Harnett County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina Collection website at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Retrieved August 16, 2023. is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 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 133,568. 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 Lillington; its largest community is Anderson Creek. Harnett County is part of the Anderson Creek, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Harnett County was formed in 1855 from land given by

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...

. It was named for American Revolutionary war soldier Cornelius Harnett, who was also a delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

. The first settlers came to the region in the mid-1720s, and were followed by Highland Scots immigrants. The Scots settled in the foothills, where land was more affordable, rather than in the rich alluvial soil area of the coastal plain. After the defeat by the British of Bonny Prince Charles at Culloden, Scots immigrants came up the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River in the town of ...

in ever increasing numbers and settled in western Harnett County. British immigrants had settled primarily along the banks of the

in the coastal area, generally from Erwin to Wilmington. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, many of the Scots were Loyalists. In their defeat in Scotland, they had been forced to take ironclad vows that prohibited taking up arms against the British. Some Rebels considered them traitors to the cause of

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

. Public executions of suspected spies occurred. One site near Lillington was the scene of a mass execution of "Scots traitors". Though Harnett County was not a site of warfare during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, one of the last battles took place near Averasborough, which was once the third-most populated town in North Carolina, but is no longer in existence. During the Carolinas Campaign, the Left Wing of General William Sherman's army under the command of Major General Henry W. Slocum defeated the army of General William Hardee in the Battle of Averasborough and proceeded eastward. A centennial celebration of the event was held in 1965 at the site of the battlefield.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.05%) is water.

State and local protected areas/sites

* Anderson Creek County Park * Averasboro Battlefield and Museum * Harris Game Land (part) * Raven Rock State Park * Rhodes Pond Game Land (part)

Major water bodies

* Black River * Buies Creek *

* Cedar Creek * East Buies Creek * Little River * Mingo Swamp * Neills Creek * Thorntons Creek * Upper Little River * West Buies Creek

Adjacent counties

* Wake County – north * Johnston County – northeast * Sampson County – southeast *

– south * Moore County – west-southwest * Lee County – west-northwest * Chatham County – northwest

Major highways

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

Major infrastructure

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

(Linden Oaks) * Harnett Regional Jetport

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, 133,568 people resided in the county, making it the 23rd most populous county in North Carolina. Anderson Creek was recorded as the largest community.

Demographic change

Between 2010 and 2020, the population in Harnett County grew by 18,890 people, or 18.6 percent, though the largest city of Dunn (at the time) shrank by 4.8 percent during the same interval. Proportionately, the white population decreased by 6.7 percent, while the Hispanic/Latino population grew by 3.3 percent and the Asian population grew by 0.2 percent. The black and Native American populations remained about the same.

Government and politics

Harnett is a typical "

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 in its political history. Apart from the 1928 election when it defected to

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

because of opposition to the Catholicism of

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

, Harnett voted rock-solid Democratic until the 1960s when opposition to increasing liberalism on racial policies turned the electorate toward the segregationist candidacy of

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

. Since then apart from when carried twice by native Southerner

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

in 1976 and 1980, Harnett has been a solidly Republican county. Harnett County is a member of the regional Mid-Carolina Council of Governments.

Education

Harnett County is home to

Campbell University Campbell University is a private Christian university in Buies Creek, North Carolina, United States. Campbell's main campus in Buies Creek is home to its College of Arts & Sciences, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Divinity School, Scho ...

and to 27 pre-college schools: 4 primary schools, 13 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, 4 high schools, and 1 alternative school. Harnett County Schools is the local public school district. Schools in the county include: * Primary: Anderson Creek, Gentry, Harnett, North Harnett * Elementary: Angier, Benhaven, Boone Trail, Buies Creek, Coats, Erwin, Highland, Johnsonville, LaFayette, Lillington-Shawtown, Overhills, South Harnett, Wayne Avenue * Middle: Coats-Erwin, Dunn, Harnett Central, Highland, Overhills, Western Harnett * High: Harnett Central, Overhills, Triton, Western Harnett * Alternative: STAR Academy (grades 6–12) * University:

The Linden Oaks housing development, of

, has some

Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on beh ...

(DoDEA) schools, including Gary Ivan Gordon Elementary School, Randall David Shughart Elementary School, and Shugart Middle School. High school students living in Linden Oaks are assigned to Harnett County Schools' Overhills High School. The county is served by the Harnett County Library System, based in Lillington with branches at Angier, Coats, Dunn, Erwin, Anderson Creek Primary School, and Boone Trail Community Center and Library.

Communities

Map of Harnett County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels

City

* Dunn

Towns

* Angier (most) * Coats * Erwin * Lillington (county seat) * Fuquay-Varina (part)

Census-designated places

* Anderson Creek (largest community) * Buies Creek * Bunnlevel * Mamers * Spout Springs

Townships

* Anderson Creek * Averasboro *

Barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

* Black River * Buckhorn *

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

* Grove * Hectors Creek * Johnsonville * Lillington * Neills Creek * Stewarts Creek * Upper Little River

Other unincorporated communities

* Barclaysville * Cape Fear * Chalybeate Springs * Christian Light * Cokesbury * Duncan * Flat Branch * Flatwoods * Johnsonville * Kipling * Luart * Olivia * Overhills * Pineview * Rawls * Ryes *

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

* Shawtown * Turlington * Raven Rock * Norrington * Mount Pisgah

References

External links

* *
The Daily Record
newspaper headquartered in the county {{Authority control Research Triangle 1855 establishments in North Carolina