GUILFORD COUNTY

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. The population from the 2010 Census was 488,406. Of that population, 278,525 were white, 158,899 were black or African American, 2,594 were American Indian, 19,176 were Asian, 235 were Pacific Islander and 17,675 were of a different race. Another 11,302 were reported to be of two or more races and 34,826 were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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.

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The majority of Guilford County is in the Cape Fear River Basin. It is a part of the Piedmont region of the state.

References:

"American Factfinder." 2011. U. S. Census Bureau. Online at http://factfinder2.census.gov/. Accessed 3/3/2011.

Corbitt, David L. 2000. The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943. Sixth printing. Raleigh: State Department of Archives and History.

Powell, William Stevens, and Michael R. Hill. 2010. The North Carolina gazetteer: a dictionary of Tar Heel places and their history. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Additional resources:

North Carolina Digital Collections (Government & Heritage Library and NC State Archives)

NC LIVE resources

NC Natural Heritage Program database

WorldCat (Searches numerous library catalogs)