Town file
Gatesville, North Carolina
Gatesville, North Carolina (Gates County, North Carolina) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 46, "Double Murder, Double Confession" (29 November 2017). Small Town Murder visits Gatesville, a town of about 302 people in Gates County, in the north-east of North Carolina, two hours from Richmond, Virginia.
- Town
- Gatesville
- County
- Gates County
- State
- North Carolina
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 46
- Approximate location
- 36.407, -76.757
Episode 46 / 29 November 2017 / 125 min / full
Double Murder, Double Confession
"James: 'Gatesville North Carolina, northeastern part of the state'; the town is in Gates County, two hours from Richmond, Virginia" about 0:07:54
The case: Murders of Min and Linda Rogers at Rogers Grocery (August 18, 1990). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2017
- Population
- 302 people
- Median age
- about normal
- Median household income
- 50,313
- Median home value
- $155,000
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $790
- Cost of living
- 98
- Religious
- more religious than normal
- Property crime
- exactly average
- Violent crime
- average
History, in brief
- Gates County is in the northeast of North Carolina, on the northern border, two hours from Richmond, Virginia and two hours twenty minutes from Raleigh. The town's zip code is 27398 and its area code 252. about 0:10:13
- The town covers 0.4 square miles and has no website or slogan of its own. about 0:10:37
- The Gates County slogan is 'Come and visit Gates County for a day, a week, or a lifetime.' about 0:12:11
- The Native peoples were the Nansemond, the Chesapeake and the Chowanoke, who were peaceful and left when Europeans arrived. about 0:13:05
- Early settlers struggled with swamps and sandy soil but turned the thickly wooded area into a farming community. about 0:15:19
- The county made tar and pine pitch from its pine forests and shipped timber from virgin forests, according to the town website; North Carolina is still big in the pig business. about 0:17:05
- Gates County was formed in 1779 and named after General Horatio Gates, who commanded the American army at the Battle of Saratoga. about 0:17:18
- Buildings began to go up in the 1830s, but the town never grew much beyond what it was in the 1800s; it is still agriculture and timber, and six of the nine largest manufacturers in the county rely on timber. about 0:17:29
- The town website advertised a turkey shoot on 25 November, 'the last shoot of the year', with shotguns only, ammunition provided and concessions on sale; prizes included turkeys, hams, sausage and pork loins. about 0:28:03
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Washington, North Carolina61 miles
- Selma, North Carolina105 miles
- Farmville, Virginia110 miles
- Cary, North Carolina123 miles
- Leonardtown, Maryland131 miles
- Clinton, North Carolina131 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.