Johnston County, officially the County of Johnston, 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 of

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 215,999. 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 Smithfield. Johnston County is included in the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

- Durham- Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023.

History

Early history

Johnston County and St. Patrick's Parish were established on June 28, 1746, from the upper part of Craven County,

. The county was named after Gabriel Johnston,

governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a ...

from 1734 to 1752. On March 1, 1752, part of Granville, Johnston, and Bladen counties were combined to form Orange County and St. Matthew's Parish. On November 23, 1758, Johnston County was divided between the parish of St. Patrick and the parish of St. Stephen, St. Patrick's Parish becoming Dobbs County. On December 5, 1770, parts of Johnston,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, and Orange counties were combined to form Wake County and St. Margaret's Parish. Finally, on February 13, 1855, parts of Edgecombe, Nash, Johnston, and Wayne counties were combined to form Wilson County. Most colonial

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

s in Johnston County were subsistence farmers. A few grew

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

as a

cash crop A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsi ...

or reared pigs and cattle, which were sold in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Smithfield was the westernmost freight port on the

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 ...

, and in 1770 the provincial government erected a tobacco warehouse there to store the crop before it was shipped out.

19th century

Eli Whitney Eli Whitney Jr. (December 8, 1765January 8, 1825) was an American inventor, widely known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution that shaped the economy of the Antebellum South. Whitney's ...

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

was introduced in the county in about 1804, leading cotton to become the area's leading cash crop. Production for sale at markets remained low before the 1850s due to poor transportation links with other parts of the state. In 1856 the

North Carolina Railroad The North Carolina Railroad is a state-owned rail corridor extending from Morehead City, North Carolina, to Charlotte. The railroad carries over 70 freight trains operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway and eight passenger trains (Amtrak's ...

was completed, connecting Johnston County with major urban areas. As result, farming for sale increased, lumber and turpentine industries developed, and the towns of Princeton, Pine Level, Selma, and Clayton were eventually created. About 1,500 Johnstonian men fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, of whom about a third died. Lingering political tensions and the emancipation of slaves created social and economic turmoil. The new state constitution of 1868 created the county's first townships, which were altered up until 1913. In 1886 the "Short-Cut" line of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad was laid through Johnston, eventually giving rise to the towns of Kenly, Micro, Four Oaks, and Benson. The

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States. It began in February 1893 and officially ended eight months later. The Panic of 1896 followed. It was the most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of ...

caused cotton prices to sharply decline, leading area farmers to switch to bright leaf tobacco as their primary cash crop. A new tobacco market was established in Smithfield in 1898, and the county's first bank was created.

20th century

Within several years, cotton mills were erected in Smithfield, Clayton, and Selma. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, a brief surge in tobacco and cotton prices brought a boom to the local economy. As a result, the county embarked on a school-construction campaign and consolidated all public schools under a single county system. In the 1920s the state built the county's first two paved highways, and shortly thereafter many towns began paving their main streets. While local commerce enjoyed significant success during the decade, area farmers struggled due to drops in tobacco and cotton prices. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and ensuing

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

caused all banks in the county close. Following the passage of a state bond issue in 1949, most roads in the county and town streets were paved.

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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.46%) is water.

State and local protected areas

* Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site * Clemmons Educational State Forest (part) * Flower Hill Nature Preserve (part) * Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center * Wild Bills Western Town - Shadowhawk

Major water bodies

* Black Creek * Buckhorn Reservoir * Buffalo Creek * Hannahs Creek * Holts Lake * Little Creek * Little River * Middle Creek * Mingo Swamp * Mill Creek * Moccasin Creek *

* Sassarixa Swamp * Snipers Creek * Swift Creek

Adjacent counties

* Wake County – northwest * Franklin County – north * Nash County – northeast * Wilson County – east * Wayne County – southeast * Sampson County – south * Harnett County – southwest

Major highways

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

Major infrastructure

* Johnston Regional Airport * Selma Union Depot

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 215,999 people, 73,567 households, and 53,743 families residing in the county.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 121,965 people, 46,595 households, and 33,688 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 50,196 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 78.09%

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 ...

, 15.65%

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 ...

, 0.41% Native American, 0.30% 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 ...

, 4.53% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 7.74% 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 46,595 households, out of which 35.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were non-families. 23.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.10% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 34.20% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 9.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $40,872, and the median income for a family was $48,599. Males had a median income of $33,008 versus $25,582 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $18,788. About 8.90% of families and 12.80% 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 ...

, including 16.00% of those under age 18 and 19.40% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government

The county is governed by the Johnston County Board of Commissioners, a seven-member board of County Commissioners, elected to serve four-year terms. The commissioners enact policies such as establishment of the property tax rate, regulation of land use and zoning outside municipal jurisdictions, and adoption of the annual budget. Commissioners generally meet each month. Current (2024) members of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners are: * R.S. "Butch" Lawter, Jr., chairman * Patrick E. Harris, vice-chairman * Richard D. Braswell * Ted Godwin * Fred J. Smith, Jr. * April Stephens Rick Hester is the county manager. Johnston County is a member of the regional Triangle J Council of Governments. In 2011, the Johnston County 911 Communications Center became one of four 911 agencies in the world to hold an Accredited Center of Excellence status from the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch in fire, police, and EMD protocols (giving them a Tri-ACE status). The dispatch has been re-accredited three times with the most recent being in 2017.

Politics

For most of the time after the Civil War, Johnston County was a classic Solid South county, going Democratic in all but three elections from 1880 to 1964. However, from 1968 onward it has turned increasingly Republican, with the only breaks in this tradition being its support for third-party candidate

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 ...

in 1968 and for Democrat

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. Carter's unsuccessful bid for reelection in 1980 is the last time that a Democrat has managed even 40 percent of the county's vote. Despite this,

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

's 38.59% of the vote was the highest for a Democrat in 44 years, indicating that the county may be moving Democratic. In the 2020 North Carolina gubernatorial election, Republican Dan Forest won the county by a 17% margin over Democrat

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III ( ; born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 75th List of governors of North Carolina, governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...

. However in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, Republican Mark Robinson won the county by just 0.1%, consistent with the county's recent leftward shift.

Education

Higher education

Johnston County is home to Johnston Community College (JCC), a public, two-year, post-secondary college located in Smithfield. The college has off-campus centers throughout Johnston County.

Primary and secondary education

Public K-12 education in all of Johnston County is managed by the Johnston County School District, which has 46 schools and has more than 35,400 students. In addition, three charter schools and five private schools are located in the county.

Libraries

The Johnston County Public Affiliated Library system operates six branches throughout the county. The library system keeps books, periodicals and audio books and has recently expanded the selection to include downloadable e-books. The Hocutt-Ellington Memorial Library in Clayton left the Johnston County affiliated library system in 2015.

Culture

The Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site is the largest

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 ...

battlefield in North Carolina. The

Battle of Bentonville The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last ...

was fought in 1865, and was the only Confederate offensive targeted to stop General Sherman's march through the South. The Tobacco Farm Life Museum in Kenly has been collecting artifacts and showcasing the heritage of the Eastern North Carolina farmer for over 35 years. The site includes a museum and restored farmstead, blacksmith shop, and one-room school house. The Ava Gardner Museum, located in Smithfield, contains a collection of artifacts such as scripts, movie posters, costumes and personal belongings of actress

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...

, who was born and raised in Johnston County. The museum holds an annual festival. The Johnston County Heritage Centers in Smithfield contains county artifacts and genealogical records. The Johnston County Arts Council promotes arts in the county and its schools. Smithfield is the location of an annual

Festival, which celebrates the life of the actress. The Meadow community is the location of Meadow Lights, an annual display of

Christmas lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom ...

Media

Radio and Television

Johnston County is located in the Raleigh-Durham radio market, ranked by Nielsen as the 37th largest in the United States. Johnston County's first radio station, WMPM, 1270 AM, in Smithfield, signed on in 1950. The county is also home to WPYB, 1130 AM in Benson, WHPY, 1590 AM in Clayton, WTSB, 1090 AM in Selma, and WKJO, 102.3 FM in Smithfield. The county is also part of the larger, 23-county Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville

Designated Market Area A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

—the nation's 24th-largest. WNGT-CD, (virtual channel 34.1) a Class A low-powered TV station licensed to both Smithfield and Selma. The station began frequency sharing with Raleigh's

WRAL-TV WRAL-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Research Triangle area. It is the flagship station of the locally based Capitol Broadcasting Company, which has ...

in November 2020, greatly expanding its coverage. Goldsboro-licensed CBS affiliate

WNCN WNCN (channel 17) is a television station licensed to Goldsboro, North Carolina, United States, serving the Research Triangle area as an affiliate of CBS. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios on Front Street in north R ...

, virtual channel 17/RF channel 8, originally known as WYED-TV, signed on from studios and a transmitter in Clayton in 1988 before moving to Raleigh studios in 1995.

Newspapers

* Clayton News-Star * Kenly News * Four Oaks-Benson News in Review * Princeton News Leader * The Selma News * Pine Level News * Johnstonian News * The Daily Record * The Smithfield Herald * The Cleveland Post * The Garner-Cleveland Record * The News & Observer

Communities

Towns

* Archer Lodge * Benson * Clayton (largest community) * Four Oaks * Kenly *

Micro Micro may refer to: Measurement * micro- (μ), a metric prefix denoting a factor of 10−6 Places * Micro, North Carolina, town in U.S. People * DJ Micro, (born Michael Marsicano) an American trance DJ and producer * Chii Tomiya (都宮 � ...

* Pine Level * Princeton * Selma * Smithfield (county seat) * Wilson's Mills

Townships

* Banner * Bentonville * Beulah * Boon Hill * Brogden * Clayton * Cleveland * Elevation * Ingrams * Meadow * Micro * O'Neals * Pine Level * Pleasant Grove * Selma * Smithfield * Wilders * Wilson Mills

Unincorporated communities

* Allens Crossroads * Bagley * Blackmans Crossroads *

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

* Emit *

Flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

* Grabtown * Hocutts Crossroads *

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

* McGee's Crossroads * Peacocks Crossroads *

Powhatan Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powh ...

* Spilona * Stancils Chapel * West Smithfield * Willow Spring (part)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

; Government *
Johnston County Heritage Center
; General information * *
NCGenWeb Johnston County
genealogy resources for the county * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston County, North Carolina North Carolina counties 1746 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1746 Populated places on the Neuse River Research Triangle