Durham County, North Carolina

Durham County Education, Geography, and History

Durham County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 267,587. Its county seat is Durham.

Durham County is the core of the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area, which had a population of 1,749,525 in 2010.

Etymology - Origin of Durham County Name

It was named for the city of Durham which was named in honor of Dr. Bartlett Snipes Durham who donated the land on which the railroad station was located.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Durham County History

Durham was formed in 1881 from Orange and Wake. It was named for the city of Durham which was named in honor of Dr. Bartlett Snipes Durham who donated the land on which the railroad station was located. The building of the railroad station was the beginning of the town of Durham. It is in the central section of the State and bounded by Wake, Chatham. Orange, Person, and Granville counties. The present land area is 290.32 square miles and the population in 2000 was 223,314. Durham, incorporated in 1866 as the Town of Durham in Orange County, is the county seat.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 298 square miles (770 km²), of which 286 square miles (740 km²) is land and 12 square miles (31 km²) (4.0%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Person County - north
• Granville County - northeast
• Wake County - southeast
• Chatham County - south-southwest
• Orange County - west

Education

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