Dudley is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) in Wayne County,

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 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, about 9 miles south of Goldsboro. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 826. Dudley is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

History

Another town named Dudley originally existed several miles north from its current location. It was founded by Labon Lewis, the son of a Revolutionary soldier, named for his deceased brother Dudley Lewis. On January 13, 1840, a post office was established for this town. This office's name was later changed to Everettsville, which was moved to a new location in 1849 and was closed in 1866. The second and present town bearing the name was set up around 1836-1840 as a camp for the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad. This time, however, it was named for Governor Edward B. Dudley, the railroad's founder. In the years in which the village grew, it gained a depot and a passenger station. Its post office was established on February 3, 1850. In December 1862, during the

Battle of Goldsboro Bridge The Battle of Goldsborough Bridge took place on December 17, 1862, in Wayne County, North Carolina, as part of the Union (American Civil War), Union expedition to Goldsboro, North Carolina, during the American Civil War. Background In December ...

, a number of buildings and railroad cars were destroyed in Dudley by the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

under

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

John G. Foster. Dudley was incorporated in 1897, with J. W. Hatch elected as the town's first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. The town's government lasted for many years until eventually no more officials were elected and the incorporation ended. The

Georgia Pacific Corporation Georgia-Pacific LLC is an American pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of tissue, pulp, paper, toilet and paper towel dispensers, packaging, building products and r ...

opened a facility in Dudley in 1973 and now employs over 625 people.Dudley

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

Education

Education in Dudley is administered by the Wayne County

Public School Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

system with children attending classes at Brogden Primary School, Brogden Middle School and Southern Wayne High School. Higher education is offered through

Wayne Community College Wayne Community College is a public community college in Goldsboro, North Carolina. It offers more than 70 credit programs on campus with nine buildings and over 287,000 square feet (27,000 m2). Over 14,000 curriculum and extension students are e ...

in Goldsboro and

Mount Olive College The University of Mount Olive (UMO or Mount Olive) is a private university in Mount Olive, North Carolina. Chartered in 1951, the university is sponsored by the Original Free Will Baptist Convention and accredited by the Southern Association of ...

in Mount Olive.

Transportation

Passenger

*Air:

Raleigh-Durham International Airport The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to th ...

is the closest major airport with service to more than 45 domestic and international destinations.

Goldsboro-Wayne Municipal Airport Wayne Executive Jetport is a public use airport three miles north of Goldsboro, in Wayne County, North Carolina. The airport is owned by Wayne County. It was formerly Goldsboro-Wayne Municipal Airport, when it was owned by both City of Goldsbo ...

is an airport located nearby, but is only used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

. *Interstate Highway: I-795 is the closest Interstate to Dudley, which is located 9 miles north in Goldsboro. *Dudley is not served directly by passenger trains. The closest

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

station is located in Selma. *Bus: The area is served by

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

with a location in nearby Goldsboro.

Roads

*The main highway in Dudley is US 117.

Notable people

* Cecil Exum, former

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

and Australian NBL basketball player *

Tim Pratt Tim Pratt (born December 12, 1976) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and poet. He won a Hugo Award in 2007 for his short story " Impossible Dreams". He has written over 20 books, including the Marla Mason series and several Path ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

writer and poet * Greg Warren,

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player

References

2. See also: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/nc/county/wayne/articles/dudley.htm {{authority control Census-designated places in North Carolina Census-designated places in Wayne County, North Carolina Unincorporated communities in North Carolina Unincorporated communities in Wayne County, North Carolina Populated places established in 1836 1836 establishments in North Carolina