Onslow County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 204,576. Its county seat is

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. The county was created in 1734 as Onslow Precinct and gained county status in 1739. Onslow County comprises the Jacksonville, NC

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 ...

. The southern border is the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

History

European, mainly English, settlers arrived here in 1713 in what was originally part of the colonial precincts of Carteret and New Hanover. Onslow County was formed in 1734 and was named for

Arthur Onslow Arthur Onslow (1 October 169117 February 1768) was an English politician. He set a record for length of service when repeatedly elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons, where he was known for his integrity. Early life and educat ...

, the longest serving speaker of the House of Commons. After a lethal 1752 hurricane, the county courthouse was relocated from Town Point to Wantland's Ferry; this settlement was eventually incorporated in 1842 and named Jacksonville after President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

. Through much of the first half of the 20th century, the county was largely rural, with an economy based on agrarian and maritime communities. During World War II, Onslow County was dramatically changed in the early 1940s with the establishment of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Camp Davis Marine Corps Outlying Field (MCOLF) Camp Davis is a military use airport northeast of the central business district of Holly Ridge, in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. It is used as a training facility by the United States Mari ...

near Holly Ridge (now defunct), and the creation of

Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( Wilming ...

in 1941. This increased county population and generated related growth in housing and businesses. Onslow County's flat, rolling terrain covers and is located in the southeastern coastal plain of North Carolina, about east of Raleigh and north of Wilmington. The city of Jacksonville is the

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 ...

, and the areas surrounding the city constitute the major population centers and growth areas in the county. The county is home to more than 150,000 people and includes the incorporated towns of Holly Ridge, Richlands, Swansboro, North Topsail Beach, part of Surf City and unincorporated Sneads Ferry. The U.S. Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, comprises roughly ; more than 43,000 marines and sailors are stationed there.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (16%) are covered by water.

State and local protected areas

* Bear Island Area Outstanding Resource Water * Hammocks Beach State Park * Hofmann Forest (part) * Holly Shelter Game Land (part) * North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve *

Onslow Beach Onslow Beach is a stretch of undeveloped beach at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Onslow County, North Carolina Onslow County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 204,576. Its ...

* Primary Nursery Areas * Sandy Run Savannas State Natural Area (part) * Sea Turtle Sanctuary * Stump Sound Area Outstanding Resource Water *

White Oak River Mechanical Harvesting of Oysters Prohibited Area 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 ...

(part) *

White Oak River Impoundment Game Land 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 ...

(part)

Major water bodies

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

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 t ...

* New River * Queen Creek * White Oak River

Adjacent counties

* Jones County - north * Carteret County - east * Pender County - southwest * Duplin County - northwest

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * *

Major Infrastructure

* Albert J. Ellis Airport, located in Richlands and is served by two commercial airlines. *

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, transi ...

(Jacksonville) * Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, military base south of Jacksonville ( Sneads Ferry) * MCAS New River, military base in Jacksonville

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 204,576 people, 63,604 households, and 46,202 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, 150,355 people, 48,122 households, and 36,572 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was 196 people per square mile (76/km²). The 55,726 housing units averaged 73 per square mile (28/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 72.06% White, 18.48% African American, 0.74% Native American, 1.68% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 3.62% from other races, and 3.22% from two or more races. About 7.25% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 48,122 households, 42.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.00% were married couples living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.00% were not families. About 18.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.09. In the county, the population was distributed as 26.20% under the age of 18, 23.80% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 14.40% from 45 to 64, and 6.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 123.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 131.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,756, and for a family was $36,692. Males had a median income of $22,061 versus $20,094 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 $14,853. About 10.80% of families and 12.90% 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 16.70% of those under age 18 and 14.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Onslow 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 Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...

" county in its voting patterns. Except for the 1928 election, when anti-Catholic sentiment allowed

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

to carry the county over Al Smith, it was solidly Democratic until 1968, during the FDR years by margins of as much as 13 to one in 1936. However, the 1960s onwards had Onslow turn to George Wallace in 1968 and then overwhelmingly to

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 ...

over George McGovern in 1972. Since then, Onslow has become a strongly Republican county; the last Democrat to carry it 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 1 ...

in 1976, and Carter in 1980 remains the last of his party to top 40%. Onslow County is a member of the regional Eastern Carolina Council of Governments. The structure of local government in Onslow County was changed in 2016 to have seven commissioners in 2018

board of commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

, all elected at-large for four-year terms. In contrast to electing members from districts, this structure means that candidates are elected by the majority population in the county, which gives a more accurate view of the entire electorate. On November 8, 2016, citizens voted in favor to alter the number of commissioners from five commissioners with concurrent terms to seven with staggered terms. In 2018, citizens elected two more county commissioners in the general election on November 6, 2018, to four-year terms. The citizens of the county will elect five commissioners in 2020, but the four candidates who receive the highest number of votes in the general election of 2020 will receive a four-year term and the candidate who receives the fifth-highest number of votes in the general election of 2020 to a two-year term. Thereafter, all county commissioners would be elected to serve four-year terms. The board establishes policies and ordinances implemented by the county manager and his staff. Commissioners are Jack Bright (chair), Royce Bennett (vice chair), Paul Buchanan, Robin Knapp, Mark Price, Tim Foster, and William Shanahan. In the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

, Onslow County is located in the 6th Senate District, which is represented by Republican Harry Brown. In the North Carolina House of Representatives, Onslow County is split into three House districts with the 14th and 15th House Districts completely in Onslow County and the 16th House District in part of Onslow County and all of neighboring Pender County. The 16th District is represented by Republican

Jimmy Dixon Jimmy Dixon (born 10 October 1981) is a Liberian football coach and former player who is assistant coach at Swedish club Assyriska BK. A defender, he spent most of his career in Sweden and Turkey. Between 1999 and 2012, he made 24 appearance ...

, the 14th District is represented by Republican

George Cleveland George Alan Cleveland (September 17, 1885 – July 15, 1957) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1930 and 1954. Career Cleveland was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. His first appearance on the stage ...

, and the 15th District is represented by Republican Phil Shepard. The main law enforcement agency for Onslow County is the County Sheriff's Department. The elected sheriff is Hans Miller.

Education

Onslow County Schools serves the county, except for

and

Marine Corps Air Station New River Marine Corps Air Station New River is a United States Marine Corps helicopter and tilt-rotor base in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in the eastern part of the state. In 1972, the airfield was named McCutcheon Field for General Keith B. McCutcheo ...

, which are served by Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools.
Text list
- "Camp Lejeune Schools" refers to the DoDEA schools.

Communities

City

(county seat and largest city)

Towns

* Holly Ridge * North Topsail Beach * Richlands * Surf City * Swansboro *

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

Unincorporated community

Hubert Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and '' beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers ...

Census-designated places

* Half Moon * Piney Green * Pumpkin Center * Sneads Ferry

Townships

* Richlands * Sneads Ferry * Southwest * Swansboro *

White Oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...

References

External links

*
NCGenWeb Onslow County
- free genealogy resources for the county
Onslow County Schools

Onslow County Museum
{{authority control 1739 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1739