Randolph was formed in 1779 from Guilford. It was named in honor of Peyton Randolph of Virginia, who was president of the Continental Congress. It is in the central section of the State and is bounded by Chatham, Moore, Montgomery, Davidson, Guilford and Alamance counties. Its present land area is 787.36 square miles and its population in 2000 was 130,471. The act establishing the county authorized the first court and all subsequent courts to be held at the home of Abraham Reese unless otherwise decided upon by the justices of the peace until a courthouse could be built. Commissioners were named in 1783 to select a site for the county seat. This act directed that court be held at the home of William Bell until the courthouse was completed. In 1785 an act was passed removing the court from the house of William Bell and allowing the justices at each court to decide where the next court would meet until the courthouse was completed. In 1788 a town was established at the courthouse on the land of Thomas Dauggan. This town, was named Johnstonville in honor of Samuel Johnston. In 1791 an act was passed authorizing the construction of a prison at the courthouse. In 1792 an act was passed authorizing commissioners to select a site in the center of the county and have a new courthouse erected, as the old courthouse was not in the center of the county. In 1796 Asheborough was established as the county seat on the land of Jesse Henley. In 1819 a new courthouse was authorized to be built in Asheborough. Asheboro is the county seat.

Richmond was formed in 1779 from Anson. It was named in honor of Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond and a principal secretary in William Pitt's second administration. He was a staunch friend of the American colonies and made a motion in the House of Lords that the colonies be granted their independence. It is in the south central section of the State and is bounded by the State of South Carolina and Anson, Stanly, Montgomery, Moore and Scotland counties. It present land area is 473.98 square miles and the 2000 population was 46,564. The county seat was first called Richmond Court House but in 1784 a town was established there by the name of Rockingham. Rockingham is the county seat.

Robeson was formed in 1787 from Bladen. It was named in honor of Colonel Thomas Robeson, a soldier of the Revolution. He was one of the leaders at the battle of Elizabethtown which was fought in September 1781. It is in the southeastern section of the State and is bounded by the state of South Carolina and Scotland, Hoke, Cumberland, Bladen and Columbus counties. The present land area is 948.84 square miles and the 2000 population was 123,245. The courthouse was erected on land which formerly belonged to John Willis. A lottery was used to dispose of the lots and to establish the town. In 1788, Lumberton was established and is the county seat.

Rockingham was formed in 1785 from Guilford. It was named in honor of Charles Watson-Wentworth, Second Marquis of Rockingham, who was a leader of a party in the British Parliament which advocated American independence. He was Prime Minister when the Stamp Act was repealed. It is in the north central section of the State and is bounded by Caswell, Guilford and Stokes counties and the State of Virginia. The present land area is 566.44 square miles and the 2000 population was 91,928. The first court was held at the home of Adam Tate, at which time the justices were to decide on the place for holding future courts until the courthouse could be erected. In 1787 an act was passed which directed the courthouse to be erected on the land of Charles Mitchell on the east side of Big Rock House Creek. In 1796 an act was passed authorizing the purchase of land from Robert Galloway & Company, where public buildings were situated, and the community of Wentworth was established. In 1797 an act was passed suspending operations on the Wentworth courthouse. In 1798 commissioners were named to establish Wentworth on land given by Robert Galloway for that purpose. The first court was held at Wentworth in May, 1799. Wentworth is the county seat.

Rowan was formed in 1753 from Anson. It was named in honor of Matthew Rowan who was a prominent leader before the Revolution and who for a short time after the death of Governor Gabriel Johnston was acting governor. It is in the central section of the State and is bounded by Davidson, Stanly, Cabarrus, Iredell and Davie counties. Its present land area is 511.31 square miles and the 2000 population was 130,340. The county seat was first called Rowan Court House. It has been called Salisbury since about 1755.

Rutherford was formed in 1779 from Tryon. It was named in honor of Griffith Rutherford, one of the most prominent of the Revolutionary patriots. He led the expedition that crushed the Cherokees in 1776, and rendered important services both in the Legislature and on the battlefield. It is in the southwestern section of the State and is bounded by the state of South Carolina and Polk, Henderson, McDowell, Burke and Cleveland counties. Its present land area is 564.12 square miles and the 2000 population was 62,901. The act establishing the county provided that the first court be held at the home of Joseph Walker and the justices were to decide on the most convenient place to hold succeeding courts until a courthouse could be erected. Commissioners were named to select a place for the county seat. In 1781 an act was passed stating that the original act had not been fully carried out and that the previous commissioners had failed to erect a courthouse even though they had selected the land of James Holland in the fork of Shepard's Creek. The act authorized the commissioners to purchase fifty acres of land from James Holland and erect the buildings. In 1784 an act was passed which stated that the place selected by the commissioners was not convenient; therefore, new commissioners were named to survey the county, locate the center, purchase land and erect the public buildings. In 1787 Rutherford was established on the land purchased for the county seat. Two acres were reserved for the public buildings. Rutherfordton was incorporated in 1793 and is the county seat.

Sampson was formed in 1784 from Duplin. It was named in honor of Colonel John Sampson, who was a member of Josiah Martin's council. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by Wayne, Duplin, Pender, Bladen, Cumberland, Harnett and Johnston counties. The present land area is 945.45 square miles and the 2000 population was 60,161. The act establishing the county directed that the first court be held at the home of James Myhand, at which place the justices were to decide where all subsequent courts were to be held until a courthouse could be erected. Commissioners were named to select a central location, purchase land, and erect the public buildings. It is probable that the courthouse was called Sampson Court House on the public lands of the county. Clinton is the county seat.

Scotland was formed in 1899 from Richmond. It was named for the country of Scotland, the northern portion of the British Isles. It is in the southeastern section of the State and is bounded by the state of South Carolina and Richmond, Moore, Hoke and Robeson counties. The present land area is 319.14 square miles and the 2000 population was 35,998. Laurinburg is the county seat.

Stanly was formed in 1841 from Montgomery. It was named in honor of John Stanly who for many years was a member of the Legislature and several times speaker of the House of Commons. It is in the central section of the State and is bounded by Montgomery, Richmond, Anson, Union, Cabarrus and Rowan counties. The present land area is 395.06 square miles and the 2000 population was 58,100. Albemarle is the county seat.

Stokes was formed in 1789 from Surry. It was named in honor of Captain John Stokes, a soldier of the Revolution, who was seriously wounded at the Waxhaw Massacre when Colonel Buford's Regiment was cut to pieces by Tarlton. After the war Washington appointed him a judge of the United States District Court of North Carolina. It is in the north central section of the State and is bounded by Rockingham, Forsyth and Surry counties and the state of Virginia. The present land area is 451.84 square miles and the 2000 population was 44,711. When Stokes was taken from Surry the old courthouse was ordered to be sold, and the proceeds were to be equally divided between Surry and Stokes and applied towards the erection of new courthouses. The act ordered the first court to be held at the home of Gray Bynum, and all subsequent courts were to be held where the justices designated until the courthouse could be erected. Commissioners were named to select the site and have the public building erected. In 1790 Germantown was laid out on land deeded to the county from Michael and Henry Fry. Germantown remained the county seat until 1849 when Forsyth was taken from Stokes. The act establishing Forsyth county directed that the first court of Stokes after the passage of the act be held at Germantown, at which time the justices were to determine a location for the new courthouse and jail. In 1851 Crawford was established as the county seat. In 1852 Crawford was changed to Danbury. Danbury is the county seat.

Surry was formed in 1771 from Rowan. The act became effective April 1, 1771. It was named in honor of the county of Surrey in England, birthplace of then Governor William Tryon. It is in the north central section of the State and is bounded by the state of Virginia and Stokes, Yadkin, Wilkes and Alleghany counties. The present land area is 536.52 square miles and the 2000 population was 71,219. The act erecting the county provided for the court to be held "constantly" at Gideon Wright's until the courthouse could be constructed. Commissioners were named to select the place and have the courthouse, prison and stocks erected. By 1774 some of the commissioners were named to finish the building. In 1779 the courthouse was established at Richmond on land of Colonel Martin Armstrong and William Sheppard. In 1789 Surry was divided and Stokes was formed from it. When this was done the old courthouse was inconvenient for either county. Therefore, the act dividing the county specified that the court was to be held at the home of Richard Horn until a courthouse, prison and stocks could be erected at a central place. Another act passed that year directed the old courthouse to be sold and the money be equally divided between Surry and Stokes. the proceeds to be used on their respective courthouses. In 1790 Rickford was established on fifty-three acres of land deeded by Thomas and Moses Ayres for that purpose. Commissioners were named to erect public buildings. In 1851, when Yadkin was formed from Surry, the act named and directed commissioners to locate the center of the county and fix the county seat. It also named commissioners to acquire fifty acres of land by purchase of donation and erect the courthouse. The law also stipulated that the town was to be named Dobson. Dobson is the county seat.

Swain was formed in 1871 from Jackson and Macon. It was named in honor of David L. Swain, Governor of North Carolina and president of the University of North Carolina. It in the western section of the State and is bounded by the state of Tennessee and Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Cherokee, and Graham counties. The present land area is 528.10 square miles and the 2000 population was 12,968. The first court was ordered to be held at Cold Spring Meeting House. Special commissioners were named to select a site for the courthouse, provided all the commissioners could agree on a certain place. If they could not agree, the county commissioners were to submit the question of selecting a place to the voters. The county commissioners were to lay out a town by the name of Charleston which was to be the county seat. In 1889 Charleston was changed to Bryson City in honor of Colonel Thad Dillard Bryson. Bryson City is the county seat.

Transylvania was formed in 1861 from Henderson and Jackson. It's name is derived from the Latin words, trans meaning "across" and sylva meaning "woods." It is in the western section of the State and is bounded by the State of South Carolina and Jackson, Haywood and Henderson counties. The present land area is 378.39 square miles and the population in 2000 was 29,334. The first court was to be held at the home of B. C. Langford. Commissioners were named to select a site for the public buildings within five miles of W. P. Poor's store and to acquire land and lay out Brevard. Brevard is the county seat.

Tyrrell was formed in 1729 from Chowan, Currituck and Pasquotank. It was named in honor of Sir John Tyrrell, who at one time was one of the Lords Proprietors. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by Dare, Hyde and Washington counties and the Albemarle Sound. The present land area is 389.91 square miles and the 2000 population was 4,149. It is quite evident that a courthouse was not built until some time between 1740 to 1751. Prior to this date courts were held in private homes, but generally at the home of William Frayley, (also spelled Frailes, Frylies or Fryleys). In 1751, court was held at the courthouse on Kindrick's Creek. Between 1774 and 1776, court was held at the home of Benjamin Spruill. Between 1777 and 1800 court was held at the courthouse on Scuppernong River. In 1799, commissioners were named to erect the public buildings in Elizabeth Town. On July 28, 1800, the first court was held in Elizabeth Town. In 1801, Elizabeth Town was changed to Columbia, which was recorded as the county seat in 1802. Columbia is the county seat.

Union was formed in 1842 from Anson and Mecklenburg. At the time the county was formed there was a dispute between local Whigs and Democrats as to whether it should be named Clay or Jackson. The name Union was suggested and adopted as a compromise because the new county was created from parts of two others. It is in the south central section of the State and is bounded by the state of South Carolina and Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Stanly and Anson counties. The present land area is 637.37 square miles and the 2000 population was 123,772. Commissioners were named in the act to select a site, lay out a town by the name of Monroe, and erect a courthouse. Monroe is the county seat.