Caswell County, North Carolina

Caswell County Education, Geography, and History

Caswell County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 23,719. Its county seat is Yanceyville.

Etymology - Origin of Caswell County Name

It was named in honor of Richard Caswell, member of the first Continental Congress, first governor of North Carolina after the Declaration of Independence, and Major General in the Revolutionary army.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Caswell County History

Caswell was formed in 1777 from Orange. The act was to become effective June 1, 1777. It was named in honor of Richard Caswell, member of the first Continental Congress, first governor of North Carolina after the Declaration of Independence, and Major General in the Revolutionary army. It is in the north central section of the State and is bounded by Person, Orange Alamance and Rockingham counties, and by the state of Virginia. The present land area is 424.67 square miles and the 2000 population was 23,501. The act creating the county authorized the first court to be held at the home of Thomas Douglas; it also named commissioners to select a location and have the courthouse, prison, and stocks erected. In 1783 Leesburg was established "adjoining to where the Caswell Court House now stands." In 1791, when Person was formed, the court was ordered to be held at Joseph Smith's. Also, commissioners were named in the act to erect the courthouse as near the center of the county as possible. The courthouse at Leesburg was ordered sold by the commissioners of Caswell and Person. In 1829 an act was passed directing the justices to enlarged the public square, or buy some land elsewhere and erect a new courthouse. In 1833, Yanceyville was established at the courthouse. It was named in honor of Bartlett Yancey and is the county seat.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 428 square miles (1,110 km²), of which 425 square miles (1,100 km²) is land and 3.3 square miles (8.5 km²) (0.8%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Danville, Virginia - north
• Pittsylvania County, Virginia - north
• Halifax County, Virginia - northeast
• Person County - east
• Orange County - southeast
• Alamance County - southwest
• Rockingham County - west

Education

Caswell County Schools have six schools ranging from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. Those six schools are separated into one high school (Bartlett Yancey High School), one middle school, and four elementary schools. Piedmont Community College also has an extension site at the Public Safety Training Center.

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