Spencer is a town in Rowan County, North Carolina, United States, incorporated in 1905. As of the 2020 census, Spencer had a population of 3,308.
History
thumb|left|Main Street of Spencer, 1900s
The town was named for Samuel Spencer, first president of the Southern Railway, who is credited with establishment of the railroad's mechanical Spencer Shops at the site in 1896. The site was approximately the midpoint of the railroad's mainline between Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, D.C. As the shops were being built the Southern Railway developed a town, also named Spencer, alongside the shops for worker housing. Initially, the Southern partitioned 85 acres into 500 lots. Instead of creating a traditional "company" town in which the workers rented houses Southern sold the lots to workers or businesses for $100 apiece. The deeds did contain restrictive covenants which maintained that a dwelling costing in excess of $400 and approved by a Southern appointed architect be built within a year. The Southern donated lots for religious institutions. Southern also helped establish a YMCA in the town. The community grew quickly and by 1901 had 625 residents. By the 1920s it had 4,000 residents.
The former Spencer Shops were phased out during the 1950s through 1970s and have now become the location of the North Carolina Transportation Museum.
The Alexander Long House, Southern Railway Spencer Shops, and Spencer Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Spencer had a population of 3,308. The median age was 39.9 years. 23.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.7% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males age 18 and over.
96.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.9% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,277 households in Spencer, of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.1% were married-couple households, 20.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)
| 1,686
| 50.97%
|-
!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
| 1,065
| 32.19%
|-
!scope="row"| Native American
| 10
| 0.3%
|-
!scope="row"| Asian
| 22
| 0.67%
|-
!scope="row"| Pacific Islander
| 7
| 0.21%
|-
!scope="row"| Other/Mixed
| 175
| 5.29%
|-
!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino
| 343
| 10.37%
|}
2000 census
thumb|Town hall
As of the census