Erwin is a town that is located in the eastern part of Harnett County, North Carolina, United States, located approximately from Dunn and approximately from Fayetteville. The city is a part of the Dunn, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is additionally a part of the greater Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC CSA, according to the United States Census Bureau. Currently, the city has a population of 5,270 as of the 2020 census. Its current mayor is Randy Baker, who has been the mayor since being elected on May 17, 2022.

History Prior to Erwin, there was a colonial-era settlement in the area known as "Averasboro". The Battle of Averasborough was fought nearby during the American Civil War. In 1902, the Duke family built the Erwin Cotton Mill, which closed on December 1, 2000, due to the North American Free Trade Agreement increasing the labor costs of the mill workers, leaving Swift Textiles to relocate the mill's operations to Mexico. The new town was named "Duke" after the founding shareholders. In 1925, the name was changed to "Erwin" because of the formation of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Oak Grove, Averasboro Battlefield Historic District, and Downtown Erwin are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

On 12 July 2026 around 9 PM local time, a vehicle struck one of the transmission towers that serves the town, leaving the town without electricity service for the entire night, carrying into the next day. Duke Energy had to replace the pole with a temporary power pole that will serve until a new permanent tower is installed. No people were injured during the incident, as it was caused by weather.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Erwin has a total area of , of which , or 0.91%, are water. The Cape Fear River forms part of the western border of the town. Juniper Creek, a tributary to the Cape Fear River, enters in Erwin.

Transportation By road

: The highway enters the city from the northwest, and continues into Dunn, North Carolina, where it meets with , a major north–south highway across the East Coast.

: This short highway enters the city from the south, and its northern terminus is to the north of the city, where it intersects with .

: This highway also enters the city from the south, and it meets with through the center of Erwin, known as 13th Street. The highway, with , ends at in the northern part of the city.

By air

Harnett Regional Jetport is the only airport in the city, which is 10 miles near Buies Creek, NC. The airport currently does not support any airlines yet.

RDU Airport: Although not in the city, the airport serves the Triangle area, which includes Erwin.

By transit

There are no public transportation services that currently service the city.

Carpool services, such as Uber or Lyft are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to and from the city.

Education

Higher education Campbell University

Central Carolina Community College

Public school

High school Triton High School (North Carolina)

Middle school Coats-Erwin Middle

Elementary school Erwin Elementary: Merged with Gentry to form the new Erwin Elementary, which opened on April 18, 2022.

Demographics

2020 census +Erwin racial composition Race Number Percentage White (non-Hispanic) 2,900 63.85% Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 794 17.48% Native American 28 0.62% Asian 9 0.2% Pacific Islander 6 0.13% Other/Mixed 193 4.25% Hispanic or Latino 612 13.47% As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,542 people, 1,890 households, and 1,254 families residing in the town.

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 4,537 people, 1,896 households, and 1,287 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,032 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 80.63% White, 15.96% African American, 0.55% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 1.79% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.14% of the population.

There were 1,896 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. Of all households, 28.3% were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $29,521, and the median income for a family was $41,270. Males had a median income of $29,610 versus $22,650 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,282. About 16.4% of families and 20.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 31.3% of those age 65 or over.

Erwin currently has two schools: Erwin Elementary and Triton High School.

Water tower

In early 2012, Erwin became home to the tallest sphere-topped water tower. The structure is about taller than the previous record holder, the Union Watersphere in Union, New Jersey. However, photographs of the Erwin water tower revealed the new tower to be a water spheroid, not an actual water sphere (pictured).

Notable people Al Woodall, NFL quarterback

References

External links Town of Erwin official website The Daily Record Erwin Historical Society and Museum