Franklin was formed in 1779 from Bute. It was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin. It is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by Nash, Wake, Granville, Vance, and Warren counties. The present land area is 492.02 square miles and the 2000 population was47,260. The act establishing the county authorized that the first court be held at the home of Benjamin Seawell. The justices were to determine where subsequent courts were to be held until the courthouse could be erected. In 1779 Lewisburg was established on land purchased by the commissioners for the erection of the courthouse. Louisburg is the county seat

Gaston was formed in 1846 from Lincoln. It was named in honor of William Gaston, a member of Congress and a Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. It is in the southwestern section of the State and is bounded by the state of South Carolina and Cleveland, Lincoln and Mecklenburg counties. The present land area is 356.21 square miles and the 2000 population was 190,304. The court was ordered to be held at the home of Jesse Holland until a courthouse could be erected. Commissioners were named to select a site for the county seat as near the center of the county as possible provided it was within two miles of Long Creek Baptist Meeting House. They were to acquire land, lay out a town by the name of Dallas, and erect a courthouse. Dallas continued to be the county seat until 1909 when Gastonia was, by popular vote, selected as the county seat.

Gates was formed in 1779 from Chowan, Hertford, and Perquimans counties. It was named in honor of General Horatio Gates, who commanded American Army at the Battle of Saratoga. It is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan and Hertford counties, and the state of Virginia. The present land area is 340.61 square miles and the population in 2000 was 10,516. The act establishing the county provided that commissioners be appointed to select a site centrally located for the erection of a courthouse, etc., and to have the building erected. In 1781, an act was passed to levy an additional tax for the completion of the public buildings. The Legislature of 1830-31 passed an act which said that the place now known as Gates Court House, in the county of Gates, shall in the future be known and described by the name of Gatesville. Gatesville is the county seat.

Graham was formed in 1872 from Cherokee. It was named in honor of William A. Graham, United States Senator, Governor of North Carolina, secretary of the navy, and a Confederate States Senator. It is in the western section of the State and is bounded by the state of Tennessee and Cherokee and Swain counties. The present land area is 292.07 square miles and the 2000 population was 7,993. The first meeting of the county commissioners was ordered to be held at King & Cooper's store; commissioners were named to lay out a town as a county seat. The county seat is Robbinsville.

Granville was formed in 1746 from Edgecombe. It was named in honor of John Carteret, Earl of Granville, who owned the Granville District. It is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by Vance, Wake, Durham and Person counties and the state of Virginia. The present land area is 531.12 square miles and the 2000 population was 48,498. The first county seat was called Granville Court House. In 1748 the location selected became unsatisfactory. Therefore, it was ordered that the courthouse be located on a branch of Tar River called Tabb's Creek. Oxford was made the county seat in 1811 and was incorporated in 1816.

Greene County was formed in 1799 from Glasgow. The county was originally named for James Glasgow, but when he became publicly involved in land frauds it was changed to Greene in honor of Nathaniel Greene, Washington's right-hand-man. Greene is regarded as second only to Washington as the greatest soldier of the Revolution. He fought the Battle of Guilford Court House which saved North Carolina from the British. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by Pitt, Lenoir, Wayne and Wilson counties. The present land area is 265.40 square miles and the 2000 population was 18,974. In 1811 Snow Hill was laid out as the courthouse and is the county seat.

Guilford was formed in 1771 from Rowan and Orange. The act creating Guilford became effective April 1, 1771. It was named in honor of Francis North who was Earl of Guilford. He was the father of Lord North who was Prime Minister under George III during the Revolution. Lord North afterward succeeded his father as Earl of Guilford. It is in the north central section of the State and is bounded by Alamance, Randolph, Davidson, Forsyth and Rockingham counties. The present land area is 649.42 square miles and the population was 421,048. The first court was ordered held at the home of Robert Lindsay and provided for the commissioners to buy the land of John Campbell for the courthouse site. In 1785 Martinsville was laid out as the courthouse. It was named in honor of Alexander Martin, governor of North Carolina, 1782-1785 and 1789-1792. The courthouse had been called Guilford Court House until the passage of this act. Commissioners were named by the act of 1807 to select a place at the center of the county for the erection of a new courthouse, as the old one was badly in need of repair and not conveniently located. Commissioners were also named to purchase 30 acres of land and have the new courthouse erected. They were to sell the old courthouse. In 1808 the new county seat was named Greensborough in honor of Nathaniel Greene. Today Greensboro is the county seat.

Halifax was formed in 1758 from Edgecombe. The act was to become effective in January 1759. It was named in honor of George Montague, Second Earl of Halifax. It is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by Bertie, Martin, Edgecombe, Nash, Warren and Northampton counties. The present land area is 725.36 square miles and the 2000 population was 57,370. The first court was held at Enfield. Halifax was made the county seat by an act passed in 1758.

Harnett was formed in 1855 from Cumberland. It was named in honor of Cornelius Harnett, an eminent Revolutionary patriot, president of the Provincial Council, president of the Council of Safety, delegate to the Continental Congress, and author of the Halifax Resolutions of April 12, 1776. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by Chatham, Cumberland, Hoke, Moore, Lee, Wake, Johnston and Sampson counties. The present land area is 595.01 square miles and the 2000 population was 91,025. The courts were ordered to be held at Summerville until a courthouse was erected unless otherwise directed by a majority of the justices of the peace. It also named commissioners to locate the geographical center of the county, acquire the land. Lay out a town and erect the public buildings. The town was called Toomer in honor of John D. Toomer of Cumberland, a judge of the superior and of the supreme court. Many people became dissatisfied with the location, and in 1859 an act was passed to allow the voters to decide whether Toomer should remain the county seat or to select a new location. If a new site was selected, it should be called Lillington. Lillington was named in honor of Alexander Lillington. It is the county seat.

Haywood was formed in 1808 from Buncombe. It was named in honor of John Haywood, Treasurer of North Carolina, 1787-1827. It is in the western section of the State and is bounded by the state of Tennessee and Madison, Buncombe, Transylvania, Jackson and Swain counties. The present land area is 553.66 square miles and the 2000 population was 54,033. The first court was ordered to be held at Mount Prospect, at which time the justices could decide on some other place for holding court until a courthouse could be erected. In 1809 the justices of the peace were authorized to appoint commissioners to erect the courthouse: "In the erection of the public buildings at Mount Prospect there was laid the foundation of the little city of Waynesville. In the record of the court of pleas and quarter sessions the name of Waynesville occurs first in 1811." Waynesville was confirmed as a town by legislative act in 1810. Waynesville is the county seat.

Henderson was formed in l838 from Buncombe. It was name in honor of Leonard Henderson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. It is in the western section of the State and is bounded by the state of South Carolina and Transylvania, Haywood, Buncombe, McDowell, Rutherford and Polk counties. The present land area is 374.00 square miles and the population was 89,173. The first court was to be held at the home of Hugh Johnston, at which time the justices were to decide on a place for future courts until a courthouse was erected. Commissioners were named to acquire land, lay out a town, and erect a courthouse. This town was to be named Hendersonville. The commissioners selected a site which is now called Horse Shoe, but much dissatisfaction developed over the selection and two factions arose, one called the River party and the other the Road party. The River party favored the Horse Shoe site. In 1839 the Road party enjoined the sale of lots of the site selected at Horse Shoe and the controversy soon became so heated that the Legislature ordered an election to be held to determine the location by popular vote. The Road party was successful. In 1840 Hendersonville was laid out on land deeded by Michael King of Charleston, South Carolina, for that purpose. Hendersonville is the county seat.

Hertford was formed in 1759 from Chowan, Bertie and Northampton. The act was to become effective May 1, 1760. It was named in honor of Francis Seymour Conway, Earl of Hertford, a nobleman. He was brother of General Conway, a distinguished British soldier and member of Parliament, who favored the repeal of the Stamp Act. It is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by Gates, Chowan, Bertie and Northampton counties. The present land area is 353.26 square miles and the population in 2000 was 22,977. The first court was held at Cotton's Ferry on the side of Chowan River. Winton, established in 1766, is the county seat.

Hoke was formed in 1911 from Cumberland and Robeson. It was named in honor of Robert F. Hoke, a major-general in the Confederate States Army. It is in the southeastern section of the State and is bounded by Cumberland, Robeson, Scotland, Moore and Harnett counties. The present land area is 391.21 square miles and the 2000 population was 33,646. Raeford is the county seat.

Hyde was first called Wickham, the name being changed about 1712. It was named in honor of Edward Hyde, Governor of North Carolina and a grandson of the Earl of Clarendon. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by the Pamlico Sound and Beaufort, Washington, Tyrrell and Dare counties (and on the banks by the Atlantic Ocean and Dare and Carteret counties). The present land area is 612.80 square miles and the 2000 population was 5,826. The courts were held in the courthouse in Bath until 1729. In that year an act was passed separating the precincts of Beaufort and Hyde and authorizing a courthouse to be built on the land of William Webster. In 1738 a town by the name of Woodstock was laid out on Webster's land. The courthouse at Woodstock burned about 1789, and in 1790 an act was passed moving the courthouse to Bell's Bay or Jasper's Creek. The county seat was on Jasper's Creek during 1791-1792. A law was passed in 1791 establishing a town on the land belonging to Germain Bernard where the courthouse stands." This town was called German-town In 1820 the old courthouse was authorized to be sold and a new one erected at Lake Landing or within two miles of it. In 1836 commissioners were named to purchase land from Zacheriah Gibbs for a county seat, or within one-forth mile of the place called Swan Quarter, and erect a courthouse. Swan Quarter is the county seat.