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Manteo is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,052 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dare County.
Geography
Manteo is located at (35.904595, -75.669385), on the north central area of Roanoke Island.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.6 km² (1.8 mi²). 4.5 km² (1.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (3.35%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,052 people, 515 households, and 287 families residing in the town. The population density was 234.8/km² (607.2/mi²). There were 924 housing units at an average density of 206.2/km² (533.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 86.31% White, 10.08% African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 1.43% from other races, and 1.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.57% of the population. primarily Peruvians and lesser numbers of Mexicans.
There were 515 households out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.1% were non-families. 38.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.03 and the average family size was 2.64.
In the town the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. For this reason, many local women wind up married to men they met elsewhere.
The median income for a household in the town was $29,803, and the median income for a family was $40,139. Males had a median income of $30,625 versus $20,833 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,222. About 18.2% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.4% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over. Property taxes have been raised so high that some of the older natives of the area are being forced to sell their now-valuable properties and move away because of the economic pressure brought on by people moving in from the Northeast US who buy old homes and fix them up into gems of architecture.
Housing costs are prohibitively high, due to Roanoke Island's proximity to the beaches of the Outer Banks, with barely adequate single-family homes often costing over well $250,000. Mobile home parks are also prevalent in the Manteo area, with rents being equally exorbitant.
History
Named after Croatoan Indian, "Manteo." Manteo, in 1587, was friendly to British colonist John White. Manteo was "civilized" by the English during a trip to London where he learned to become the liaison between the Roanoke settlers and Croatoan Indians. Eventually, John White's daughter Eleanor married Ananias Dare, and they had the first American born English child, Virginia Dare. Hence, the county in which Manteo resides.
Its most famous resident is the actor Andy Griffith who lives with his wife Cindy on a secluded compound on the northeastern shore of Roanoke Island about one mile north of the actual city limits.
External links
"Manteo, North Carolina"