Bahama, North Carolina
Encyclopedia
Bahama is an unincorporated community in northern Durham County, North Carolina
.
hails from Bahama.
(Zip Code 27503) has a population of 3,304 as of the 2000 census
. The population is 50.2% male and 49.8% female. About 87.7% of the population is white, 10.3% African-American, 0.2% American Indian
, 0.5% Asian
, 1.2% Hispanic
, and 0.6% of other races. 0.6% of people are two or more races. There are no native Hawaiians
or other Pacific Islander
s.
The median household income
is $55,272 with 4.7% of the population living below the poverty
line
Marker Text:
Non-denominational meeting house built ca. 1784 by Archer Harris. By 1808 Methodist. Home church to Washington Duke.
Essay:
Nathaniel Harris in the mid-eighteenth century acquired a tract of 6000 acres (24.3 km²) in what is now the community of Bahama in northern Durham County. Thereon his son Archer built a meeting house around 1784 which operated for the benefit of all denominations until 1808 when it affiliated with the Methodist Church. The first building was a log structure and was used by all who desired to worship, white and black. The meeting house, originally known as Crossroads, is mentioned in a deposition filed against Archer Harris in 1784 as part of a boundary dispute.
In 1812 a 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) tract was conveyed to church trustees. The church was placed within the Granville Circuit of the Virginia Conference. On December 20, 1820, Washington Duke, patriarch of the “Dukes of Durham,” was converted to Methodism at the church. His parents, Taylor and Dicey Jones Duke, were members at Mount Bethel. The gifts of the Duke family to Methodist causes, not the least of them the establishment of Duke University, are many. Duke is said to have claimed that “whatever I am, I accredit to the Methodist circuit riders.”
The present church building was completed in 1949 and is the congregation’s sixth. The raising was the culmination of a prolonged fundraising effort. Harley Chester, minister, recalled that “gallons of Brunswick stew were made and sold, suppers were given, bazaars were held, Negro minstrels, plays, a womanless wedding and almost anything to make an honest dollar.”
Durham County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 223,314 people, 89,015 households, and 54,032 families residing in the county. The population density was 769 people per square mile . There were 95,452 housing units at an average density of 329 per square mile...
.
History
Bahama was originally settled around 1750 as the community of Balltown until the name was changed to reflect three leading families of the community: (Ba)ll, (Ha)rris, and (Ma)ngum. Another unusual name associated with the community is Honkydory, a name for the post office here during a period of the 19th century . NASCAR driver Scott RiggsScott Riggs
Russell Scott Riggs is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #81 Dodge Charger for Whitney Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.-Early career:...
hails from Bahama.
Demographics
Bahama's Zip Code Tabulation AreaZIP Code Tabulation Area
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are statistical entities developed by the United States Census Bureau for tabulating summary statistics from Census 2000. This new entity was developed to overcome the difficulties in precisely defining the land area covered by each ZIP code...
(Zip Code 27503) has a population of 3,304 as of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. The population is 50.2% male and 49.8% female. About 87.7% of the population is white, 10.3% African-American, 0.2% American Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, 0.5% Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
, 1.2% Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
, and 0.6% of other races. 0.6% of people are two or more races. There are no native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
or other Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...
s.
The median household income
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
is $55,272 with 4.7% of the population living below the poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
line
Education
Bahama is home to Mangum Elementary School (formerly Mangum Primary School). Mangum Elementary is a Durham Public School. (kindergarten-5th grade)Historic Marker
Mount Bethel Church - NC Highway Marker G-65Marker Text:
Non-denominational meeting house built ca. 1784 by Archer Harris. By 1808 Methodist. Home church to Washington Duke.
Essay:
Nathaniel Harris in the mid-eighteenth century acquired a tract of 6000 acres (24.3 km²) in what is now the community of Bahama in northern Durham County. Thereon his son Archer built a meeting house around 1784 which operated for the benefit of all denominations until 1808 when it affiliated with the Methodist Church. The first building was a log structure and was used by all who desired to worship, white and black. The meeting house, originally known as Crossroads, is mentioned in a deposition filed against Archer Harris in 1784 as part of a boundary dispute.
In 1812 a 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) tract was conveyed to church trustees. The church was placed within the Granville Circuit of the Virginia Conference. On December 20, 1820, Washington Duke, patriarch of the “Dukes of Durham,” was converted to Methodism at the church. His parents, Taylor and Dicey Jones Duke, were members at Mount Bethel. The gifts of the Duke family to Methodist causes, not the least of them the establishment of Duke University, are many. Duke is said to have claimed that “whatever I am, I accredit to the Methodist circuit riders.”
The present church building was completed in 1949 and is the congregation’s sixth. The raising was the culmination of a prolonged fundraising effort. Harley Chester, minister, recalled that “gallons of Brunswick stew were made and sold, suppers were given, bazaars were held, Negro minstrels, plays, a womanless wedding and almost anything to make an honest dollar.”