Pitt County is a county located in the Inner Banks region of 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 so ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 170,243, making it the 14th-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 parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Greenville. Pitt County comprises the Greenville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is a component of the wider Greenville–Washington, NC CSA.

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 Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him "Chatham" or "Pitt the Elder" to distinguish him from his son ...

, who was then

Secretary of State for the Southern Department The secretary of state for the Southern Department was a position in the Cabinet (government), cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department (Great Britain), Southern Department became the H ...

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 of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The Leader is always a memb ...

. 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. Modern pr ...

in 1766–68. The county saw a substantial population influx between the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

censuses with a double-digit percentage increase seen in all four census counts.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the total area of Pitt County is , of which is land and (0.49%) is water.

State and local protected sites

* North Carolina Museum of Natural Science Contentnea Creek * North Carolina Museum of Natural Science Greenville

Major water bodies

* Contentnea Creek * 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 N ...

* Swift Creek * Tar River * Tranters Creek

Adjacent counties

* Martin County – northeast * Beaufort County – east * Craven County – south-southeast * Lenoir County – south-southwest * Greene County – southwest * Wilson County – west * Edgecombe County – northwest

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Major infrastructure

* G.K. Butterfield Transportation Center * Pitt-Greenville Airport

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 170,243 people, 70,926 households, and 41,427 families residing in the county.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 133,798 people, 52,539 households, and 32,258 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 58,408 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 62.08%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 33.65%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.27% Native American, 1.08% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 1.80% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. 3.15% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino 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 was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the aftermath of the Co ...

" county, where there were large numbers of disenfranchised

blacks Black is a racial 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 and often additional phenotypical ch ...

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 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's overwhelming victory over

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

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 Kandie Smith in the 5th district of the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, 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 Senate ...

, as well as Gloristine Brown in the 8th district and Timothy Reeder in the 9th district of the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...

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 * D. H. Conley High School *Farmville Central High School * J. H. Rose High School * North Pitt High School * 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 in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

* Pitt Community College * Miller-Motte Technical College

Communities

Map of Pitt County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels

Cities

* Greenville (county seat and largest community)

Towns

* Ayden *

Bethel Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Bet ...

* Falkland *

Farmville ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network games 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 plo ...

Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or 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. Fountains were o ...

* Grifton * Grimesland *

Simpson Simpson may refer to: * Simpson (name), a British surname Organizations Schools *Simpson College, in Indianola, Iowa *Simpson University, in Redding, California Businesses *Simpson (appliance manufacturer), former manufacturer and brand of w ...

* 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 c ...

Pactolus Pactolus (), also called Chrysorrhoas (Χρυσορρόας), the modern Sart Çayı , is a river near the Aegean coast of Turkey. The river rises from Mount Tmolus, flows through the ruins of the ancient city of Sardis, and empties into the Ged ...

* Oakley

Townships

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

* Ayden * Belvoir *

* Black Jack * Carolina * Chicod * Falkland *

* Greenville * Grifton * Grimesland *

* Swift Creek * Winterville

References

External links

* *
Pitt County Economic Development website

NCGenWeb Pitt County
genealogy resources for the county {{Authority control Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area 1760 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1760