- Granville Correctional Institution, a facility of the North Carolina Department of Correction
- C.A. Dillon Youth Development Center, a juvenile facility of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (formerly the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)
- Several facilities of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (Murdoch Developmental Center, Whitaker School, and Central Regional Hospital replacing John Umstead Hospital in Butner as well as Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh).
References
External links
- North Carolina Historical Marker: Camp Butner
- Town of Butner at Blogspot