COMMUNITY INFORMATION: SUMMERFIELD 8
SUMMERFIELD
Rockingham County
Guilford County
Stokesdale Forsyth County
AT A GLANCE Datingbacktothe1700s,Summerfieldwasoriginally known as Bruce’s Crossroads, named for Charles Bruce,aRevolutionaryWarpatriotwhosettledinthe areain1769.Itwasrenamedin1812forRev.JohnSummerfield, an evangelist who relocated there. Shortlyafterincorporatingin1996,Summerfieldapproved voluntaryannexationrequests;thetownnowencompasses 26.56milesandisGuilfordCounty’sthirdlargestmunicipality. The Town of Summerfield owns properties at all four corners of the N.C. 150 (Oak Ridge Road) and Summerfield Road intersection. Plans to renovate the historic Gordon building at one corner of the intersection and the historic Martin House diagonally across the street from it werescrappedafewyearsagoaftercostestimatesprovedto beprohibitive.Recentlytherehasbeeninterestfromoutside sourcesinpurchasingthetwobuildings,somethingthetown council was to discuss at its annual retreat in January 2022. Thankstoa700-footsidewalkcompletedin2019,pedestrians andcycliststravelingontheAtlantic-Yadkin(A&Y)Greenway, whichbeginsindowntownGreensboroandcrossesStrawberry Road in Summerfield, can now travel through the pedestrian tunnel underneath U.S. 220 to Summerfield Road. Last year studentsfromNorthwestGuilfordandNorthernGuilfordHigh Schoolscompletedamuralontheinsideofthe110-foot-long tunnel with an “abstract, bold take on a park scene.” Thetownhasbudgeted$50,000thisfiscalyearforright-of-way progressontheA&YGreenway(South),whichispartofNorth Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Othercapitalprojectsinthe2021-22FYbudgetincludecompletingthemajorityofconstructionona9,000-square-foot town hall to be located on a 13-acre tract the town owns at the corner of N.C. 150 and U.S. 220; completing the town’s landuseplan;HistoricalCommitteeprojects;andimprovements to the town’s athletic park on U.S. 220. The desire of Summerfield Farms owner David Couch to create a Traditional Neighborhood Development on almost 1,000 acres he owns in Summerfield would have a far-reaching impact on the town and has consequently promptedmuchscrutinyanddebateamongtownstaff, councilmembersandcitizens.Thedevelopmentwouldincludeavarietyofhousingtypesatawiderangeofprices, someclusteringofhouses,atrailsystem,commonopen spacesandtree-linedstreets;Couchisexpectedtopresent his development plan to the town in early 2022. Likesomanyothersmallcommunitieswhoseroots are in farming, Summerfield continues to face the challenge of balancing growth with residents’ desire to preserve its rural character.
Summerfield Oak Ridge
northwest Greensboro
Incorporation date: 1996 Size: 26.56 square miles Property tax rate: 2.75¢ per $100 of property value (town); 73¢ per $100 (county), 13.1¢ per $100 (fire department and service protection district) Sales tax rate: combined 6.75% (2% for Guilford County; 4.75% for North Carolina)
POPULATION 7,018
2000
10,232 10,971 (per U.S. Census figures/April 2020)
2010
CURRENT
AGE Under 18 ........................................................................................................ 25.5% 65 and over .................................................................................................... 14.1%
EDUCATION (age 25 and over) High school graduate (or higher) ........................................................ 95.9% Bachelor’s degree or higher .....................................................................................56.1% Percent of households with a broadband internet subscription: 87.7%
HOUSING Median value of owner-occupied housing unit: $361,100 Estimated number of households: 3,902; Estimated number of family members per household: 2.86
INCOME Median household income: $103,769 Families with income in last 12 months below poverty level: 5.3% Residents without health insurance (under age 65): 4.5%
