Caldwell was formed in 1841 from Burke and Wilkes. It was named in honor of Joseph Caldwell, the first president of the University of North Carolina He strongly advocated a public school system and a railroad across the center of the State from Morehead City to Tennessee. It is in the west central section of the State and is bounded by Alexander, Catawba, Burke, Avery, Watauga and Wilkes counties. The present land area is 471.60 square miles and the 2000 population was 77,386. The court was ordered to be held at the store of George Powell near the house of George Smith, Jr., until a courthouse was erected. Commissioners were named to select a site as near the center as possible, acquire land and a town, and erect a courthouse. Lenoir, named in honor of William Lenoir, is the county seat.

Camden was formed in 1777 from Pasquotank. It was named in honor of Charles Pratt, Earl of Camden, who was one of the staunchest friends of the Americans in the British Parliament. It is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by the state of Virginia, Albemarle Sound, and Pasquotank, Gates, and Currituck counties. The present land area is 240.68 square miles and the population in 2000 was 6,885. Camden is the county seat.

Carteret was formed in 1722 from Craven. It was named in honor of Sir John Carteret afterwards (1744) Earl of Granville, one of the Lords Proprietors. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Onslow, Jones and Craven counties and on the banks by Hyde County. The present land area is 519.84 square miles and the 2000 population was 59,383. Beaufort, established in 1723 and named in honor of Henry Duke of Beaufort, is the county seat.

Caswell was formed in 1777 from Orange. The act was to become effective June 1, 1777. It was named in honor of Richard Caswell, member of the first Continental Congress, first governor of North Carolina after the Declaration of Independence, and Major General in the Revolutionary army. It is in the north central section of the State and is bounded by Person, Orange Alamance and Rockingham counties, and by the state of Virginia. The present land area is 424.67 square miles and the 2000 population was 23,501. The act creating the county authorized the first court to be held at the home of Thomas Douglas; it also named commissioners to select a location and have the courthouse, prison, and stocks erected. In 1783 Leesburg was established "adjoining to where the Caswell Court House now stands." In 1791, when Person was formed, the court was ordered to be held at Joseph Smith's. Also, commissioners were named in the act to erect the courthouse as near the center of the county as possible. The courthouse at Leesburg was ordered sold by the commissioners of Caswell and Person. In 1829 an act was passed directing the justices to enlarged the public square, or buy some land elsewhere and erect a new courthouse. In 1833, Yanceyville was established at the courthouse. It was named in honor of Bartlett Yancey and is the county seat.

Catawba was formed in 1842 from Lincoln. It was named for an Indian tribe which lived in that section of the State. It is in the west central section of the State and is bounded by Iredell Lincoln, Burke, Caldwell and Alexander counties. The present land area is 399.97 square miles and the 2000 population was 141,686. The act establishing the county named commissioners to acquire land within two miles of the center of the county, lay out a town by the name of Newton, and erect a courthouse. Controversy developed over the location. Consequently in 1845 an act was passed authorizing the erecting of the courthouse in Newton, which is now the county seat.

Chatham was formed in 1771 from Orange. The act became effective April 1, 1771. It was named in honor of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham who was a most eloquent defender of the American cause in the English Parliament during the Revolution. It is in the central section of the state and is bounded by Wake, Harnett, Lee, Moore, Randolph, Alamance, Orange and Durham counties. The present land area is 682.85 square miles and the 2000 population was 49,329. The act establishing the county provided for the courts to be held at the home of Stephen Poe. It also named commissioners to have a courthouse, prison and stocks erected. In 1778 a town was established on the land formerly belonging to Ambrose Edwards where the courthouse was. This town was named Chatham. Chatham Court House is mentioned in correspondence, 1776-1782. In 1785 a law establishing Pittsboro on Miles Scurlock 's land on which the courthouse stood was enacted. In 1787 an act was passed stating that the heirs of Scurlock would not allow a town to be established on their land. Therefore, the trustees of the town were advised to purchase land from William Petty adjoining the Scurlock tract and lay out a town. It was named Pittsboro in honor of William Pitt, the younger. In 1787 Pittsboro was made the county seat.

Cherokee was formed in 1839 from Macon. It was named in honor of the Indian tribe who still live in the western part of the State. It is in the western section of the State and is bounded by the states of Georgia and Tennessee and Graham, Swain, Macon and Clay counties. The present land area is 455.19 square miles and the population in 2000 was 24,298. The courts were ordered to be held at one of the houses at Fort Butler until a courthouse could be erected. Fort Butler was in the town of Murphy. Murphy is the county seat.

Chowan was formed in 1670 as a precinct in Albemarle County. It was named in honor of the Indian tribe Chowan, which lived in the northeastern part of the Colony. It is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by Albemarle Sound, Chowan River, and Bertie, Hertford, Gates and Perquimans counties. The present land area is 172.64 square miles and the 2000 population was 14,150. In 1720, Edenton, which was named in honor of Governor Charles Eden, was established. In 1722 it was designated and has continued to be the county seat.

Clay was formed in 1861 from Cherokee. It was named in honor of Henry Clay. It is in the western section of the State and is bounded by the state of Georgia and Cherokee and Macon counties. The present land area is 214.70 square miles and the 2000 population was 8,775. Commissioners were directed to hold their first meeting in the Methodist Church near Fort Hembree. Special commissioners were named to select a site for the courthouse and lay out a town by the name of Hayesville. Hayesville, named in honor of George W. Hayes, is the county seat.

Cleveland was formed in 1841 from Rutherford and Lincoln. It was named in honor of Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, a noted partisan leader of the western Carolina frontier and one of the heroes at Kings Mountain. It is in the southwestern section of the state and is bounded by the state of South Carolina and Rutherford, Burke, Lincoln, and Gaston counties. The present land area is 464.63 square miles and the 2000 population was 96,287. The first court was ordered to be held at the home of William Weathers. At this court the justices were to obtain a place to hold future courts until a courthouse was erected. Commissioners were named to acquire land and lay out a town by the name of Shelby where the courthouse and jail were to be located. In 1887 an act was passed changing the spelling of Cleveland from "Cleaveland county" to "Cleveland county." Shelby was incorporated in 1843 and is the county seat.

Columbus was formed in 1808 from Brunswick and Bladen. It was named in honor of the discoverer of the New World. It is in the southeastern section of the State and is bounded by the state of South Carolina and Robeson, Bladen, Pender and Brunswick counties. The present land area is 936.80 square miles and the 2000 population was 54,749. In 1810 Whiteville was laid out on James B. White's land and the public buildings were ordered to be erected there. Whiteville is the county seat.

Craven was first created as Archdale Precinct of Bath County in 1705. The name was changed about 1712. It was named in honor of William Lord Craven, one of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by Carteret, Jones, Lenoir, Pitt, Beaufort and Pamlico counties. The present land area is 708.43 square miles and the population in 2000 was 91,523. The county seat was first called Chattawka, or Chattoocka, and later. in 1723, Newbern. New Bern - the law fixed the spelling in 1897 - is the county seat.

Cumberland was formed in 1754 from Bladen. It was named in honor of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, third son of King George II. Cumberland was the commander of the English Army at the Battle of Culloden, in which the Scotch Highlanders were defeated in 1746. Many of them came to America, and their principal settlement was in Cumberland County. Cumberland was changed to Fayette County in early 1784, but the act was repealed at the next General Assembly, which met in November, 1784. It is in the southeastern section of the State and is bounded by Sampson, Bladen, Robeson, Hoke, Harnett and Johnston counties. The present land area is 652.72 square miles and its 2000 population was 302,963. The county seat was first called Cumberland Court House. In 1762 Campbellton was established at Cross Creek with provisions for the public buildings. In 1778 Cross Creek and Campbellton were joined and the courthouse was ordered to be erected in that part of the town known as Cross Creek. In 1783 Campbellton was changed to Fayetteville in honor of Lafayette. Fayetteville is the county seat.

Currituck was formed as early as 1668 as a precinct of Albemarle County. It is "traditionally said to be an Indian word for wild geese; Coratank." It is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Albemarle Sound, Camden County, and the state of Virginia. The present land area is 261.70 square miles and the 2000 population was 18,190. Currituck Court House, mentioned as early as 1755, was the name of the county seat. Today the words "Court House" have been dropped and only Currituck is used.

Dare was formed in 1870 from Currituck, Tyrrell, and Hyde. It was named in honor of Virginia Dare, the first child born of English parents in America. It is in the eastern section of the State, and is bounded by Pamlico, Croatan and Albemarle Sounds, Hyde and Tyrrell counties (and on the banks by the Atlantic Ocean) . The present land area is 383.58 square miles and the 2000 population was 29,967. Manteo, named in honor of an Indian Chief, is the county seat.

Davidson was formed in 1822 from Rowan. It was named in honor of General William Lee Davidson, a gallant soldier of the Revolution, who was killed at Cowan's Ford. When General Greene retreated across North Carolina before Cornwallis in 1781, he stationed troops under Davidson at Cowan's Ford on the Catawba River to delay the British army. The British attacked the Americans, killing General Davidson, and forced a passage. The United States government has erected a monument in his honor on Guilford Battle Ground. The county is in the central section of the State and is bounded by Randolph, Montgomery, Rowan, Davie, Forsyth, and Guilford counties. The present land area is 552.15 square miles and the 2000 population was 147,246. Lexington is the county seat.

Davie was formed in 1836 from Rowan. It was named in honor of William Richardson Davie, a distinguished Revolutionary soldier, a member of the Federal Convention of 1787, Governor of North Carolina, special envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to France, and one of the founders of the University of North Carolina. It is in the central section of the State and is bounded by Davidson, Rowan, Iredell, Yadkin, and Forsyth counties. The present land area is 265.18 square miles and the population in 2000 was 34,835. In 1837 the court was ordered to be held at Mocksville. Mocksville, incorporated in 1839, is the county seat.

Duplin was formed in 1750 from New Hanover. It was named in honor of Thomas Hay, Lord Duplin, an English nobleman. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by Jones, Onslow, Pender, Sampson, Wayne, and Lenoir counties. The present land area is 817.73 square miles and the 2000 population was around 49,063. From 1755 to 1780 the county seat was called Duplin Court House, but the location was not specified. The county court minutes merely say that the court was held at the court house. In 1816 Kenansville was laid out on the public lands and a new courthouse ordered to be erected. On and after January, 1819, the court was held in the courthouse in Kenansville. Kenansville is the county seat.

Durham was formed in 1881 from Orange and Wake. It was named for the city of Durham which was named in honor of Dr. Bartlett Snipes Durham who donated the land on which the railroad station was located. The building of the railroad station was the beginning of the town of Durham. It is in the central section of the State and bounded by Wake, Chatham. Orange, Person, and Granville counties. The present land area is 290.32 square miles and the population in 2000 was 223,314. Durham, incorporated in 1866 as the Town of Durham in Orange County, is the county seat.

Edgecombe was formed in 1741 from Bertie. although deeds begin in 1732 and one will dates from 1733. [No action had been taken on a bill to establish the county in 1734.] It was named in honor of Richard Edgecome, who became Baron Edgecombe in 1742, an English nobleman and a lord of the Treasury. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by Martin, Pitt, Wilson, Nash, and Halifax counties. The present land area is 505.03 square miles and the 2000 population was 55,606. The first county seat was Edgecombe Court House. Tarboro was established in 1760 and was made the county seat in 1764.