Caswell County, North Carolina: History and Information

Caswell County, North Carolina

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

County Seat: Yanceyville
Year Organized: 1777
Square Miles: 426

Court House:

PO Box 98
County Courthouse
Yanceyville, NC 27379-0098

Etymology - Origin of County Name

It was named in honor of Richard Caswell, member of the first Continental Congress, first governor of North Carolina after the Declaration of Independence, and Major General in the Revolutionary army.

Demographics:

History

Caswell was formed in 1777 from Orange. The act was to become effective June 1, 1777. It was named in honor of Richard Caswell, member of the first Continental Congress, first governor of North Carolina after the Declaration of Independence, and Major General in the Revolutionary army. It is in the north central section of the State and is bounded by Person, Orange Alamance and Rockingham counties, and by the state of Virginia. The present land area is 424.67 square miles and the 2000 population was 23,501. The act creating the county authorized the first court to be held at the home of Thomas Douglas; it also named commissioners to select a location and have the courthouse, prison, and stocks erected. In 1783 Leesburg was established "adjoining to where the Caswell Court House now stands." In 1791, when Person was formed, the court was ordered to be held at Joseph Smith's. Also, commissioners were named in the act to erect the courthouse as near the center of the county as possible. The courthouse at Leesburg was ordered sold by the commissioners of Caswell and Person. In 1829 an act was passed directing the justices to enlarged the public square, or buy some land elsewhere and erect a new courthouse. In 1833, Yanceyville was established at the courthouse. It was named in honor of Bartlett Yancey and is the county seat.

Neighboring Counties:

Person

Orange

Alamance

Rockingham

State of Virginia.

Cities and Towns:

- Milton

town

Incorporated Area

- Yanceyville (County Seat)

town

Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our 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."

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