Wayne County 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 117,333. 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 Goldsboro, and it is home to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Wayne County comprises the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Prior to 1730, Native Americans were the only known occupants of the territory now known as Wayne County. Settlers trickled into the territory, occupying land along the Neuse River. There was no general migration here until after 1750; as populations built up in the coastal areas, some settlers moved west for land. Wayne County was established 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 ...

on November 2, 1779, from the western part of Dobbs County. It was named for "Mad Anthony" Wayne, a general in the war. The act establishing the county provided that the first court should be held at the home of Josiah Sasser, at which time the justices were to decide on a place for all subsequent courts until a courthouse could be erected. By 1782 the commissioners were named. In 1787 an act was passed establishing Waynesborough on the west side of 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 ...

, on the land of Andrew Bass. The courthouse was built there. In 1855, parts of Wayne County, Edgecombe County, Johnston County, and Nash County were combined to form Wilson County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.68%) is water. Wayne County's surface is level to gently rolling uplands with broad bottoms along the rivers and some creeks. Elevations are predominantly 120 to 145 feet above sea level. The largest waterway, the

, bisects the lower central portion of the county and cuts a deep channel 20 to 40 feet deep as it flows in an eastward direction. Unusual river bluffs occur in the vicinity of Seven Springs. In addition to the Neuse River, the county is drained by the Little River, the Northeast Cape Fear River and numerous creeks. Wayne County is underlain by unconsolidated beds of sand, clay and gravel. For the most part, these beds were deposited in seawater as the sea advanced and retreated during the geologic development of the

Atlantic Coastal Plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. To a much lesser extent, streams deposited layers of sediment which mixed with that deposited on the sea floor. The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

in Wayne County is characterized by warm summers and moderate winters. The average temperature is about 62 degrees. Annual precipitation is about 50 inches of rainfall per year, with the major portion occurring in the late spring and summer.

State and local protected areas/sites

* Charles B. Aycock Birthplace * Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield * Cliffs of the Neuse State Park

Major water bodies

* Bear Creek * Little River *

* Northeast Cape Fear River * Quaker Neck Lake * Water Branch

Adjacent counties

* Wilson County – north * Greene County – east-northeast * Lenoir County – east-southeast * Duplin County – south * Sampson County – southwest * Johnston County – west

Major highways

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

Major infrastructure

* Goldsboro Union Station * Seymour Johnson Air Force Base

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 117,333 people, 48,482 households, and 30,990 families residing in the county.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 113,329 people, 42,612 households, and 30,254 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 47,313 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 61.28%

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 ...

, 33.02%

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 ...

, 0.36% Native American, 0.96% Asian, 0.05%

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 ...

, 3.07% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. 4.94% 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 42,612 households, out of which 34.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.60% 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, 15.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.03. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.20% under the age of 18, 9.90% from 18 to 24, 30.50% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,942, and the median income for a family was $40,492. Males had a median income of $28,396 versus $21,854 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 $17,010. About 10.20% of families and 13.80% 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 18.60% of those under age 18 and 15.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Wayne was historically 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 for the first two thirds of the twentieth century, as conservative white Democrats had passed a new constitution at the turn of the 20th century that disenfranchised most blacks. North Carolina became a virtually one-party state, with whites generally voting for Democratic Party Candidates. Following Congressional passage of major civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s, this county's white voters, like most across the South, gradually started to support Republican national candidates and ultimately changed parties, joining the Republicans. But in 1968, they voted for segregationist "American Independent"

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 1972, the white majority of Wayne County has carried it for Republican presidential candidates in every election. Wayne County is governed by a commissioner-manager system, consisting of seven members elected to four-year terms. One commissioner is elected from each of six

single-member district A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. In some countries, such as Australia and India ...

s in the county and one is elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

countywide. All seven members serve concurrent four-year terms. The partisan elections for the Board of Commissioners are held in November in even-numbered years. The Board elects a chairman and vice-chairman from among its members annually at the first meeting in December. The Board meets on the first and third Tuesday each month. These are the elected officials representing Wayne County following the 2020 elections. Wayne County will be represented in the 13th District in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, the 4th District in the North Carolina State House of Representatives, and the 4th and 10th District in the North Carolina State Senate due to the 2020 redistricting cycle. Wayne County is a member of the regional Eastern Carolina Council of Governments.

Economy

Wayne County's local industries are involved in a range of operations from simple assembly to complex

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

processes resulting in products ranging from bread and poultry feed to automobile parts and electric

transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...

s. Substantial technological improvements in recent years involving modernization of plant facilities and the addition of sophisticated manufacturing equipment have resulted in enhanced profitability and productivity for many of the local manufacturing firms. The combination of a mild climate, a freeze-free growing season of about 225 days and a wide range of soil types contribute to a highly productive agricultural area. Total gross farm sales in Wayne County in 2006 was approximately US$329,082,138. Field crops, including the primary crops of

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 ...

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

soybeans The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source of f ...

, and

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

accounted for nearly 12% of the farm income or US$38,583,389. Income from

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

production was US$236,287,547 in 2006 and derived primarily from

swine Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a suborder of omnivorous, non-ruminant artiodactyl mammals that includes the domestic pig and peccaries. A member of this clade is known as a suine. Suina includes the family Suidae, termed suids, known in ...

operations. Swine production has increased rapidly, making it the single largest source of farm income. In 2006 farm income from swine production was US$75,409,690 or 23% of all farm income. Wayne County ranks 7th in the nation for production of swine. Seymour Johnson Air Force Base is home to the 4th Fighter Wing and 916th Air Refueling Wing. The annual civilian and military payroll is over $282 millionUSD. In fiscal year 2006 the economic impact at the base totaled over $460 millionUSD.

Education

Wayne County is home to three colleges: Wayne Community College, University of Mount Olive (formerly known as Mount Olive College), and the Goldsboro campus of the North Carolina Wesleyan University. Public schools are administered by the Wayne County Public Schools system. The public schools include nine high schools and college preparation schools, nine middle schools, fourteen elementary schools and one special education school. The county is also home to one charter public school and six

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

High schools

* Charles B. Aycock High School * Eastern Wayne High School *

Goldsboro High School Goldsboro High School is a public high school located in Wayne County, Goldsboro, North Carolina, United States. The school's mascot is the Cougar, and the school colors are navy and gold. Notable alumni * Stanley Bryant, football player in the ...

* Rosewood High School * Southern Wayne High School * Wayne School of Engineering * Wayne Early Middle College High School * Wayne School of Technical Arts

Media

* '' The Goldsboro News-Argus'' * '' Mount Olive Tribune''

Hospitals

* Wayne UNC Health Care, a medical facility located in Goldsboro, is the county's second-largest employer. * Cherry Hospital is a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

located in Goldsboro; it was founded in 1880 as a facility to treat mentally ill

s when all public facilities were segregated. A museum depicting its history is part of the hospital campus. *

O'Berry Neuro-Medical Center The O'Berry Neuro-Medical Center is a public hospital in Goldsboro, North Carolina, United States, owned by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Its original goal was to help the intellectually disabled Intellectual dis ...

is a

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS or DHHS) is a large state government agency in the U.S. state of North Carolina, analogous to the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The NCDHHS has more than ...

hospital providing rehabilitative services to individuals with Down Syndrome and people with developmental disabilities.

Communities

Map of Wayne County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels

City

* Goldsboro (county seat and largest community)

Towns

Eureka Eureka often refers to: * Eureka (word), a famous exclamation attributed to Archimedes * Eureka effect, the sudden, unexpected realization of the solution to a problem Eureka or Ureka may also refer to: History * Eureka Rebellion, an 1854 g ...

* Fremont * Mount Olive * Seven Springs * Pikeville

Villages

* Walnut Creek

Census-designated places

* Brogden *

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

Elroy Elroy may refer to: Places in the United States * Elroy, North Carolina, a census-designated place * Elroy, a village in Franconia Township, Pennsylvania * Elroy, Texas, an unincorporated community * Elroy, Wisconsin, a city People and fictional ...

* Mar-Mac *

New Hope New Hope may refer to: Places United States * New Hope, Alabama * New Hope, Arkansas (disambiguation) * New Hope, Florida * New Hope, Early County, Georgia * New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia * New Hope, Illinois * New Hope, Indiana * New Hope ...

Other unincorporated communities

* Faro *

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

* Hopewell * Nahunta *

Rosewood Rosewood is any of a number of richly hued hardwoods, often brownish with darker veining, but found in other colours. It is hard, tough, strong, and dense. True rosewoods come from trees of the genus '' Dalbergia'', but other woods are often ca ...

Townships

* Brogden * Buck Swamp *

Fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods either to h ...

Notable people

* Ike Atkinson, drug trafficker *

Charles Brantley Aycock Charles Brantley Aycock (November 1, 1859 – April 4, 1912) was the 50th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1901 to 1905. After starting his career as a lawyer and teacher, he became active in the Democratic Party during the par ...

, politician * Bob Boyd, golfer *

Moira Crone Moira Crone (born 1952) is a painter and American fiction author. She was born and raised in Goldsboro, in the tobacco country in eastern North Carolina. She is the author of three collections of short fiction and two novels. Her short stories ha ...

, author *

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 ...

, actress *

Anne Jeffreys Anne Jeffreys (born Annie Jeffreys Carmichael; January 26, 1923 – September 27, 2017) was an American actress and singer. She was the female lead in the 1950s TV series '' Topper''. Career Jeffreys was born Annie Jeffreys Carmichael on Janu ...

, actress *

Carl Kasell Carl Ray Kasell (; April 2, 1934 – April 17, 2018) was an American radio personality. He was a newscaster for National Public Radio, and later was the official judge and scorekeeper of the weekly news quiz show '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell ...

, radio personality *

Martin Lancaster Harold Martin Lancaster, O.B.E. (born March 24, 1943) is an American politician who is the former President of the North Carolina Community College System and former Chair of the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges. He was ...

, former president of the

North Carolina Community College System The North Carolina Community College System (System Office) is a statewide network of 58 public community colleges. The system enrolls nearly 600,000 students annually. It also provides the North Carolina Learning Object Repository as a central ...

Manny Lawson Manny Lawson (born July 3, 1984) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the NC State Wolfpack football, NC State Wolfpack, ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

linebacker *

Jerry Narron Jerry Austin Narron (born January 15, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager (baseball), manager, coach (baseball), coach, and former player. He is the current catching coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). ...

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player, coach, and manager *

Tony Schiffman Arnold Anthony "Tony" Schiffman Jr. (June 26, 1937 – February 9, 2015) was an American dealer of fine jewelry. He was the chief executive officer and controlling stockholder of Schiffman's, a chain of jewelry stores. Schiffman was the third-gener ...

, jeweler * John R. Smith, politician * Michale Spicer, NFL defensive end * Greg Warren, NFL long snapper *

James B. Whitfield James Bryan Whitfield (November 8, 1860 – August 20, 1948) was an American attorney and politician who served as a long-time justice of the Florida Supreme Court. Early life and education Whitfield was born on November 8, 1860, on his fathe ...

, lawyer * Cadmus M. Wilcox,

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

general

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1779 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1779