Lenoir County

by Lee Monsees
Fall 2000

The rich soil of Lenoir County, in the center of the coastal plain of NC, has nurtured since the 18th century. Providing homes for Mosely Hall Township, LaGrange, Institute Township, Vance Township, Contentnea Neck Township, Falling Creek Township, Kinston Township, Sandhill Township, Trent Township, Neuse Township, Southwest Township, Woodington Township, Pink Hill Township and Pink Hill. Lenoir was founded in 1791 being named in honor of William Lenoir, who was one of the heroes of Kings Mountain. "There's an old African proverb which says when an old person dies, a whole library burns down" (Little). This is especially true in Lenoir County since in all actuality it really did burn down, making each record of land only a memory. When arson burned the courthouse on October 21 of 1878 the fire destroyed a vast majority of over 150 years of land deeds and ownerships. These records have been passed from previous Craven to Johnston, to Dobbs county and finally to present day Lenoir County. Few records were saved and transferred to a temporary courthouse but all records were destroyed in 1880 when this building was engulfed into flames and burned to the ground. Therefore any building constructed before 1880 could not be traced through records only through the minds and memories of those old persons who acquired the land.

First generation Lenoir Countians cannot prove whether or not the land they relieved by their ancestors was given by the King through grants but can only pass down the stories of how big the plantations were and how they outsmarted the raging torches of the Union soldiers during the Civil War.

The area that is now considered Lenoir County, abundant in natural resources and enthusiastic settlers was acquired under absentee ownership. These individuals obtained large grants of thousands upon thousands of acres of land. Located in the North Carolina Coastal Plain region, Lenoir county contains 399 square miles of land area surrounded by Pitt Co, Wayne Co, Craven Co, Greene Co, and Duplin.

It is a fairly plain region with areas in the southeastern part from 25 feet to about 125 feet in the western. The Neuse river, the counties major river along with Contentnea creek and Bear creek provide a good source of water for the eastern region, while nearly every farm is connected to smaller streams, creeks, or man made ditches giving Lenoir an abundant source of water for agricultural purposes. The warm ocean breeze gives the county a mild climate with small transitions in temperature differences between seasons.

The town later to be known as Kinston, Lenoir County's county seat, was acquired December 16, 1729 by Robert Atkins as part of a 640-acre tract land grant. It then lay in Craven County until 1746, Johnston County until 1758, and Dobbs county until 1791, and then to present day Lenoir County. Atkins lived between present day Kinston and Goldsboro where he ran a trading post along the Neuse River. After his death in 1731 with no heirs he assigned his estate to his lawyer William Herritage. It was not until 1762 in December that Governor Dobbs approved the act of settlement and the township of Kingston, named in honor of King George III was established. The g was later dropped and became what is now Known as Kinston (this was done to disassociate itself from British royalty).

Most initial land purchases of land came from already established landowners in the vicinity of the area. The Caswells, Herritages, Cobbs, and the MacElweans all related by marriage acquired the vast majority of lots. These first few years saw little establishment due to the owning of the family enterprise.

Agriculturally, Lenoir County consumed the mid eastern section of the state. Many larger areas were in stable crop production under a slave labor plantation system as well as the smaller family system. While the northern Roanoke valley counties specialized in tobacco and the lower Cape Fear had rice, Lenoir County held its share in corn, pork and naval stores (cotton has not become a major cash crop yet). Crop preparation came a year in advance and required a year round intense slave labor to keep them going. All crops were harvested by mid-January, slaves begin to plow the fields and used manure from the cattle and hogs to fertilize the land this lasting until about April. Among the approximately 600 farms plantations covered thousands of acres, leaving small farms with fewer than 100 acres. Council Wooten owner of the largest plantation near Bear creek possessed 3,00 acres of clean land and over 10,000 acres of unimproved or woodland, valued at $65,000. These wooded acres were not unused providing excellent ranges for cattle and hogs. These areas also provided firewood and food from upland game such as deer, turkey, birds, rabbits, squirrel, etc. The extensive supply of pine trees yielded pitch, tar, and turpentine, which were packaged in watertight barrels and floated down the river to market. Cotton remained King after the Civil War but do to the low buying cost other crops were on the rise. Cotton remained the ultimate cash crop until about 1880. Tobacco has increased from a barely traceable amount to 13,500 pounds on a 45-acre farm. During the early 1950's tobacco boomed in Lenoir County and attributed to the present day "New Bright Belt." The tobacco planted in Lenoir County not only grew larger leaves but also brighter leaves of more delicate texture than anywhere else in the world. The tobacco dominance led to the erection of many curing barns with wood burning flukes, pack houses, and tenant houses. Now that tobacco is no longer cured in log-framed barns these structures still stand today housing the more revoloutionalized farm equipment such as combines harvesters and tractors.

One of Lenoir county's famous historical sites is that of the CSS Ram Neuse. The CSS Neuse was contracted on October 17, 1862 signed between the Confederate Navy Department and the shipbuilding firm of Howard & Ellis to contract an ironclad gunboat. The building commenced at White Hall or what is presently known as Seven Springs. The ship was similar to a barge with pine decking and a double layer of iron armor similar to a full armored car.

In April of 1864 the CSS Neuse was ready to finally set sail but after only ½ mile it ran aground on a sandbar and was retained there until March 12 of the next year. On this date Union forces attacked the undermanned Kinston and forced the confederate soldiers to retreat leaving the CSS Neuse vulnerable to enemy capture. Upon retreating the CSS Neuse was torched and sank having only sailed ½ mile and fired a handful of rounds. The ship has been emerged from the bottom of the river and been restored to its similar appearance.

Another important site of the Lenoir county area is the Global Trans Park. The park represents the new generation of industrialization, integrating a transportation infrastructure with global communications networks, manufacturing linked with a sophisticated transportation system. North Carolina has spent millions of dollars into the Global Trans Park not only will this benefit Lenoir county but it will also benefit North Carolina. With the aid of the Global Trans Park Lenoir County is on the rise!

Works Cited

County Seal. http://www.co.lenoir.nc.us/.

Global TransPark: Ushering in the 21st Century. http://www.conway.com/nc/9706/global.htm.

"Lenoir County Detailed Map." North Carolina's Eastern Region. http://www.gtp.net/lenoir_detailmap.htm.

Little, M. Ruth. Coastal Plane and Fancy. Winston Salem, NC: Jostens Printing & Publishing. 1998.

North Carolina Office of State Planning. "Municipal Populations for 1990 and 1999." 26 September 2000. 25 Nov. 2000 http://www.ospl.state.nc.us/demogmunpop 99.html.

North Carolina State Library. "County Histories." North Carolina Encyclopedia. July 1997. 26 Nov. 2000 http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/CNTYOUT/CTYCOVER.HTM.

Created November 28, 2000
Updated May 17, 2003