Editing Nash County, North Carolina (section)

==History==
The area eventually comprising Nash County was originally organized as a part of [[Edgecombe County, North Carolina|Edgecombe County]]. Settlement first occurred in the 1740s;{{sfn|Fleming|1998|p=7}} the earliest [[land grant]]s date to 1743.<ref name= history>{{cite web| url = https://nashcountync.gov/98/County-History| title = History of Nash County| publisher = Nash County, North Carolina| access-date = November 17, 2024}}</ref> As the population of Edgecombe increased, citizens in the western portion of the county found it difficult to travel to the county seat of [[Tarboro, North Carolina|Tarboro]] to conduct official business. Legislator Nathan Boddie proposed to the [[North Carolina Provincial Congress]] that the county be divided.{{sfn|Fleming|1998|p=7}} As a result, Nash was formed from all parts of Edgecombe west of the Falls of the Tar River in 1777.{{sfn|Corbitt|2000|p=157}}<ref name= kelley/><ref name= olds>{{cite news| last = Olds| first = Fred A.
| title = History Series of Carolina Counties| newspaper = Durham Morning Herald| page = 4| date = January 3, 1924| url = https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn84020730/1924-01-03/ed-1/seq-4/}}</ref> It was named for [[American Revolutionary War]] Brigadier General [[Francis Nash]], who was mortally wounded at the [[Battle of Germantown]].{{sfn|Corbitt|2000|p=157}} The first session of the county court met on April 1, 1778, in the home of Micajah Thomas. Court was then held in a temporary building at Peach Tree until a permanent courthouse was erected in [[Nashville, North Carolina|Nashville]] in 1784.<ref name= olds/> Nashville was formally designated the seat of county government in 1815{{sfn|Corbitt|2000|pp=157–158}} and was incorporated in 1823.{{sfn|Fleming|1998|p=9}} In 1833, the county's first courthouse burned down and was replaced by a brick building.{{sfn|Fleming|1998|p=9}}

In 1786, the state of North Carolina conducted a census which recorded a total population of 5,277 in Nash County. The [[1790 United States census|first U.S. Census]] in 1790 recorded a total population of 7,393, of whom 2,099 were slaves, 183 were free blacks, and the rest whites.<ref name= olds/> Several early communities in Nash County developed as stops along stagecoach routes, including Dortches, Red Oak, Stanhope, Hilliardston, and Castalia.{{sfn|Fleming|1998|pp=7–8}} Settlement also occurred along rivers and creeks, accompanied by the construction of gristmills.{{sfn|Fleming|1998|p=8}} In the 1830s the [[Wilmington and Weldon Railroad]] was laid, leading to further settlement. The building of a spur line in 1840 led to the eventual creation of the community of Whitakers.{{sfn|Fleming|1998|pp=8, 21}} By the 1860s, Nash County had a population over 11,600 and an economy centered on agriculture.{{sfn|Fleming|1998|p=8}} In 1855, parts of Nash, [[Edgecombe County, North Carolina|Edgecombe]], [[Johnston County, North Carolina|Johnston]], and [[Wayne County, North Carolina|Wayne]] counties were combined to form [[Wilson County, North Carolina|Wilson County]].{{sfn|Corbitt|2000|p=158}} Over 1,000 men from the county fought in the [[American Civil War]].{{sfn|Fleming|1998|p=8}}

In 1871, after significant political controversy, all parts of Edgecombe County west of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad were annexed to Nash{{sfn|Corbitt|2000|p=159}}<ref name= kelley/> leading to the bifurcation of the Edgecombe communities of [[Battleboro, North Carolina|Battleboro]] and [[Sharpsburg, North Carolina|Sharpsburg]] between the two counties.<ref name= kelley/> As a result of the boundary shift, Nash County's black population grew<ref name= fernelius>{{cite web| url = https://www.theassemblync.com/long-form/rocky-mount-is-dead-long-live-rocky-mount/| title = Rocky Mount Is Dead. Long Live Rocky Mount| last = Fernelius| first = Katie Jane| date = March 24, 2021| website = The Assembly| access-date = March 27, 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210614161703/https://www.theassemblync.com/long-form/rocky-mount-is-dead-long-live-rocky-mount/|archive-date=June 14, 2021}}</ref> and a greater portion of the town of Rocky Mount also lay within Nash County's border, including [[Rocky Mount Mills]], the second textile mill to exist within in the state.<ref name= kelley>{{cite web|last=Kelley|first=Lucas| url = https://rockymountmill.prospect.unc.edu/mill-history/narrative/moving-the-county-line/| title = The Historical Origins of the 1871 Nash-Edgecombe County Line| website = Digital Rocky Mount Mills| publisher = Community Histories Workshop, [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]]| access-date = November 15, 2024}}</ref> In 1899, the [[Atlantic Coast Line Railroad]] established repair shops in Rocky Mount, precipitating the city's rapid growth.{{sfn|Fleming|1998|p=8}} In 1921 the county's third courthouse was built.{{sfn|Fleming|1998|p=9}}