North Carolina has 100 counties. This page brings together a number of resources that relate to the history of North Carolina counties, links to resources in NCpedia related to individual counties, and other resources from North Carolina State Government agencies to help researchers locate current demographic and statistical information about North Carolina's counties and municipalities.
Explore NCpedia Articles by County
Historical Information about North Carolina's Counties
Background Information and Articles
Book on the history of the formation of North Carolina's counties
Footnotes with annotations to legislative actions. Contains Maps and Illustrations.
Defunct and Renamed Countries
In North Carolina's history, several counties were created that later became defunct or were renamed. North Carolina also created three counties in the 1780s and 1790s that are now part of Tennessee.
Albemarle County,
extinct 1689
Bath County,
extinct after 1724
Bute County,
divided into Franklin and Warren counties in 1779
Clarendon County,
abandoned by 1667
Dobbs County,
abolished in 1791
Greene County,
formally known as Glasgow County until 1799
Beaufort County,
formally known as Pamtecough (or Pamticough) County until 1712
Tryon County,
divided into Lincoln and Rutherford Counties in 1779
Western Counties now in Tennessee
Watauga Settlement,
renamed the District of Washington, annexed to North Carolina in 1776, name changed to Washington County in 1777 and ceded to the U.S. Government in 1790
Sullivan County,
formed in 1779 from Washington County, now Tennessee
Davidson County,
formed from Washington County in 1783, now Tennessee
Historical Resources and Collections for Research
North Carolina County History, Records, and Information
Research Guides from the State Library of North Carolina
Data Resources Guide
(researching statistical information and databases with tutorials)
#EverythingNC,
comprehensive research guide for researching many aspects of North Carolina history and information
Explore the NC Digital Collections
Includes historical items from North Carolina state government agency publications and manuscript collections.
Access current North Carolina county information
Statistical and demographic information from state government agencies about North Carolina's counties and municipalities.
NC.gov,
portal for accessing state government agency websites and information about North Carolina
Current Municipal Population Data
(NC Offfice of Budget and Management)
ACCESS NC
(NC Dept. of Commerce), open access to a range of databases with census, wage, occupational, employment, demographic and other data
Image credit:
Rudersdorf, Amy. 2010. "NC County Maps." Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.
Citation
Agan, Kelly. "North Carolina's 100 Counties." NCpedia. Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina. Accessed on January 23rd, 2025. https://ncpedia.org/geography/counties.
