WAYNE COUNTY

Wayne was formed in 1779 from Dobbs. It was named in honor of Anthony Wayne, one of Washington's most trusted soldiers. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by Greene, Lenoir, Duplin, Sampson, Johnston and Wilson counties. The present land area is 552.57 square miles. The population from the 2010 Census was 122,623. Of that population, 72,135 were white, 38,499 were black or African American, 481 were American Indian, 1,431 were Asian, 64 were Pacific Islander and 7,189 were of a different race. Another 2,824 were reported to be of two or more races and 12,162 were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The act establishing the county provided that the first court should be held at the home of Josiah Sasser at which time the justices were to decide on a place for all subsequent courts until a courthouse could be erected. By 1782 the commissioners were named. In 1787 an act was passed establishing Waynesborough on the west side of the Neuse on the land of Andrew Bass "where the courthouse now stands." In 1845, and again in 1847, acts were passed moving the courthouse from Waynesborough to Goldsboro provided the people voted for the same. Goldsboro is the county seat.

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Most of Wayne County is in the Neuse River Basin. It is a part of the Coastal Plain 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)