Spindale is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,225 at the 2020 census.

History

Spindale originated as a mill town from its first textile mill, Spencer Mills, in 1916, until its last textile mill, Stonecutter Mills, organized by J. B. Tanner in 1920, which closed in 1999. The town of Spindale was incorporated on August 21, 1923. In 1939, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a local act that extended the corporate limits of the town of Spindale, which nearly doubled its size in area.

In 1926, the iconic Spindale House was opened as a community and recreation center and as a memorial building, presented to the town by K. S. Tanner and other members of the Tanner family.

Opening in 1926, a classic landmark of the Spindale mill village was Greene's Grocery Store located on Spindale Street, which stood for over five decades as the number one volume store for many mill families, featuring a home delivery truck service, a credit account system, and a fresh meat market.

The first organized churches in Spindale were First Baptist in 1917, Methodist in 1919, Presbyterian in 1922, and Spencer Baptist in 1926.

In 1930, the Carolina Theater opened on Main Street in Spindale, which could seat 360 patrons and operated until it closed in 1961.

The Spindale Sun newspaper was established in 1941.

Geography

Spindale is located along U.S. Route 221A between Forest City to the southeast and Rutherfordton to the west. U.S. Route 74A passes through the southern part of town.

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

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Spindale had a population of 4,225. The median age was 41.0 years. 20.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.4% of residents 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 107.5 males age 18 and over.

92.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 7.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,722 households in Spindale, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 29.8% were married-couple households, 22.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 39.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 938 families residing in the town.

!scope="col"| Race

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Percentage

|-

!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)

| 2,758

| 65.3%

|-

!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

| 1,004

| 23.8%

|-

!scope="row"| Native American

| 26

| 0.6%

|-

!scope="row"| Asian

| 29

| 0.7%

|-

!scope="row"| Pacific Islander

| 6

| 0.1%

|-

!scope="row"| Other/Mixed

| 250

| 5.9%

|-

!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino

| 152

| 3.6%

|}

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 4,022 people, 1,662 households, and 1,065 families in the town. The population density was . There were 1,887 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 72.8% White, 24.9% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.44%.

See also

  • Word of Faith Fellowship

References

  • Official site