Pitt County is a county located in the
inner banks
The Inner Banks is a neologism made up by developers and tourism promoters to describe the inland coastal region of eastern North Carolina. Without historical precedent, the term "Inner Banks" is an early 21st-century construct that is part of a ...
(northeastern part) of 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 So ...
. As of the
2020 census, the population was 170,243, making it the
fourteenth-most populous county in North Carolina. Its
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
is
Greenville.
Pitt County comprises the Greenville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. As one of the fastest-growing centers in the state, the county has seen a population boom since 1990.
History
The county was formed in 1760 from
Beaufort County, though the legislative act that created it did not become effective until January 1, 1761. It was named for
William Pitt the Elder
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...
, who was then
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department became the Home Office.
History
Before 1782, the responsibilities of ...
and
Leader of the House of Commons
The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of the ...
. William Pitt was an English statesman and orator, born in London, England. He studied at Oxford University and in 1731 joined the army. Pitt led the young "Patriot"
Whigs and in 1756 became secretary of state, where he was a pro-freedom speaker in British Colonial government. He served as
Prime Minister of Great Britain
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pri ...
in 1766–68.
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 total area of Pitt County is , of which (0.4%) is water.
State and local protected areas
*
North Carolina Museum of Natural Science Contentnea Creek
*
North Carolina Museum of Natural Science Greenvillle
Major water bodies
*
Contentnea Creek
Contentnea Creek is a major tributary of the Neuse River in North Carolina, USA. It is part of the Neuse River Basin, and flows for 91 miles between the Buckhorn Reservoir (confluence of Moccasin and Turkey Creeks), where it begins, and Grifton, ...
* Creeping Swamp
* Fork Creek
* Middle River
*
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 ...
*
Swift Creek
*
Tar River
The Tar River is a river that is approximately long, in northeast North Carolina flowing generally southeast to an estuary of Pamlico Sound. The Tar River becomes the tidal Pamlico River once it underpasses the U.S. Highway 17 Bridge in Washin ...
* Tranters Creek
Adjacent counties
*
Martin County – northeast
*
Beaufort County – east
*
Craven County
Craven County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 100,720. Its county seat is New Bern, North Carolina, New Bern. The county was created in 1705 as Archdale Precin ...
– south-southeast
*
Lenoir County – south-southwest
*
Greene County – southwest
*
Wilson County Wilson County is the name of four counties in the United States:
*Wilson County, Kansas
*Wilson County, North Carolina
*Wilson County, Tennessee
*Wilson County, Texas
Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 202 ...
– west
*
Edgecombe County
Edgecombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,900. Its county seat is Tarboro.
Edgecombe County is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area ...
– northwest
Major highways
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Major infrastructure
*
G.K. Butterfield Transportation Center
The G.K. Butterfield Transportation Center is a bus station located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named after United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative G. K. Butterfield, George Kenneth Butterfield Jr., it serves ...
*
Pitt-Greenville Airport
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 of ...
, there were 170,243 people, 70,926 households, and 41,427 families residing in the county.
2000 census
As of the census
of 2000, there were 133,798 people, 52,539 households, and 32,258 families residing in the county. The population density was 205 people per square mile (79/km
2). There were 58,408 housing units at an average density of 90 per square mile (35/km
2). The racial makeup of the county was 62.08%
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 ...
, 33.65%
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 o ...
or
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 ens ...
, 0.27%
Native American, 1.08%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.04%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 1.80% 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 1.09% from two or more races. 3.15% of the population were
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race.
There were 52,539 households, out of which 29.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.40% were married couples living together, 14.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.60% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.60% under the age of 18, 17.50% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 19.40% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 90.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,868, and the median income for a family was $43,971. Males had a median income of $31,962 versus $25,290 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,243. About 13.50% of families and 20.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.60% of those under age 18 and 20.20% of those age 65 or over.
As of the census of 2010, there were 168,148 people residing in Pitt County, a 25.7% increase since 2000. Females made up 52.8% of the population. Caucasians make up 58.9% of the population, followed by African-Americans at 34.1%, Asian persons at 1.6%, American Indian or Alaskan at 0.3%, Hispanic at 5.5%, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander at 0.1%. From the period of 2005 to 2009, the number of foreign-born people living in the county was at 4%.
The high school graduation rate in the county among citizens over the age of twenty-five from 2005 to 2009 was steady at 85%, while the percentage of those aged twenty-five and up with a bachelor's degree in the county was only 28.7% in the county during the same period of time.
In 2009, the median household income in Pitt County was $36,339, over $7,000 less than the North Carolina number and about 25.5% of Pitt County residents were at or below the poverty level. The per capita money income, in terms of 2009 dollars, in the past twelve months from 2005 to 2009 in Pitt County was $21,622, about $3,000 less than the North Carolina average.
Government and politics
In the early twentieth century Pitt was a typical Democratic "
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 Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...
" county, where there were large numbers of
disenfranchised
Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...
blacks
Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...
and the small white electorate voted overwhelming majorities for the Democratic Party. Pitt voted for the Democratic Party in every election from at least 1876 until American Independent candidate George Wallace gained a plurality in 1968. Apart from
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
's overwhelming victory over
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...
in 1972, Pitt has since been a closely contested swing county, with no major party candidate post-McGovern falling under forty percent. After 1976, when Jimmy Carter carried it, and aside from a victory in 1992 by Bill Clinton, Pitt County tended to vote for Republicans until 2008. Since 2008 it has voted for the Democratic Party.
Pitt County is a member of the Mid-East Commission regional council of governments.
Pitt County is represented by
Donald G. Davis
Donald Gene Davis (born August 29, 1971) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2023.
A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the 5th district in the North Ca ...
in the
5th District District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to:
Europe
* District 5 (Zürich)
* District 5, Düsseldorf
* V District, Turku
* Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta
* Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...
in the North Carolina State Senate. as well as
Kandie Smith in the
8th district
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of the ...
and
Brian Farkas
Brian Austin Farkas (born August 14, 1987) is an American politician and State Representative who served the District 9 in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
Early life and education
Farkas was raised in Pitt County, and attended J ...
in the
9th District in the North Carolina State House of Representatives.
Education
Private
Private schools in Pitt County include:
* Brookhaven SDA School
* Calvary Christian Academy
* Children's Montessori School
* Christ Covenant School
* Community Christian Academy
* Faith Christian Academy
* Greenville Christian Academy
* Greenville Montessori School
* John Paul II Catholic HS
* The Oakwood School
* Roseleaf Academy
* Saint Peter Catholic School
* Trinity Christian School
Public
Public schools in Pitt County are managed by
Pitt County Schools.
Elementary schools
* Ayden Elementary School
* Belvoir Elementary School
* Creekside Elementary School
* Eastern Elementary School
* Elmhurst Elementary School
* Falkland Elementary School
* H. B. Sugg School (K–2)
* Lake Forest Elementary School
* Northwest Elementary School
* Ridgewood Elementary School
* Sam D. Bundy School (3–5)
* South Greenville Elementary School
* W. H. Robinson Elementary School
*
Wahl-Coates Elementary School
* Wintergreen Intermediate School (3–5)
* Wintergreen Primary School (K–2)
K–8 schools
* Bethel School
* Chicod School
* G. R. Whitfield School
* Grifton School
* Pactolus School
* Stokes School
Middle schools
* A. G. Cox Middle School
* Ayden Middle School
* C. M. Eppes Middle School
* E. B. Aycock Middle School
* Farmville Middle School
* Hope Middle School
* Wellcome Middle School
High schools
*
Ayden-Grifton High School
Ayden-Grifton High School is a high school in Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County, North Carolina, United States. It is located along North Carolina Highway 11, NC 11 South in between the towns of Ayden, North Carolina and Grifton, North Caro ...
*
D. H. Conley High School
*
Farmville Central High School
''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network game developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to ''Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plowing l ...
*
J. H. Rose High School
*
North Pitt High School
North Pitt High School is a high school located in the town of Bethel in Pitt County, North Carolina, United States.
History
North Pitt opened in 1970 as the consolidated high school for the "north of the river" area of Pitt County. North Pitt, ...
*
South Central High School
Alternative schools
* Pitt County Schools Early College High School
Post-secondary schools
*
East Carolina University
East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina.
Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...
*
Pitt Community College
Pitt Community College (PCC) is a public community college in Winterville, North Carolina in Pitt County. The college is part of the North Carolina Community College System. It has an enrollment of over 9,000 undergraduate students with a total ...
*
Miller-Motte Technical College
Miller-Motte College, formerly Miller-Motte Technical College, is a University system, system of Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit technical colleges throughout the southeastern United States.Mil ...
Communities
Cities
*
Greenville (county seat and largest city)
Towns
*
Ayden
*
Bethel
Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...
*
Falkland
*
Farmville
''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network game developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to ''Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plowing l ...
*
Fountain
A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...
*
Grifton
*
Grimesland
*
Simpson
Simpson most often refers to:
* Simpson (name), a British surname
*''The Simpsons'', an animated American sitcom
**The Simpson family, central characters of the series ''The Simpsons''
Simpson may also refer to:
Organizations Schools
*Simpso ...
*
Winterville
Census-designated places
*
Bell Arthur
*
Belvoir
*
Stokes
Unincorporated communities
*
Bell's Fork
* Black Jack
* Chicod
*
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
* Pactolus
Townships
* Arthur
* Ayden
* Belvoir
* Bethel
* Black Jack
* Carolina (Stokes)
* Chicod
* Falkland
* Farmville
* Fountain
* Greenville
* Grifton
* Grimesland
* Pactolus
* Simpson
* Swift Creek
* Winterville
See also
*
List of counties in North Carolina
__NOTOC__
The U.S. state of North Carolina is divided into 100 counties. North Carolina ranks 28th in size by area, but has the seventh-highest number of counties in the country.
Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, King Charles ...
*
*
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
, Historic railway that had a route from Greenville to Raleigh,
Wake County
Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...
.
*
List of future Interstate Highways
In the United States, future Interstate Highways include proposals to establish new mainline (one- and two-digit) routes to the Interstate Highway System. Excluded from this article are auxiliary Interstate Highways (designated by three-digit nu ...
References
Further reading
* Kahrl, Andrew W., "The 'Negro Park' Question: Land, Labor, and Leisure in Pitt County, North Carolina, 1920–1930," ''Journal of Southern History'' (Feb. 2013) 79#1 pp 113–42.
External links
*
Pitt County Development Commission Website*
NCGenWeb Pitt County– free genealogy resources for the county
{{authority control
Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area
1760 establishments in North Carolina
Populated places established in 1760