Johnston County, North Carolina

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Johnston County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 215,999.[1] Its county seat is Smithfield.[2] Johnston County is included in the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023.[3]

History

Early history

Johnston County and St. Patrick's Parish were established on June 28, 1746, from the upper part of Craven County, North Carolina.Template:Sfn The county was named after Gabriel Johnston, governor of North Carolina from 1734 to 1752.[4] On March 1, 1752, part of Granville, Johnston, and Bladen counties were combined to form Orange County and St. Matthew's Parish.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn On December 5, 1770, parts of Johnston, Cumberland, and Orange counties were combined to form Wake County and St. Margaret's Parish.Template:Sfn Finally, on February 13, 1855, parts of Edgecombe, Nash, Johnston, and Wayne counties were combined to form Wilson County.[5] Most colonial settlers in Johnston County were subsistence farmers. A few grew tobacco as a cash crop or raised pigs and cattle, which were sold in Virginia. Smithfield was the westernmost freight port on the Neuse River, and in 1770, the provincial government erected a tobacco warehouse there to store the crop before it was shipped out.Template:Sfn

19th century

Eli Whitney's cotton gin was introduced in the county around 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 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, 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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn The Panic of 1893 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, 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.Template:Sfn In the 1920s, the state built the county's first two paved highways, and shortly thereafter, many towns began paving their main streets.Template:Sfn 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 caused all banks in the county to close.Template:Sfn Following the passage of a state bond issue in 1949, most roads in the county and town streets were paved.Template:Sfn

Geography

Template:Maplink According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Script error: No such module "convert"., of which Script error: No such module "convert". (0.46%) are covered by water.[6]

State and local protected areas

Major water bodies

Adjacent counties

Major highways

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Major infrastructure

Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Template:Sronly%±
17905,691—
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188023,461Script error: No such module "String".%
189027,239Script error: No such module "String".%
190032,250Script error: No such module "String".%
191041,401Script error: No such module "String".%
192048,998Script error: No such module "String".%
193057,621Script error: No such module "String".%
194063,798Script error: No such module "String".%
195065,906Script error: No such module "String".%
196062,936Script error: No such module "String".%
197061,737Script error: No such module "String".%
198070,599Script error: No such module "String".%
199081,306Script error: No such module "String".%
2000121,965Script error: No such module "String".%
2010168,878Script error: No such module "String".%
2020215,999Script error: No such module "String".%
2024 (est.)249,794[9]Script error: No such module "String".%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1790–1960[11] 1900–1990[12]
1990–2000[13] 2010[14] 2020[1]

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2020 census

Johnston County racial composition[15]
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 136,464 63.18%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 33,041 15.3%
Native American 880 0.41%
Asian 1,831 0.85%
Pacific Islander 71 0.03%
Other/multiracial 9,312 4.31%
Hispanic or Latino 34,400 15.93%

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 215,999, 79,053 households, and 53,743 families residing in the county.[16]

The median age was 38.0 years. 25.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 13.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.0 males age 18 and over.[16]

The racial makeup of the county was 65.9% White, 15.6% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 8.4% from some other race, and 8.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 15.9% of the population.[17]

47.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 53.0% lived in rural areas.[18]

There were 79,053 households in the county, of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 54.8% were married-couple households, 14.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[16]

There were 84,340 housing units, of which 6.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.9% were owner-occupied and 26.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.1%.[16]

2000 census

At the 2000 census,[19] 121,965 people, 46,595 households, and 33,688 families were residing in the county. The population density was Script error: No such module "convert".. The 50,196 housing units had an average density of Script error: No such module "convert".. The racial makeup of the county was 78.09% White, 15.65% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.53% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. About 7.74% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 46,595 households, 35.4% had children under 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were not families. About 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the age distribution was 26.1% under 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 34.2% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 96.3 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,872 and for a family was $48,599. Males had a median income of $33,008 versus $25,582 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,788. About 8.9% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.0% of those under 18 and 19.4% of those 65 or over.

Law and government

The county is governed by the Johnston County Board of Commissioners, a seven-member board, 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.[20]

Current (2024) members of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners are:[21]

  • 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.[22]

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 reaccredited three times with the most recent being in 2017.[23][24]

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. From 1968 onward, though, it has turned increasingly Republican, with the only breaks in this tradition being its support for third-party candidate George Wallace in 1968 and for Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976. Carter's unsuccessful bid for reelection in 1980 is the last time that a Democrat has managed even 40% of the county's vote. Despite this, Kamala Harris'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, but in 2024, Republican Mark Robinson won the county by just 0.1%, consistent with the county's recent leftward shift.

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Education

Higher education

Johnston County is home to Johnston Community College, a public, two-year, postsecondary college located in Smithfield. The college has off-campus centers throughout Johnston County.[25]

Primary and secondary education

Public K-12 education in all of Johnston County is managed by the Johnston County School District,[26] which has 46 schools and has more than 35,400 students.[27] 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.[28] The Hocutt-Ellington Memorial Library in Clayton left the Johnston County affiliated library system in 2015.[29]

Culture

The Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site is the largest Civil War battlefield in North Carolina. The Battle of Bentonville 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.[30]

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, 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.[31]

The Johnston County Arts Council promotes arts in the county and its schools.[32] Smithfield is the location of an annual Ava Gardner Festival, which celebrates the life of the actress.[33]

The Meadow community is the location of Meadow Lights, an annual display of Christmas lights.[34]

The Ham and Yam festival highlights two agricultural commodities for which Johnston County is a top producer - pork and sweet potatoes.[35]

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.[36] 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—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 in November 2020, greatly expanding its coverage. Goldsboro-licensed CBS affiliate WNCN, 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

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  • 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 and Observer

Communities

File:Map of Johnston County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels.PNG
Map of Johnston County with municipal and township labels

Towns

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Townships

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  • 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

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See also

References

Citations

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Bibliography

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Further reading

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  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Transcribed by Weynette Parks Haun
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Compiled by Brent H. Holcomb
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External links

Government
General information

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