Bladen County, North Carolina

Bladen County is a county in North Carolina. The population of the county is 35,190.

 Named for
 County seat
 Population
 Habitat
 Cong. Districts
 County Guildmaster
 Time Zone

## Major roads

US Route 701

US Route 701 Business

North Carolina Highway 11

North Carolina Highway 20

North Carolina Highway 41

North Carolina Highway 53

North Carolina Highway 87

North Carolina Highway 131

North Carolina Highway 210

North Carolina Highway 211

North Carolina Highway 242

North Carolina Highway 410

## Geography

### Adjacent counties

Pender County (east)

Cumberland County (north)

Sampson County (northeast)

Columbus County (south)

Robeson County (west)

## Demographics

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the county is:

54.31% White (19,111)

35.00% Black or African American (12,316)

7.45% Hispanic or Latino (2,621)

3.25% Other (1,142)

22.5% (7,917) of Bladen County residents live below the poverty line.

## Theft rate statistics

Bladen County has average rates of Pokemon theft and murder. The county reported 13 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 1.35 murders a year.

## Communities

### Towns

Bladenboro - 1,750

Clarkton - 837

Dublin - 338

East Arcadia - 487

Elizabethtown - 3,583

Tar Heel - 117

White Lake - 802

### CDPs

Butters - 294

Kelly - 544

White Oak - 338

### Unincorporated communities

Abbottsburg

Ammon

Ammon Ford

Carvers

Colly Township

Council

Rosindale

Zara

## Climate

 Average yearly snowfall
 Average yearly sunny days
 Severe storm risk
 Tornado risk
 Blizzard risk

## Fun facts

* Politically, Bladen County was solidly Democrat for many years. Nowadays, it still slightly leans Democrat, but has become quite more competitive in recent years.
* 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 county is home to the Bladen Lakes State Forest, located north of Elizabethtown. Also in the county are Bay Tree Lake State Park and Singletary Lake State Park.
* In 1954, Bladenboro received national attention for several mysterious animal killings, mostly of dogs and livestock, in the area. The animals had broken jaws and had been drained of blood in a fashion not unlike the supposed attacks of Chupacabra. However, sightings describe the attacker as resembling a cat or wolf, which led to the local legend known as the "Beast of Bladenboro." In 2008, the History Channel television series Monster Quest performed an analysis concerning these attacks, which were beginning to happen again, and concluded that the attacker might have been a cougar.
* Tar Heel is home to the largest pig processing plant in the world which opened in 1992, operated by Smithfield Foods and is located just north of the town limits.
* Bladen County is considered the "mother county" of North Carolina because of the 100 counties in North Carolina, 55 of them at one point belonged to Bladen County. It is also the fourth largest county in North Carolina.