and in the nearby towns of Wallace and Beulaville. Several small businesses still call Chinquapin home, however, and the community is still served by a post office and an elementary school. Education In the early 1900s, Booker T. Washington and a philanthropist named Julius Rosenwald helped set up schools for children in rural black communities. One such “Rosenwald School” operated in Chinquapin as late as the 1930s. Chinquapin High School was built in 1925 and first accredited in 1926 – its first principal was Arthur Ranes. The building was two stories and of wood framed/brick veneer construction. A two-story attached classroom wing and detached cafeteria, both of masonry construction, were added in the 1950s. In 2010, the county demolished the structure through a controlled burn. Notable residents Chinquapin is the birthplace of Caleb Bradham (May 27, 1867 – February 19, 1934), inventor of Pepsi-Cola. Randall Kenan (born March 12, 1963) is an American author of fiction and non-fiction who was raised in Chinquapin, North Carolina. Among his books is the collection of short stories Let the Dead Bury Their Dead, which was named a New York Times Notable Book in 1992. Kenan is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Award and the John Dos Passos Prize. Demographics 2020 census Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race. Churches Chinquapin Presbyterian Church St. Lewis Missionary Baptist Church Shiloh Baptist Church Sharon Baptist Church Bethlehem Church First Missionary Baptist Church The Mount Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints References Unincorporated communities in North Carolina Unincorporated communities in Duplin County, North Carolina