Carolina Counties

1712: Archdale Precinct (created 1709) of Bath County was renamed Craven Precinct.

1729: New Hanover Precinct of Bath County was formed from Craven Precinct. (It was named for the House of Hanover, which was then ruling Great Britain.)

1734: Bladen and Onslow Precincts were formed from New Hanover.

1739: With the abolition of Bath County in 1739, all of its constituent precincts became "Counties".

1750: Anson County, NC was formed from Bladen County.

1753: Rowan County, NC was formed from the northern part of Anson County.

1762: Mecklenburg County, NC was formed from the western part of Anson County.

1764: Brunswick County was created from New Hanover and Bladen Counties. Brunswick later gave up some of its lands for Columbus County in 1808.

1768-1779: Tryon County, NC existed for only 11 years (1768-1779). The area it covered was one of the first inland population centers in America, located west of the Catawba River and covering parts of present day North and South Carolina. Tryon County had been formed from Mecklenburg County in 1768, and abolished* in 1779 to form Rutherford and Lincoln counties. From its formation until the Carolina border survey of 1772, Tryon County included all or portions of the South Carolina counties of York, Chester, Union, Spartanburg, and Cherokee counties. This is why Mecklenburg County, NC records contain land grants that are physically in South Carolina.

1777: Burke County, NC was formed from Rowan County.

1779: Rutherford County, NC came into existence in 14 April 1779 during the American Revolution. Prior to 1779, Rutherford County was part of Tryon County.

1788: Iredell County was incorporated when it was formed from adjacent Rowan County.

1792: Cabarrus County was formed from Mecklenburg County.

1842: McDowell County, NC was formed from parts of Burke and Rutherford Counties.

*Tryon County had been named for North Carolina's British governor William Tryon.