SAMPSON COUNTY

Sampson was formed in 1784 from Duplin. It was named in honor of Colonel John Sampson, who was a member of Josiah Martin's council. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by Wayne, Duplin, Pender, Bladen, Cumberland, Harnett and Johnston counties. The present land area is 945.45 square miles. The population from the 2010 Census was 63,431. Of that population, 35,985 were white, 17,128 were black or African American, 1,297 were American Indian, 242 were Asian, 72 were Pacific Islander and 7,430 were of a different race. Another 1,277 were reported to be of two or more races and 10,440 were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The act establishing the county directed that the first court be held at the home of James Myhand, at which place the justices were to decide where all subsequent courts were to be held until a courthouse could be erected. Commissioners were named to select a central location, purchase land, and erect the public buildings. It is probable that the courthouse was called Sampson Court House on the public lands of the county. Clinton is the county seat.

Do you have digital photographs of Sampson County to add to this slideshow?
To view this slideshow, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed.

Sampson County is in the Cape Fear River Basin and a part of 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)