King is a city in Stokes and Forsyth counties, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,096 at the 2020 census. King is part of the Piedmont Triad metropolitan area, located 15 miles northwest of Winston-Salem.

History

The town was originally called "King's Cabin". Charles and Francis King lived in a cabin owned by Francis's father for a short time in the 1830s. Being Quakers and against slavery, the King family moved to the free North. According to television journalist and historian Chad Tucker's book Images of America, King (2006), after the King family left their home it was used by locals as a landmark or reference point in giving directions. Several decades later when a post office was established in 1888 it was named for that reference point, King's Cabin. The railroad laid tracks a few years later and shortened the name to "King" in its business transactions, and to eliminate confusion the post office followed on September 26, 1894. Charles and Francis King never returned to Stokes County and never knew their former home became the namesake of a town. According to Tucker, the community grew into an unincorporated town of schools and businesses. With the first automobile arriving by train in October 1911, new highways followed. With new roads, the town's proximity to Winston-Salem, and a new four-lane Highway 52 built in the 1960s, King opened its doors to growth, turning farmland into subdivisions. Community groups acted as an unofficial town council, providing services such as a fire department, water and sewer. On September 13, 1983, King became an incorporated city, 95 years after the King's Cabin post office opened. The King Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

King is located in southern Stokes County, with parts of the city limits extending south into Forsyth County. U.S. Route 52, a four-lane freeway, passes through the city south and west of the center, with access from Exit 123. Downtown Winston-Salem is 16 mi southeast via US 52, and Mount Airy is 21 mi to the northwest. Pilot Mountain State Park is 8 mi to the northwest and Hanging Rock State Park is 16 mi to the north. It's a 40-minute drive to the Blue Ridge Mountains via the Blue Ridge Parkway. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.3 sqkm, of which 15.1 sqkm is land and 0.1 sqkm, or 0.93%, is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,197 people, 2,956 households, and 1,954 families residing in the city.

Education

High school

Private School

Notable people