Craven County is located in the U.S. state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 100,720. Its county seat is

New Bern New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

. The county was created in 1705 as Archdale Precinct from the now-extinct Bath County. It was renamed Craven Precinct in 1712 and gained county status in 1739. It is named for William, Earl of Craven, who lived from 1606 to 1697. Craven County is part of the New Bern, NC, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

On August 4, 1661, George Durant purchased land from Cisketando, king of the Yeopim Indian tribe. On March 13, 1662, a second purchase was made from Kilcocanen, another Yeopim. By 1662 Durant was living in Virginia on a tract of land along the Perquimans River which flows into Albemarle Sound, which became part of the Carolina colony in 1665. Craven County was established in 1712 as Craven Precinct, a precinct of Bath County. It was named after William, Lord Craven, one of the Lords Proprietors. That year Christopher Gale became the first chief justice of North Carolina. The historical records of North Carolina, Vol. I, p. 58 During the initial years of colonization, the population of Craven County was sparse and grew slowly. By 1740, however, the town of New Bern began growing rapidly and became the seat for the Governorship. John Carter served as the first sheriff of Craven County, but died in 1740 in the line of duty, when ambushed by an outlaw he was trying to apprehend. In 1746 an act was passed establishing New Bern as the capital of the province and, although the act was later repealed, the General Court met at New Bern in Craven County after 1747. In 1749 James Davis, the colony's first printer, arrived at New Bern and became the official printer for the North Carolina Assembly. In 1751, Davis established and began printing the ''

North-Carolina Gazette The ''North Carolina Gazette'' was the first newspaper published in North Carolina, then the Province of North Carolina. It originally published from 1751 and continued to be published for approximately eight years, during which time it was disc ...

'', North Carolina's first newspaper. Thomas, 1874, Vol. I, p. 338; Vol. II, p. 166 In 1754 he was elected Sheriff of Craven County. Powell, 2000, pp. 34-35

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (8.4%) is water.

National protected area

* Catfish Lake South Wilderness (part) * Croatan National Forest (part)

State and local protected areas

Croatan Game Land The Croatan were a small Native American ethnic group living in the coastal areas of what is now North Carolina. They might have been a branch of the larger Roanoke people or allied with them. The Croatan lived in current Dare County, an are ...

(part) *

Great Lake Recreation Site Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

(part) *

New Bern Battlefield Site New Bern Battlefield Site is a historic site of the American Civil War Battle of New Bern located near New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina. The battle was fought on 14 March 1862. The New Bern Battlefield Site consists of two discontiguous si ...

Pine Cliff Recreation Area A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

* Latham-Whitehurst Nature Park *

Special Secondary Nursery Areas Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

Major water bodies

* Adams Creek * Alligator Gut * Catfish Lake * Clubfoot Creek * Ellis Simon Lake * Hancock Creek *

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following th ...

* Little Lake * Long Lake *

Neuse River The Neuse River ( , Tuscarora: Neyuherú·kęʔkì·nęʔ) is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in No ...

* Trent River * Great Lake * Upper Broad Creek

Adjacent counties

* Pitt County - north * Beaufort County - north * Pamlico County - east * Carteret County - south * Jones County - west * Lenoir County - west

Major highways

* (Concurrency with US 70) * * (New Bern) * (Vanceboro) * * * * * * *

Major infrastructure

Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transit ...

(New Bern and Havelock) * Cherry Branch - Minnesott Beach Ferry (To Pamlico County) *

Coastal Carolina Regional Airport Coastal Carolina Regional Airport is a commercial airport located three miles (5 km) southeast of the central business district of New Bern, a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. EWN covers 785 acres (318 ha) of land. Coa ...

MCAS Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and ...

, military base located in Havelock

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 100,720 people, 42,221 households, and 28,502 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 91,436 people, 34,582 households, and 25,071 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPop ...

was 129 people per square mile (50/km²). There were 38,150 housing units at an average density of 54 per square mile (21/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 69.94%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 25.12%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, 0.42% Native American, 0.99% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...

, 1.78% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.68% from two or more races. 4.02% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties form ...

or Latino of any race. There were 34,582 households, out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.80% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 12.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.50% were non-families. 23.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.60% under the age of 18, 12.80% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 101.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,966, and the median income for a family was $42,574. Males had a median income of $28,163 versus $21,412 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $18,423. About 9.90% of families and 13.10% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 18.50% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Craven is a typical “

Solid South The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democratic Party (United States), Democrats in those states. T ...

” county in its presidential voting patterns. It was solidly Democratic until the 1960s: in five elections from 1932 to 1948 the Republican Party did not reach fifteen percent of the vote, and only in 1928 when a large anti-Catholic vote was cast against

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a Civ ...

did the GOP reach twenty percent between at least 1900 and 1948. The national Democratic party's support for the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United ...

caused its white electorate to defect to

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist and ...

’s American Independent campaign in 1968. Since that time, Craven has become a strongly Republican county. The last Democrat to carry Craven County was

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

in 1976. Craven County is a member of the regional Eastern Carolina Council of Governments.

Communities

Cities

* Havelock *

(county seat and largest city)

Towns

* Bridgeton * Cove City *

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidston ...

* River Bend * Trent Woods * Vanceboro

Census-designated places

* Brices Creek * Cherry Branch * Fairfield Harbour * James City * Neuse Forest

Other unincorporated communities

* Adams Creek * Ernul * Fort Barnwell * Harlowe * Askin

Sources

* * * * *
link to Davis biography
* * *

References

External links

Official website

New Bern ''Sun Journal''

Havelock Chamber of Commerce

New Bern Chamber of Commerce

Craven County Economic Development

Craven County, NCGenWeb
{{authority control New Bern micropolitan area 1739 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1739