# Bladen County, North Carolina

Bladen County (/ˈbleɪdən/) is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,606. Its county seat is Elizabethtown. The county was created in 1734 as Bladen Precinct and gained county status in 1739.

## History

Bladen County was formed in 1734 as Bladen Precinct of Bath County, from New Hanover Precinct. It was named for Martin Bladen, a member of the Board of Trade. With the abolition of Bath County in 1739, all of its constituent precincts became counties.
Bladen's original residents included the Waccamaw people.
Bladen County began as a vast territory, with indefinite northern and western boundaries. Reductions in its extent began in 1750, when its western part became Anson County. In 1754, the northern part of what was left of Bladen County became Cumberland County. In 1764, the southern part of what remained of Bladen County was combined with part of New Hanover County to form Brunswick County. In 1787, the western part of the now much smaller Bladen became Robeson County. Finally, in 1808, the southern part of Bladen County was combined with part of Brunswick County to form Columbus County. Bladen County is considered the "mother county" of North Carolina, because of the present 100 counties in the state, 55 of them belonged to Bladen at one point.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 887.78 square miles (2,299.3 km$^2$), of which 874.03 square miles (2,263.7 km$^2$) is land and 12.75 square miles (33.0 km$^2$) (1.44%) is water. It is the fourth-largest county in North Carolina by land area.

### State and local protected areas

* Bakers Lake State Natural Area
* Bay Tree Lake State Natural Area
* Bladen Lakes State Forest
* Bladen Lakes State Forest Game Land
* Jones Lake State Park
* Singletary Lake State Park
* Suggs Mill Pond Game Land (part)
* Turnbull Creek Educational State Forest
* White State Lake
* Whitehall Plantation Game Land (part)

### Major water bodies

* Bay Tree Lake
* Slades Swamp
* Black River, home of the oldest documented Taxodium distichum (bald cypress) at 2,650 years old
* Cape Fear River
* Jones Lake
* Little Singletary Lake
* Salters Lake
* Singletary Lake
* South River
* Waccamaw River
* White Lake

### Adjacent counties

* Cumberland County – north
* Sampson County – northeast
* Pender County – east
* Columbus County – south
* Robeson County – west

### Major highways

* US 701
* US 701 Bus.
* NC 11
* NC 20
* NC 41
* NC 53
* NC 87
* NC 87 Bus.
* NC 131
* NC 210
* NC 211
* NC 211 Bus.
* NC 242
* NC 410

### Major infrastructure

* Curtis L. Brown Jr. Field
* Elwell Ferry, river ferry across the Cape Fear River

## Climate

Bladen County is located in the humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) zone, with mostly moderate temperatures year round. Winters are mild across Bladen, with the warmest winter temperatures found in the southeastern portion of the county due to the influence of the nearby Atlantic Ocean. The average high temperature in January is around 55 °F (13 °C). Summers are hot and humid, with the hottest summer temperatures found in the northern and western areas of Bladen County. The average high temperature in July is around 90 °F (32 °C).
The USDA hardiness zones for Bladen County are Zone 8A (10 °F to 15 °F or -12 °C to -9 °C) and Zone 8B (15 °F to 20 °F or -9 °C to -6 °C).

### Extreme temperatures

Although uncommon, extreme temperatures can occur in Bladen County.
* In December 1989, Elizabethtown recorded a new record low temperature of -3 °F (-19 °C).
* In August 2007, Elizabethtown recorded a new record high temperature of 105 °F (41 °C).

### Frost

Frost does occur in Bladen County. Most of the county experiences 50–75 days of frost conditions annually. However, southeastern Bladen averages only 40–50 days of frost conditions annually, due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.

### Snow

Like much of eastern North Carolina, snow is rare in Bladen County. On average, light snowfall occurs once or twice every 10 years.

## Demographics
### 2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 29,606 people residing in the county. Racially, 54.4 percent of residents identified as white, 32.3 percent identified as black, 2.7 percent as Native American, and 6.1 percent as other categories. Ethnically, 20.7 percent identified as Hispanic or Latino.

### Demographic change

Historical population :
Between 2010 and 2020, Bladen County experienced a population decline of 15.9 percent, losing 5,584 residents.

## Government and politics
### Government

Bladen County is a member of the Lumber River Council of Governments, a regional planning board representing five counties.
It lies within the bounds of North Carolina's 15th Prosecutorial District, the 13A Superior Court District, and the 13th District Court District.

### Politics

United States presidential election results for Bladen County, North Carolina :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 10,035 | 59.86% | 6,620 | 39.49% | 109 | 0.65% |
| 2020 | 9,676 | 56.50% | 7,326 | 42.78% | 123 | 0.72% |
| 2016 | 8,550 | 53.78% | 7,058 | 44.40% | 289 | 1.82% |
| 2012 | 7,748 | 48.56% | 8,062 | 50.52% | 147 | 0.92% |
| 2008 | 7,532 | 48.66% | 7,853 | 50.73% | 95 | 0.61% |
| 2004 | 6,174 | 50.14% | 6,109 | 49.61% | 30 | 0.24% |
| 2000 | 4,977 | 45.63% | 5,889 | 53.99% | 42 | 0.39% |
| 1996 | 3,335 | 37.22% | 4,952 | 55.27% | 673 | 7.51% |
| 1992 | 3,214 | 31.58% | 5,700 | 56.01% | 1,263 | 12.41% |
| 1988 | 3,770 | 42.77% | 5,031 | 57.08% | 13 | 0.15% |
| 1984 | 4,701 | 48.07% | 5,064 | 51.78% | 14 | 0.14% |
| 1980 | 2,745 | 30.70% | 6,104 | 68.27% | 92 | 1.03% |
| 1976 | 1,546 | 20.37% | 6,009 | 79.18% | 34 | 0.45% |
| 1972 | 4,205 | 64.72% | 2,201 | 33.88% | 91 | 1.40% |
| 1968 | 1,746 | 20.79% | 2,754 | 32.80% | 3,897 | 46.41% |
| 1964 | 2,169 | 32.45% | 4,516 | 67.55% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 1,854 | 29.87% | 4,353 | 70.13% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 1,542 | 27.44% | 4,078 | 72.56% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 1,710 | 32.78% | 3,506 | 67.22% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 500 | 12.77% | 2,831 | 72.33% | 583 | 14.90% |
| 1944 | 731 | 22.33% | 2,542 | 77.67% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 543 | 15.66% | 2,925 | 84.34% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 551 | 14.09% | 3,360 | 85.91% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 808 | 23.12% | 2,651 | 75.85% | 36 | 1.03% |
| 1928 | 1,911 | 55.18% | 1,552 | 44.82% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 786 | 33.31% | 1,551 | 65.72% | 23 | 0.97% |
| 1920 | 1,064 | 35.43% | 1,939 | 64.57% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 651 | 34.05% | 1,261 | 65.95% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1912 | 33 | 1.96% | 1,140 | 67.70% | 511 | 30.34% |
Following the 2018 United States Midterm Elections, an investigation was opened into accusations of an absentee ballot fraud scheme directed by McCrae Dowless in Bladen County, within North Carolina's 9th Congressional District. Accusations were based around the Republican Primary election, in which Mark Harris defeated incumbent Robert Pittenger, and around the general election, in which Harris initially appeared to defeat Democrat Dan McCready. As of December 2018, the investigation is currently ongoing. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, Democrat, said it was possible over 1,000 ballots had been destroyed. According to District Attorney Jon David, Republican, the county has a "troubled history of political groups exploiting the use of absentee ballots." The scandal brought national media attention to Bladen.
As of 2022, Bladen County is home to about 22,000 registered voters, comprising about 9,700 registered Democrats, about 5,100 Republicans, and about 7,000 unaffiliated voters.

## Education
### Colleges

* Bladen Community College (Dublin)

### Public schools

Public schools within Bladen County are operated by Bladen County Schools.

## Healthcare

Bladen County is served by a single hospital, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, based in Elizabethtown. According to the 2022 County Health Rankings produced by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, Bladen County ranked 85th in health outcomes of North Carolina's 100 counties, an improvement of 10 ranks over the previous five years. Per the ranking, 26 percent of adults say they are in poor or fair health, the average life expectancy is 75 years, and 16 percent of people under the age of 65 lack health insurance. It has one primary care physician per 4,670 residents.

## Economy

Agriculture constitutes a major part of Bladen County's economy. Smithfield Foods operates a pork processing facility north of the town of Tar Heel, the largest such plant in the world. It employs 5,800 workers, making it the county's largest employer. The county is the largest producer of blueberries in the state. Area farmers also grow soybeans, peanuts, corn, wheat, and cotton. The county suffers from a large poverty rate and is one of the most economically distressed counties in the state. According to census figures, about 70 percent of working people in Bladen are employed outside the county.

## Communities
### Towns

* Bladenboro
* Clarkton
* Dublin
* East Arcadia
* Elizabethtown (county seat and largest community)
* Tar Heel
* White Lake

### Census-designated places

* Butters
* Kelly
* White Oak

### Unincorporated communities

* Abbottsburg
* Ammon
* Ammon Ford
* Carvers
* Colly
* Council
* Emerson
* Rosindale
* Rowan
* Westbrook
* Zara

### Townships

* Abbottsburg
* Bethel
* Bladenboro
* Brown Marsh
* Carvers Creek
* Central
* Clarkton
* Colly
* Cypress Creek
* Elizabethtown
* East Arcadia
* Frenches Creek
* Hollow
* Lake Creek
* Tarheel
* Turnbull
* White Oak
* Dublin
* Whites Creek

### Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Bladen County.
† = county seat
| Rank | Name | Type | Population (2020 census) |
| 1 | † Elizabethtown | Town | 3,296 |
| 2 | Bladenboro | Town | 1,648 |
| 3 | White Lake | Town | 843 |
| 4 | Clarkton | Town | 614 |
| 5 | Kelly | CDP | 446 |
| 6 | East Arcadia | Town | 418 |
| 7 | White Oak | CDP | 346 |
| 8 | Dublin | Town | 267 |
| 9 | Butters | CDP | 250 |
| 10 | Tar Heel | Town | 90 |