RICHMOND COUNTY

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. The population from the 2010 Census was 46,639. Of that population, 28,072 were white, 14,269 were black or African American, 1,173 were American Indian, 431 were Asian, 26 were Pacific Islander and 1,700 were of a different race. Another 968 were reported to be of two or more races and 2,741 were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 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.

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Richmond County is primarily in the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin, but parts of it are in the Lumber River Basin. For statistical purposes, it is designated a part of the Piedmont region, though technically a portion of it is in the Sandhills area of the Coastal Plain region.

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)