Farmville is a town in Pitt County, North Carolina, United States, eight miles to the west of Greenville. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,461. Farmville is a part of the Greenville Metropolitan Area located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. Farmville has been a Tree City USA community through the Arbor Day Foundation for 36 years, proving its commitment to managing and expanding its public trees. The Town government, in cooperation with other non-profit groups that work for the advancement of the town, sponsor annual events such as the Farmville Dogwood Festival, the Christmas Parade, Independence Day Celebration, A Taste of Farmville, and the Holiday Open House, among others.
History
Established in February 1872, the town was named Farmville because all of its undertakings and activities were farm related. Among the influential founding fathers of Farmville, James Williams May and William Gray Lang made exceptional contributions to the towns development. Mr. James Williams May was a commissioner named in the original town charter. He donated sites for churches and was a business leader willing to invest his services and resources towards the success of the town. He was the grandson of Major Benjamin May. William Gray Lang served as a commissioner on the town board for more than 10 years. He also serviced on the executive committee appointed to establish the Tobacco Market in Farmville. The town grew slowly, with the 1880 census showing 111 in Farmville and 79 in Marlborough, a nearby unincorporated settlement along the wooden Historic Plank Road. The Marlborough settlement is now inside the town limits of Farmville. The cultivation of Tobacco in Pitt County and the Farmville area began in the 1890s, which helped bring the East Carolina Railway to Farmville in 1900. Most of buildings in downtown Farmville were built shortly after due to the economic boom the railroad helped begin. The Farmville Historic District and Benjamin May-Lewis House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Farmville had a population of 4,461. The median age was 43.6 years. 24.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 80.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 74.6 males age 18 and over.
There were 1,918 households in Farmville, including 1,212 families, of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 34.5% were married-couple households, 16.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 44.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.