The name "Rhodhiss" comes from John M. Rhodes and George B. Hiss. They joined together to build a cotton mill on the upper Catawba River in Caldwell County. With a $500,000 investment, they helped construct the village of Rhodhiss, which included a horseshoe-shaped dam, electric generator, mill, general store, and worker houses. Rhodhiss Manufacturing Company opened in 1902, with Rhodhiss incorporating as a town in 1903. Within the next decade, the Town of Rhodhiss would expand into Burke County, with a new steel bridge spanning the Catawba River to connect the town together.
Rhodhiss is located in eastern Burke County and southern Caldwell County at . It is bordered to the north by the town of Granite Falls. The Catawba River runs through the center of the town, which is located just east of Rhodhiss Dam. One bridge crosses the river in the town, leading north on Caldwell Street to Granite Falls, and leading south on Burke Street towards Icard and Connelly Springs. The small town has only one traffic light, a cautionary flashing yellow light, not a stop light. There is only one police officer, as the town has the lowest crime rate in Caldwell County. In the 1980s, there was a beach, that was located on Strawberry Hill. There was also a Boys Scout club house at the top of that same road; however, it closed in either the late 1970s or early 1980s. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which is land and, or 5.85%, is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 366 people, 170 households, and 112 families residing in the town. The population density was 374.5 people per square mile. There were 188 housing units at an average density of 192.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 99.18% White, 0.55% African American, 0.27% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.27% of the population. There were 170 households out of which 21.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couplesliving together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.62. In the town, the population was spread out with 17.5% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $32,875, and the median income for a family was $41,875. Males had a median income of $27,614 versus $22,917 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,165. About 5.6% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 28.4% of those age 65 or over.
