Dudley is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

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 counte ...

(CDP) in Wayne County,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, 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 Goldsboro, originally Goldsborough, is a city in and the county seat of Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 33,657 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Me ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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

, a number of buildings and railroad cars were destroyed in Dudley by the Union Army under Maj. Gen.

John G. Foster John Gray Foster (May 27, 1823 – September 2, 1874) was an American soldier. A career military officer in the United States Army and a Union general during the American Civil War, he served in North and South Carolina during the war. A recons ...

. 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 corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

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

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

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 (United States), Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Anchored by the cities of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh an ...

is the closest major airport with service to more than 45 domestic and international destinations. Goldsboro-Wayne Municipal Airport 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 except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

. *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, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

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

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

with a location in nearby Goldsboro.

Roads

*The main highway in Dudley is US 117.

Notable people

Cecil Exum Cecil Maurice Exum (August 7, 1962 – July 2, 2023) was an American-Australian professional basketball player who played eight seasons in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar ...

, former

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

and Australian NBL basketball player * Linwood Forte, serial killer *

Tim Pratt Timothy Aaron 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 sev ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

writer and poet * Greg Warren,

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

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