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North Carolina Counties

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North Carolina Counties

North Carolina is divided into 100 counties. North Carolina ranks 28th in size by area, but has the seventh most counties in the country.

Burke County, North Carolina

Burke County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Morganton
Year Organized: 1777
Square Miles: 507

Court House:

200 Avery Avenue
County Government Building
Morganton, NC 28655-3103

Etymology - Origin of County Name

It was named in honor of Dr. Thomas Burke, a member of the Continental Congress and governor of North Carolina, 1781-1782.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Burke was formed in 1777 from Rowan. The act was to become effective June 1, 1777. It was named in honor of Dr. Thomas Burke, a member of the Continental Congress and governor of North Carolina, 1781-1782. It is in the west central section of the State and is bounded by Catawba, Cleveland, Rutherford, McDowell, Avery and Caldwell counties. The present land area is 506.72 square miles and the 2000 population was 89,145. The act establishing Burke specified that the first court was to be held at a place the justices should decide until they selected a permanent place for the courthouse and had the same erected. In 1784 Morgansborough was established and made the county seat. Morganton is the present county seat.

Neighboring Counties:

Catawba
Cleveland
Rutherford
McDowell
Avery
Caldwell

Cities and Towns:

- Connelly Springs	town	Incorporated Area
- Drexel	town	Incorporated Area
- Glen Alpine	town	Incorporated Area
- Hildebran	town	Incorporated Area
- Morganton (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Rutherford College	town	Incorporated Area
- Valdese	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."