Summerfield, North Carolina

Summerfield, North Carolina
Town
Summerfield Town Hall
Motto(s):  "Respectful of the Past; Focused on the Future"
Location in Guilford County and the state of North Carolina.
Coordinates: 36°11′51″N 79°53′59″W / 36.19750°N 79.89972°W / 36.19750; -79.89972
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Guilford
Founded	1769
Incorporated	1996
Named for	John Summerfield[1]
Government
• Mayor	Tim Sessoms
• Mayor Pro Tem	Lynne Williams DeVaney
• Town Council	Jeff Davis, Janelle Robinson, Reece Walker, Lynne DeVaney, John Doggett[2]
Area [3]
• Total	26.69 sq mi (69.12 km2)
• Land	26.40 sq mi (68.37 km2)
• Water	0.29 sq mi (0.75 km2)
Elevation [4]	856 ft (261 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	10,951
• Density	414.87/sq mi (160.18/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	27358
Area code(s)	336, 743
FIPS code	37-65580[5]
GNIS feature ID	2406682[4]
Website	Official website

Summerfield is a town in Guilford County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,951.^[6]

The town is largely regarded as a suburb of Greensboro and as development has grown, the town has slowly transformed from a rural farming area into a bedroom community primarily from Northern transplants. It features a town hall, along Oak Ridge Road (aka NC 150), west of Battleground Avenue (aka US 220), as well as a shopping center east of Battleground Avenue and Auburn Road, located on the eastern portion of NC 150. Interstate 73 passes just west of the town's center, connecting with NC 150, and also connecting with US 158 in the northernmost part of the town.

The area was settled in about 1769 by Charles Bruce and acquired the name Bruce's Crossroads.^[7] In February 1781 patriot forces under General Henry Lee III and British forces under General Banastre Tarleton skirmished at the crossroads during the American Revolutionary War.^[8] The Patriots won the battle and forced the British calvary to retreat.^[9] In 1812 a post office was established, and the community was renamed Summerfield, in homage to evangelist John Summerfield.^[7]

Summerfield School Gymnasium and Community Center has a gym that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.^[10] The Summerfield Historic District was listed in 2005.^[11]

Former North Carolina Governor Alexander Martin had a house that he lived in the town square of Summerfield, which is not standing today. George Washington stayed in the house during the Revolutionary War. There is currently a historical home on the square known as the Martin House, but it was lived in by a son of the Governor. Currently, the Martin House is owned by the town of Summerfield.

In June 2024, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to deannex close to 1000 acres owned by developer David Couch after officials and people living in the area opposed his planned housing development. While an appeal of the action is possible, Couch would get to develop the land without being denied permission by the town government.^[12]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 27.3 square miles (70.7 km²), of which 27.1 square miles (70.2 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) (0.62%) is water.

As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 10,951 people, 3,902 households, and 3,227 families residing in the town.

At the 2010 census,^[5] there were 10,232 people, 2,518 households and 2,094 families residing in the town. The population density was 258.9 per square mile (100.0/km²). There were 2,653 housing units at an average density of 97.9 per square mile (37.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.47% Caucasian, 4.03% African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.56% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino were 1.42% of the population.

There were 2,518 households, of which 41.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.4% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.8% were non-families. 14.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.07.

Age distribution was 28.1% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.

The median household income was $71,738, and the median family income was $79,433. Males had a median income of $51,838 versus $32,798 for females. The per capita income for the town was $33,116. About 2.5% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Summerfield serves as home to Summerfield Elementary School which serves as the primary school for grades kindergarten to fifth grade in the town. Summerfield Charter Academy (SCA), a charter school operated by National Heritage Academies is also located in Summerfield and educates children from kindergarten through eighth grade although it is not as open and flexible as most charter schools tend to be.^[16] Students of SCA are known as the Summerfield Stampede. Most people in Summerfield attend Northern Guilford Middle School and Northern Guilford High School, while some attend Northern Elementary School, all three located east on Route 150, in proximity to Brown Summit, and having the Nighthawk as their mascot. Some residents attend Northwest Guilford Middle School followed by Northwest Guilford High School, both of which are located nearby in Greensboro. The mascot of the NW schools and Summerfield Elementary School is the Viking.

• Andrew Jackson, 7th president of the United States
• Alexander Martin, former North Carolina governor
• Harold L. Martin, chancellor of North Carolina A&T State University
• Elizabeth Kitley, American basketball player
• Elissa Cunane, American basketball player

• Powell, William S. (1976). The North Carolina Gazetteer: A Dictionary of Tar Heel Places. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807812471.

• Official website of Summerfield, NC
• The Stokesdale Star a local newspaper serving Summerfield, NC