Date
County
Formed From (or Date Extinct)

1664

Albemarle

Original county: Extinct 1689

1664

Clarendon

Original county: Extinct by 1667

1668

Chowan

Albemarle [Shaftesbury, 1670-82]

1668

Currituck

Albemarle [Carteret, 1670-82]

1668

Pasquotank

Albemarle [Carteret, 1670-82]

1668

Perquimans

Albemarle [Berkeley, 1670-82]

1696

Bath

Original county (extinct after 1724)

1705

Beaufort

Bath [Pamptecough, 1705-1712]

1705

Craven

Bath [Archdale, 1705-1712]

1705

Hyde

Bath [Wickham, 1705-1712]

1722

Bertie

Chowan

1722

Carteret

Craven

1729

New Hanover

Craven

1729

Tyrrell

Chowan, Bertie, Currituck, Pasquotank

1734

Bladen

New Hanover

1734

Onslow

New Hanover

1741

Edgecombe

Bertie

1741

Northampton

Bertie

1746

Granville

Edgecombe

1746

Johnston

Craven

1750

Anson

Bladen

1750

Duplin

New Hanover

1752

Orange

Johnston, Bladen, Granville

1753

Rowan

Anson

1754

Cumberland

Bladen

1759

Dobbs

Johnston

1759

Halifax

Edgecombe

1760

Hertford

Chowan, Bertie, Northampton

1761

Pitt

Beaufort

1763

Mecklenburg

Anson

1764

Brunswick

New Hanover, Bladen

1764

Bute

Granville

1768

Tryon

Mecklenburg

1771

Chatham

Orange

1771

Guilford

Rowan, Orange

1771

Surry

Rowan

1771

Wake

Johnston, Cumberland, Orange

1774

Martin

Halifax, Tyrrell

1777

Burke

Rowan

1777

Camden

Pasquotank

1777

Caswell

Orange

1777

Nash

Edgecombe

1778

Wilkes

Surry, District of Washington

1779

Franklin

Bute

1779

Gates

Chowan, Hertford, Perquimans

1779

Jones

Craven

1779

Lincoln

Tryon

1779

Montgomery

Anson

1779

Randolph

Guilford

1779

Richmond

Anson

1779

Rutherford

Tryon

1779

Warren

Bute

1779

Wayne

Dobbs

1784

Moore

Cumberland

1784

Sampson

Duplin

1785

Rockingham

Guilford

1787

Robeson

Bladen

1788

Iredell

Rowan

1789

Stokes

Surry

1791

Buncombe

Burke, Rutherford

1791

Glasgow

Dobbs

1791

Lenoir

Dobbs

1792

Cabarrus

Mecklenburg

1792

Person

Caswell

1799

Ashe

Wilkes

1799

Greene

Glasgow

1799

Washington

Tyrrell

1808

Columbus

Brunswick, Bladen

1808

Haywood

Buncombe

1822

Davidson

Rowan

1828

Macon

Haywood

1833

Yancey

Burke, Buncombe

1836

Davie

Rowan

1838

Henderson

Buncombe

1839

Cherokee

Macon

1841

Caldwell

Burke, Wilkes

1841

Cleveland

Rutherford, Lincoln

1841

Stanly

Montgomery

1842

Catawba

Lincoln

1842

McDowell

Rutherford, Burke

1842

Union

Anson, Mecklenburg

1846

Gaston

Lincoln

1847

Alexander

Iredell, Caldwell, Wilkes

1849

Alamance

Orange

1849

Forsyth

Stokes

1849

Watauga

Ashe, Wilkes, Caldwell, Yancey

1850

Yadkin

Surry

1851

Jackson

Haywood, Macon

1851

Madison

Buncombe, Yancey

1855

Harnett

Cumberland

1855

Polk

Rutherford, Henderson

1855

Wilson

Edgecombe, Nash, Johnston, Wayne

1859

Alleghany

Ashe

1861

Clay

Cherokee

1861

Mitchell

Yancey, Watauga, Caldwell, Burke, McDowell

1861

Transylvania

Henderson, Jackson

1870

Dare

Currituck, Tyrrell, Hyde

1871

Swain

Jackson, Macon

1872

Graham

Cherokee

1872

Pamlico

Craven, Beaufort

1875

Pender

New Hanover

1881

Durham

Orange, Wake

1881

Vance

Granville, Warren, Franklin

1899

Scotland

Richmond

1907

Lee

Moore, Chatham

1911

Avery

Mitchell, Watauga, Caldwell

1911

Hoke

Cumberland, Robeson

Resources:

Corbitt, David Leroy. 2000. The formation of the North Carolina counties, 1663-1943https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/the-formation-of-the-north-ca....
(This resource is a history of the formation of North Carolina's counties, footnoted with annotations to legislative actions and contains maps and illustrations.)

Citation

Agan, Kelly. "North Carolina County Formation: Dates and Parent Counties." NCpedia. Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina. Accessed on January 15th, 2025. https://ncpedia.org/north-carolina-county-formation-0.