Journey through Guilford County

Guilford County is the third-most populous county (and city) in North Carolina behind Mecklenburg County (Charlotte) and Wake County (Raleigh). The original inhabitants of the area were a Siouan-speaking people called the Cheraw. Beginning in the 1740s, settlers arrived in the region in search of fertile and affordable land. These first settlers included American Quakers …

Journey through Davidson County

The original Davidson County was formed in 1786 as the far western portion of North Carolina, with its county seat at Nashville and a territory covering most of what is now Middle Tennessee. However, when Tennessee was established as a separate state in 1796, this county became Davidson County, Tennessee. The current North Carolina county …

Journey through Burlington, NC

Discover Burlington at the heart of Alamance County! The need of the North Carolina Railroad in the 1850s to locate land where they could build, repair and do maintenance on its track was the genesis of Burlington, North Carolina. The company selected a piece of land slightly west of present-day Graham. On January 29, 1856, …

Journey through Alamance County

Alamance County was formed on January 29, 1849 from Orange County. Alamance County was named after Great Alamance Creek, the site of the Battle of Alamance (May 16, 1771), a pre-Revolutionary War battle in which militia under the command of Governor William Tryon crushed the Regulator movement. Great Alamance Creek, and Little Alamance Creek, according …

Journey through Montgomery County

The first inhabitants of the area eventually comprising Montgomery County were Keyauwee and Cheraw Native Americans. And the first European settlers were German and Scottish. Montgomery County was created in 1779 out of Anson County. It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture …

Journey through Johnston County

Named for Governor Gabriel Johnston, Johnston County, or JoCo as it is affectionately called today, was established on June 28, 1746, from the upper part of Craven County. Located in the southeastern part of North Carolina, farming has a primary business since its earliest days. Most early growers in Johnston County were subsistence farmers. A …

Journey through Wayne County

Wayne County, North Carolina was founded in 1779 and named for the Revolutionary War hero from Pennsylvania, General Anthony Wayne. Prior to 1730, Indians and wild animals were the only known occupants of the territory. Settlers trickled into the territory, but there was no general movement of immigration until after 1750. During the Revolutionary War, …

Journey through Lenoir County

Lenoir county was formed in 1791 from the southern part of Dobbs County and was named for William Lenoir (1751-1839), an officer in the American Revolutionary War who took part in the Battle of Kings Mountain. The area hosts a BBQ Fest on the Neuse in May each year, including a car/truck show. You can …

Journey through Greene County

Tourism-wise, there’s not a whole lot that creates interest in Greene County, but there is some interesting history here. Greene County was named in honor of Nathanael Greene, one of General Washington’s right-hand men, as was the Piedmont city of Greensboro, NC. As part of a land grant by King Charles II of England in …

Journey through Warren County

Warren County Once one of the wealthiest counties in the state from 1840 to 1860 as the center of tobacco and cotton plantations, education, and later textile mills, Warren County is now one of the poorest counties in North Carolina. It was made famous for a landfill scandal and a birthplace of the environmental justice …