STOKES COUNTY

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.

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.

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Stokes County is primarily in the Roanoke River Basin, though some areas of the county are in the Yadkin-Pee Dee 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)