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Definitions may vary. I think of NC legacy cities being those that were prevalent during the early 20th century and whose economies usually related to textiles, furniture, and tobacco and have either lost population or are seeing marginal growth at best. So Thomasville, Kinston, Hickory, etc., are legacy cities.
The opposite would be places like Holly Springs, Huntersville, Morrisville, etc., that have grown tremendously to have populations exceeding legacy cities, but that were nothing but small communities barely appearing on a map just a few decades ago.
Yeah I'd agree with this assessment. As recently as the 1990 Census before the big boom of Charlotte and the Triangle you had a lot more of those cities ranking in the top 25 in population but now are being surpassed by suburbs of Charlotte and the Triangle.
In some cases you're seeing it in suburban counties of those metros like Indian Trail being larger than Monroe and Mooresville being larger than Statesville.
Yeah I'd agree with this assessment. As recently as the 1990 Census before the big boom of Charlotte and the Triangle you had a lot more of those cities ranking in the top 25 in population but now are being surpassed by suburbs of Charlotte and the Triangle.
In some cases you're seeing it in suburban counties of those metros like Indian Trail being larger than Monroe and Mooresville being larger than Statesville.
Ah, yes, Mooresville. It's interesting that both Mooresville in the Charlotte area and Morrisville in the Triangle, which are often confused with each other, fit this criteria.
Wow on those population figures. I never thought I'd say this regarding legacy cities but: ”go west, young man”. Knoxville had 77,818 people in 1920. Nashville had 118,342 but I don't think it counts as a legacy city. The true legacy city in the region is Birmingham at 178,806.
Wow on those population figures. I never thought I'd say this regarding legacy cities but: ”go west, young man”. Knoxville had 77,818 people in 1920. Nashville had 118,342 but I don't think it counts as a legacy city. The true legacy city in the region is Birmingham at 178,806.
Not sure if it's really in the region or not, but New Orleans had 387k residents in 1920, compared to 390k today.
The opposite would be places like Holly Springs, Huntersville, Morrisville, etc., that have grown tremendously to have populations exceeding legacy cities, but that were nothing but small communities barely appearing on a map just a few decades ago.
This is always the most interesting fact to me. Not just in NC, but really anywhere in the country that has these booming suburbs that have even become job centers in their own right. The fact that Cary has a population of over 170,000 people and blows cities like Wilson, Goldsboro, Rocky Mount, etc. out of the water in terms of GDP, living standards, shopping, housing, etc. is really crazy to think about. 50-60 years ago, Cary was nothing, while places mentioned above were thriving small cities.
Suburban towns near Charlotte and Raleigh have gained so much in population that they have dwarfed these once "legacy cities" of NC. Apex has double the population of Goldsboro (68k vs. 34k) and is only pulling away further. Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Wake Forest, Huntersville, Gastonia, Indian Trail, Mooresville...all these towns have replaced and begun to totally pull away from towns like Hickory, Thomasville, Lumberton in terms of stature and quality of life.
In 50-60 years from now, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Do towns like Lumberton have a revival due to so many folks being able to work from anywhere they choose? With their nice weather and being "somewhat close" to the beach that's always a possibility.
Suburban towns near Charlotte and Raleigh have gained so much in population that they have dwarfed these once "legacy cities" of NC. Apex has double the population of Goldsboro (68k vs. 34k) and is only pulling away further. Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Wake Forest, Huntersville, Gastonia, Indian Trail, Mooresville...all these towns have replaced and begun to totally pull away from towns like Hickory, Thomasville, Lumberton in terms of stature and quality of life.
Gastonia is a textile legacy town that's fortunate enough to be within Charlotte's orbit which sustains it.
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