50 years ago: The March 4, 1971, edition of
The AJT featured an article entitled ââ70 Census Shows Avery County Has Grown.â Avery Countyâs official population in the 1970 census was 12,655, up 5.4 percent from the 1960 figure of 12,009 the Bureau of the Census, US Department of Commerce, reports. The official population of the state was 5,082,059, up 11.5 percent from the 1970 population count, which was 4,556,155. The 1970 census counted 12,493 white persons in Avery County, 98.7 percent of the population total; with 150 blacks and 12 persons of other races. In 1960, 98.67 percent of the population was white. The Census showed 1,104 children under five years old, with 2,983 in ages 5 through 17, 7,301 people age 18 through 64; and 1,267 who were 65 and older. The population 14 years and older included 6,019 married people, 751 who were widowed, 194 divorced, and 2,533 never married. Avery Countyâs 1970 population was classified as 100 percent rural. There