Harnett County, North Carolina

Harnett County, North Carolina
Harnett County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 133,568. Its county seat is Lillington; its largest community is Anderson Creek. Harnett County is part of the Anderson Creek, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Harnett County was formed in 1855 from land given by Cumberland County. It was named for American Revolutionary war soldier Cornelius Harnett, who was also a delegate to the Continental Congress. The first settlers came to the region in the mid-1720s, and were followed by Highland Scots immigrants. The Scots settled in the foothills, where land was more affordable, rather than in the rich alluvial soil area of the coastal plain. After the defeat by the British of Bonny Prince Charles at Culloden, Scots immigrants came up the Cape Fear River in ever increasing numbers and settled in western Harnett County. British immigrants had settled primarily along the banks of the Cape Fear River in the coastal area, generally from Erwin to Wilmington.
During the American Revolutionary War, many of the Scots were Loyalists. In their defeat in Scotland, they had been forced to take ironclad vows that prohibited taking up arms against the British. Some Rebels considered them traitors to the cause of Independence. Public executions of suspected spies occurred. One site near Lillington was the scene of a mass execution of "Scots traitors".
Though Harnett County was not a site of warfare during the Civil War, one of the last battles took place near Averasborough, which was once the third-most populated town in North Carolina, but is no longer in existence. During the Carolinas Campaign, the Left Wing of General William Sherman's army under the command of Maj. General Henry W. Slocum defeated the army of General William Hardee in the Battle of Averasborough and proceeded eastward. A centennial celebration of the event was held in 1965 at the site of the battlefield.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.05%) is water.
State and local protected areas/sites
Anderson Creek County Park
Averasboro Battlefield and Museum
Harris Game Land (part)
Raven Rock State Park
Rhodes Pond Game Land (part)
Major water bodies
Black River
Buies Creek
Cape Fear River
Cedar Creek
East Buies Creek
Little River
Mingo Swamp
Neills Creek
Thorntons Creek
Upper Little River
West Buies Creek
Adjacent counties
Wake County – north
Johnston County – northeast
Sampson County – southeast
Cumberland County – south
Moore County – west-southwest
Lee County – west-northwest
Chatham County – northwest
Major highways
Major infrastructure
Fort Liberty (Linden Oaks)
Harnett Regional Jetport
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, 133,568 people resided in the county, making it the 23rd most populous county in North Carolina. Anderson Creek was recorded as the largest community.
Demographic change
Between 2010 and 2020, the population in Harnett County grew by 18,890 people, or 18.6 percent, though the largest city of Dunn (at the time) shrank by 4.8 percent during the same interval. Proportionately, the white population decreased by 6.7 percent, while the Hispanic/Latino population grew by 3.3 percent and the Asian population grew by 0.2 percent. The black and Native American populations remained about the same.
Government and politics
Harnett is a typical "Solid South" county in its political history. Apart from the 1928 election when it defected to Herbert Hoover because of opposition to the Catholicism of Al Smith, Harnett voted rock-solid Democratic until the 1960s when opposition to increasing liberalism on racial policies turned the electorate toward the segregationist candidacy of George Wallace. Since then apart from when carried twice by native Southerner Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980, Harnett has been a solidly Republican county.
Harnett County is a member of the regional Mid-Carolina Council of Governments.
Education
Harnett County is home to Campbell University and to 27 other different schools: 4 primary schools, 13 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, 4 high schools, and 1 alternative school.
Harnett County Schools is the local public school district.
Schools in the county include:
Primary: Anderson Creek, Gentry, Harnett, North Harnett
Elementary: Angier, Benhaven, Boone Trail, Buies Creek, Coats, Erwin, Highland, Johnsonville, LaFayette, Lillington-Shawtown, Overhills, South Harnett, Wayne Avenue
Middle: Coats-Erwin, Dunn, Harnett Central, Highland, Overhills, Western Harnett
High: Harnett Central, Overhills, Triton, Western Harnett
Alternative: STAR Academy (grades 6–12)
University: Campbell University
The Linden Oaks housing development, of Fort Liberty, has some Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, including Gary Ivan Gordon Elementary School, Randall David Shughart Elementary School, and Shugart Middle School. High school students living in Linden Oaks are assigned to Harnett County Schools' Overhills High School.
The county is served by the Harnett County Library System, based in Lillington with branches at Angier, Coats, Dunn, Erwin, Anderson Creek Primary School, and Boone Trail Community Center and Library.
Communities
City
Dunn
Towns
Angier (most)
Coats
Erwin
Lillington (county seat)
Fuquay-Varina (part)
Census-designated places
Anderson Creek (largest community)
Buies Creek
Bunnlevel
Mamers
Spout Springs
Townships
Anderson Creek
Averasboro
Barbecue
Black River
Buckhorn
Duke
Grove
Hectors Creek
Johnsonville
Lillington
Neills Creek
Stewarts Creek
Upper Little River
Other unincorporated communities
Barbecue
Barclaysville
Cape Fear
Chalybeate Springs
Christian Light
Cokesbury
Duncan
Flat Branch
Flatwoods
Johnsonville
Kipling
Luart
Olivia
Overhills
Pineview
Rawls
Ryes
Seminole
Shawtown
Turlington
Raven Rock
Norrington
Mount Pisgah
See also
List of counties in North Carolina
National Register of Historic Places listings in Harnett County, North Carolina
Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc., state-recognized tribe that resides in the county
USS Harnett County (LST-821)
References
External links
The Daily Record, newspaper headquartered in the county
Research Triangle
1855 establishments in North Carolina