Louisburg is a town in and the county seat of Franklin County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,064. The town is located approximately 29 miles northeast of the state capital, Raleigh, and located about 31 miles south of the Virginia border. It is also the home of Louisburg College, the oldest two-year coeducational college in the United States.

History

Louisburg was established in 1779 and named in honor of King Louis XVI of France, who was aiding the American Revolution at the time. Louisburg was established on land purchased for the erection of a courthouse.

In June 1965, the local newspaper and radio station publicized the names and addresses of African-American families who had applied to attend white schools in Franklin County. The families were attacked on numerous occasions by white extremists, who fired into their homes or destroyed their cars. In the summer of 1966, a series of cross burnings were perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan in Franklin County, including one in front of the County Board of Education in Louisburg.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Like the rest of eastern North Carolina, Louisburg has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with cool to mild winters and hot, humid summers. Rainfall - which is mainly produced by afternoon thunderstorms - is highest in the summer months. Snowfall is light and infrequent, with an average of 1.7 inches (4.32 cm) per year.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Louisburg had a population of 3,064. The median age was 42.0 years. 16.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 26.2% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.0 males age 18 and over.

As of the 2020 census, 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

As of the 2020 census, there were 1,029 households in Louisburg, of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 32.1% were married-couple households, 19.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 44.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Franklin County Library

The county's main, or central, library is the Franklin County Library, located in Louisburg. There are three branches in other municipalities across the county as well as an outreach program through the Bookmobile. The town council has seven elected members, who all live within the Louisburg corporate limits. Councilmembers serve four year terms.

Education

Franklin County Schools

The main office buildings of Franklin County Schools are located at 53 West River Road, Louisburg NC 27549 in the former Franklin County Training School-Riverside Union School. Franklin County Schools (FCS) consists of 15 schools and more than 8,500 students serving the towns of Franklinton, Louisburg, Youngsville and Bunn. There are eight elementary schools, three middle schools, three high schools, and one alternative school.

Louisburg College

Louisburg College is a two-year residential college located in Louisburg, North Carolina, that focuses on getting students ready for the next step to a four-year school offering baccalaureate degrees. The three degree programs offered: an Associate in Arts (general college degree), an Associate in Science (general science degree), and an Associate in Business degree. It also offers these special programs: Academy (tutoring support for ALL students), the Learning Partners Program (for students with learning disabilities and/or ADHD), and the Crossroads Program (for first-year students as they handle the transition from high school).

Louisburg College has comprehensive transfer agreements with many public and private colleges and universities, including the 16 branches of the University of North Carolina system, that allow Louisburg College graduates to make a seamless transition upon entering four-year schools as full-fledged juniors.

Infrastructure

Louisburg Police Department

The Louisburg Police Department was founded in 1779.

Notable persons

  • Thomas W. Bickett, governor of North Carolina
  • Fanny Yarborough Bickett, First Lady of North Carolina and first female president of the North Carolina Railroad
  • Wilbur F. Foster (1841–1900) politician, lawyer, member of the Alabama Legislature; born in Louisburg

References

  • William S. Powell, The North Carolina Gazetteer: A Dictionary of Tar Heel Places, 1968, The University of North Carolina Press at Chapel Hill, , Library of Congress Catalog Card #28-25916, page 301. Retrieved January 15, 2015.