NASH COUNTY

Nash was formed in 1777 from Edgecombe. It was named in honor of General Francis Nash, who was mortally wounded while fighting under George Washington in Germantown. It is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by Edgecombe, Wilson, Johnston, Franklin and Halifax counties. The present land area is 540.27 square miles. The population from the 2010 Census was 95,840. Of that population, 53,531 were white, 35,650 were black or African American, 657 were American Indian, 747 were Asian, 19 were Pacific Islander and 3,677 were of a different race. Another 1,559 were reported to be of two or more races and 6,015 were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The act establishing the county provided that the first court be held at the home of Micajah Thomas, and all subsequent courts at a place to be decided upon by the justices of the peace until the courthouse could be erected. The act also named commissioners to select a site for the county seat. The first courthouse was to be on "Peach Tree." In 1782 the funds for constructing the public buildings were inadequate and additional taxes were levied. The county seat was called Nash Court House. In 18l5 an act was passed naming commissioners to locate the center of the county and purchase fifty acres of land on which to erect a courthouse. Other commissioners were named to lay out the town of Nashville and to have the courthouse erected. Court was ordered held at the old courthouse until the new building was finished. There was much bickering and dissatisfaction among the citizens concerning the location of the courthouse between 1815 and 1825. Finally, Nashville was satisfactorily agreed upon and has continued to be the county seat.

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Parts of Nash County are Neuse River Basin and parts are in the Tar-Pamlico River Basin. It is in the Coastal Plain region of the state.

References:

"American Factfinder." 2011. U. S. Census Bureau. Online at http://factfinder2.census.gov/. Accessed 3/3/2011.

Corbitt, David L. 2000. The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943. Sixth printing. Raleigh: State Department of Archives and History.

Powell, William Stevens, and Michael R. Hill. 2010. The North Carolina gazetteer: a dictionary of Tar Heel places and their history. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Additional resources:

North Carolina Digital Collections (Government & Heritage Library and NC State Archives)

NC LIVE resources

NC Natural Heritage Program database

WorldCat (Searches numerous library catalogs)