Stem, North Carolina

Stem is a town in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 463 at the 2010 Census.

Stem, North Carolina
Town
Seal
Location of Stem, North Carolina
Coordinates: 36°12′2″N 78°43′25″W
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Granville
Area [1]
• Total	1.51 sq mi (3.92 km^2)
• Land	1.51 sq mi (3.91 km^2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km^2)
Elevation	476 ft (144 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	463
• Estimate  (2019)[2]	567
• Density	375.25/sq mi (144.88/km^2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	27581
Area code(s)	919
FIPS code	37-65320
Website	stemnc.org

Stem Town Hall

A dinner in Tally Ho, Stem, for African American tenants and neighbors after a day of corn shucking, 1939

History

The town of Stem was established as a separate and distinct entity from Tally Ho township in 1888 by William Thomas Stem. The Stem family were co-proprietors of a general store in the Tally Ho township[3] and owners of the land where a new spur of the Richmond and Danville Railroad terminated. Stem was built around this new rail station. The town was incorporated in 1911.[4] Stem is home to the historic Cozart-Coley House.

Geography

Stem is located at 36°12′2″N 78°43′25″W.[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²), including 35,338 square feet (3,283.0 m²) of water area.

Stem is located in the Tally Ho voting precinct of Granville County.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1920	245		—
1930	256		4.5%
1940	218		−14.8%
1950	217		−0.5%
1960	221		1.8%
1970	242		9.5%
1980	222		−8.3%
1990	249		12.2%
2000	229		−8.0%
2010	463		102.2%
Est. 2019	567	[2]	22.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]

As of the census of 2010, there were 463 people in 194 households. The population density was 308.7 inhabitants per square mile (119.2/km²). The average housing density was 129.3 per square mile (49.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 83.6% White, 8.2% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 7.1% from other races (or "Identified by two or more"). Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.7% of the population.

There were 194 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.39.

In the town, the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 16.8% from 25 to 34, 21.6% from 35 to 49, 17.3% from 50 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $55,313 with a mean household income of $47,701. The per capita income for the town was $22,411. About 12.9% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.3% of those under the age of eighteen.[7]

Schools

The town of Stem is assigned to the following schools:

• Elementary School (K-5) - Butner-Stem Elementary School [8]
• Middle School (6-8) - Butner-Stem Middle School [9]
• High School (9-12) - Granville Central High School [10]

Government

The Mayor for the Town of Stem is Casey Dover.

The Stem Town Commissioners are:

• Susan Cope
• Frank Shelton
• Kevin Easter
• Kenneth McLamb
• Dave Pavlus

The Town Clerk is Vicki Garrett, while the Zoning & Watershed Administrator is Mike Conti.

Stem High School vs. UNC - Chapel Hill, 1936

Long-time residents of Granville County recall the tale of how the Stem High School basketball team played and defeated the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill men's team in an impromptu basketball game.[11] As the story goes, the Stem team won the Granville County championship in 1936 and were rewarded by their coach (known only as Coach Pegram) with a trip to see UNC play Davidson at the Tin Can. The Davidson team was unable to show because of a snowstorm, so Coach Pegram volunteered his team so that the crowd could still watch a game. The team from Stem (Brent Meadows, Wallace Bowling, Thomas Farabow, Clyde Cates, and James "Bunk" Guthrie) played well against their college opponents, and in the end won the game on a dramatic last-second shot.

The story is unverified in contemporaneous sources. If the game occurred, it is most likely to have taken place on February 12, 1936, when an influenza outbreak caused the cancellation of a UNC/Davidson basketball game.[12] "Bunk" Guthrie would have been 22 years old at the time and 4 years past his graduation (though the Stem team was disqualified from the 1934 county championship for using ineligible players, so this does not necessarily rule out his participation in 1936). The Daily Tar Heel from February 13, 1936 mentions only that the team practiced on the date of the cancelled Davidson game to prepare for their upcoming contest against North Carolina State.[13] The story (true or not) has become a piece of local legend and brought statewide attention to the town of Stem in 1999 when it was covered by Frank Newell for the Warren Record of Warren County, and again in 2000 when it was covered by Ned Barnett on the front page of the News & Observer.

References

1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
3. Granville County, NC Archives
4. Blalock, Ethel O. (1999). From Tally-Ho to Stem, NC.
5. US Gazetteer Files, United States Census Bureau, Retrieved 2011-11-09.
6. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
7. US Census Fact Finder, United States Census Bureau Archived 2020-02-16 at Archive.today, Retrieved 2011-11-09.
8. "Butner-Stem Elementary School". Archived from the original on 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
9. "Butner-Stem Middle School". Archived from the original on 2012-04-29. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
10. Granville Central High School Archived 2010-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
11. Barnett, Ned "Did high school hoopsters humble mighty Heels?" The News & Observer [Raleigh] 26 November 2000: A1. Print.
12. The Daily Tar Heel, February 12, 1936
13. The Daily Tar Heel, February 13, 1936