PITT COUNTY

Pitt was formed in 1760 from Beaufort. The act was to become effective January 1,1761. It was named in honor of William Pitt. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by Beaufort, Craven, Lenoir, Greene, Wilson, Edgecombe and Martin counties. The present land area is 651.58 square miles. The population from the 2010 Census was 168,148. Of that population, 99,075 were white, 57,257 were black or African American, 582 were American Indian, 2,613 were Asian, 97 were Pacific Islander and 5,136 were of a different race. Another 3,388 were reported to be of two or more races and 9,202 were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The act establishing the county authorized the courts to be held at the home of John Hardy until a courthouse could be built. It also directed the justices to contract for the construction of the courthouse, prison and stocks on John Hardy's land on the south side of Tar River, near the Chapel known as Hardy's Chapel. In 1771 Martinsboro was established on Richard Evans's land, and in 1774 the courthouse, prison and stocks were moved to Martinsboro. Court was held at the home of John Lessley until the new courthouse, prison and stocks were completed. In 1787 Martinsborough was changed to Greenville. Greenville is the county seat.

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Parts of Pitt County are in the Tar-Pamlico River Basin and parts are in the Neuse 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)