They were met by an armed mob, and turned back. They had driven about five miles toward home when they were stopped by a car; armed men jumped out and began shooting. According to an article published online by the North Carolina Museum of History, "she worked twelve-hour days, six days a week, earning about nine dollars a week. Arcadia Publishing, 2001 (. This house still stands in pristine condition, and the Mitchell family has taken up its stewardship. "Listing on Find-a-Grave Web Site". About 8.8% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over. I was working nights, I asked the super to put me on days, so’s I could tend ‘em when they had their bad spells. The "Old Furnace" is still owned by the Ormand Family Foundation, and the site is used as a gathering place for the Ormand, Ormond Family Reunion, one of the oldest family reunions in America, held annually since 1897. Bessemer City High School. Students here have below average college readiness measures, this school has below average results in how well it’s serving disadvantaged students, and more information about this school … [5] The elevation at city hall is 904 feet (276 m) above sea level. This school is rated below average in school quality compared to other schools in North Carolina. As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 5,119 people, 2,009 households, and 1,436 families residing in the city. [7], In 1871, the Atlanta & Charlotte Division of the Richmond & Danville Railroad Company built through Gaston County. Register to let other graduates Smith's "Highacre" house, built in the early 20th century, is now occupied by the Eury family. The Supreme Court found that discrimination was present in the decision. Find Alumni in Bessemer City, North Carolina. The City Council consists of six members elected from single member wards, and the Mayor. There is also still some agriculture in the form of Kiser's Dairy Farm, among others. Bessemer City High School. There were 2,149 housing units at an average density of 506.1 per square mile (195.2/km2). Hers is one of the biggest markers there, after being expanded by the A.F.L-C.I.O. In 1929 Textile mill striker and songwriter Ella Mae Wiggins, 29, the mother of nine, is killed when local vigilantes, thugs and a sheriff's deputy force the pickup truck in which she is riding off the road and begin shooting. Advanced Drainage Systems, the largest polyethylene pipe and fittings manufacturer in the country, operates a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) facility in Bessemer City employing 100 people. The Ready to Work Program is a partnership between many companies across the Bessemer area. Four died with the whooping cough, all at once. Find Alumni in North Carolina > Home > The racial makeup of the city was 83.49% White, 13.42% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 1.04% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. I don’t know why. Males had a median income of $31,357 versus $23,133 for females. Other manufacturers include Hunter Douglas (Designer Shades Division) and Dole. But he wouldn't. The names listed below are alumni who have been searched for on this site from Bessemer City High Schoolin Bessemer City, North Carolina.If you see your name among the Bessemer City High School graduates, someone is looking for you! The median age was 34 years. The Old Ormand Furnace was used to process most of the iron ore that was mined in the area and today is one of the oldest remaining furnaces in the country. A native of Sevierville, Tennessee, Wiggins by 1926 settled in Gaston County, N.C., living in an African-American neighborhood outside Bessemer City known as Stumptown. She was buried in the Bessemer City Cemetery on North 12th St. The list of names is also useful for getting together a Bessemer City High School reunion if you don't have a complete list of the students from your graduating class of The Council and Mayor are elected every two years with no term limits. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.50% of the population. Bessemer City is located at 35°17′3″N 81°16′58″W / 35.28417°N 81.28278°W / 35.28417; -81.28278 (35.284262, -81.282853).[6]. If you see your name among the Bessemer City High School graduates, someone is looking for you! The population of Bessemer City at the time of its charter was very small, with only a few families, but by 1900 it had grown to between 500 and 600 people. [15], The following schools serve the Bessemer City area and are part of the Gaston County Schools system. The current Mayor of Bessemer City is Becky S. Smith. Bessemer City High School is the 327th largest public high school in North Carolina and the 8,737th largest nationally. For population 25 years and over in Bessemer City: There were 2,009 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. The furnace was sold and later bought back by the family of Zenas Stanhope Ormand (b. July 12, 1802 - d. July 28, 1878). The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.98. The school also participates in the dual enrollment program with Lawson State and The Ready to Work Program. [16], The Bessemer City Branch of the Gaston County Public Library serves this community. On March 6, 1893, Bessemer City was officially chartered. In 1891, John Askew Smith, previously of Reidsville, North Carolina, moved with his wife Fannie and brother-in-law, John A. Pinchback, to Gaston County. The population density was 1,205.6 people per square mile (465.0/km2). By 1893, Smith and other residents petitioned the North Carolina legislature to incorporate the town. On September 14, 1929, she and other union members drove to a union meeting in Gastonia. A series of textile mills opened by Smith and Pinchback; Durham and Odell; Frank, Robert and Max Goldberg; as well as the Ragan Spinning Company, gave Bessemer City its industrial foundation.[9]. Images of America: Gastonia and Gaston County North Carolina. 2. The earliest European settlement in the Bessemer City area dates to 1754, when King George II of Great Britain granted about 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) to James Ormand (1716–1771), who established the Ormand Mining Company to extract iron ore. By 1786, a furnace had been built on the land, called the Washington Furnace after the family of Colonel John C. Washington. During the late 1840s, corn and cotton were the region's two main crops. Laying the track through Whetstone Mountain, located west of modern-day Bessemer City, was considered a great engineering accomplishment. Click on the Yearbooks below to view a copy Online at Classmates.com®. Wiggins was shot in the chest and killed. [7] John Wooten built a general store next to the railroad on the site of present-day Bessemer City and called the store and depot "Wooten's Station".[8]. Whiskey production was also profitable. of Bessemer City High School find and contact you. Wiggins believed in organizing African-Americans along with whites, and in a close vote, her local NTWU branch voted to admit African-Americans to the union. "She became a bookkeeper for the union, which was Communist run, and traveled to Washington, D.C., to testify about labor practices in the South. The median income for a household in the city was $33,826, and the median income for a family was $39,759. The furnace made iron implements and other products for local and statewide use and was in operation until the mid-19th century (when the Bessemer process made small furnace operations uneconomical). Bessemer City High School Alumni Class List . The per capita income for the city was $15,971. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. Her five children were sent to live in orphanages. Bessemer City is named for Sir Henry Bessemer who created the Bessemer process for smelting iron. [5] The city is approximately 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Gastonia and 25 miles (40 km) west of Charlotte. Bessemer City was founded on land purchased from the Ormand family, near the Sloan-Washington-Ormand Iron Furnace, but the Bessemer Process made Bessemer City's early iron smelting industry obsolete. Gaston County had more licensed whiskey distilleries than any county in North Carolina. If you don't see your class's yearbook here, scroll down and check out your individual class year. Bessemer City High School offers excellent academic classes and also houses The Bessemer Center for Technology. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12.5 km2), of which 4.8 square miles (12.4 km2) is land and 0.039 square miles (0.1 km2), or 0.78%, is water. In 2008, Kiser's dairy was converted into a farm for raising Angus beef cattle. It has a student teacher ratio of 15.6 to 1. [7] Despite a local tale that cannonballs were made during the Revolutionary War, there is no proof the furnace was built that early. in 1979 to include a marker inscribed, "She died carrying the torch of social justice.". findagrave.com. Smith hired W.R. Richardson, an engineer from Guilford County, to lay out the town. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. In 1895, Stonewall Jackson Durham and John M. Odell incorporated Southern Cotton Mills and as their first venture completed and opened the failed Smith/Pinchback Mill. We realize that a Bessemer City High School year book may be hard to find so registering to complete your school's Virtual Yearbook [10] Anderson v. Bessemer City was a case involving a woman who sued the city after applying for a position and then not being chosen based solely on the fact that she was a womea. Bessemer City High School is a public high school of the Gaston County School District located in Bessemer City, NC. The Bessemer City Downtown Historic District and Central School are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[11][12]. An historic Supreme Court case on sexism originated in Bessemer City in 1985. So I had to quit, and then there wasn't no money for medicine, and they just died." Bessemer City is a small suburban city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. Five Loray Mill employees were charged in Wiggins's murder but were acquitted after less than 30 minutes of deliberation in a trial in Charlotte in March 1930 despite the fact that the crime was committed in daylight and more than 50 people witnessed it. The factors that Phyllis Anderson showed the court to demonstrate that the hiring committee was sexists were 1) Ms. Anderson was better qualified, 2) Testimony from one of the committee members that he thought the position would be "real hard" for a woman and that he wouldn't want his wife to perform such duties, 3) Ms. Anderson alone among the applicants was asked whether she realized that the job would involve night work and travel and whether her husband approved of her applying for the job, and 4) The reasons offered by the all-male hiring committee as to why they hired a less qualified man were pretextual. She also sang her ballads, including her best-known song, "A Mill Mother’s Lament," which has been recorded by Pete Seeger, among others. [14] Lithium is used in many products including pharmaceuticals, batteries, ceramics, and construction products. Retrieved 2010-05-28. Find Alumni in Bessemer City, North Carolina > It has 657 students in grades 9th through 12th.
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