North Carolina Counties: History and Information

Find a brief history of North Carolina Counties

North Carolina is 500 miles long and 150 miles wide. North Carolina covers 53,821 square miles, making it the 28th largest of the 50 states.

North Carolina is the 12th state admitted to the Union. North Carolina, one of the thirteen colonies, became the 12th state on November 21, 1789. North Carolina troops suffered the greatest losses of all the states during the Civil War while fighting for the Confederacy, re-entered the Union after the fighting ceased.

The state of North Carolina is divided into 100 counties. North Carolina ranks 29th in size by area, but has the seventh most counties in the country.

Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles II of England rewarded eight persons on March 24, 1663, for their faithful support in his efforts to regain the throne of England. He granted the eight grantees, called Lords Proprietor, the land called Carolina, in honor of Charles I, his father. The Province of Carolina from 1663 to 1729, was a North American British colony. Around 1729, the Province of North Carolina became a separate entity from the Province of South Carolina.

North Carolina county history stretches over 340 years, beginning in 1668 with the creation of Albemarle County and ending with the 1911 creation of Avery and Hoke counties. Five counties have since been divided or abolished altogether, the last being Dobbs County in 1791.