Editing Person County, North Carolina (section)

==History==
The [[Province of North Carolina|colonial government]] established Person County as part of [[Edgecombe County, North Carolina|Edgecombe County]] in 1746. County designations kept changing, and it was part of [[Granville County, North Carolina|Granville County]] from 1746 to 1752; included in [[Orange County, North Carolina|Orange County]] until 1778; and part of [[Caswell County, North Carolina|Caswell County]] until 1791/1792. By dividing Caswell County into two squares–each side measuring approximately twenty (20) miles in length, the state formed two counties of {{convert|400|sqmi|km2}} each. The county was named after [[Brigadier General]] [[Thomas Person]], a [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] patriot, who made significant contributions to Person County and surrounding areas.

The area was first inhabited by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] more than 10,000 years ago. An ancient lithic quarry, the [[Two Dogs Site]], is located in present-day [[Person County, North Carolina]].<ref>Seibel, Scott K. [https://www.rla.unc.edu/Publications/NCArch/NCA_58.pdf "The Two Dogs Site (31PR92): A Middle Archaic and Woodland Period Lithic Quarry In Person County, North Carolina."] ''North Carolina Archaeology'', Vol. 58. 2009.</ref>

The Indigneous tribes encountered here by early Spanish explorers were generally [[Siouan]]-speaking, including the [[Saponi]], [[Occaneechi]], and other groups.

Settlement by immigrants of [[Scottish people|Scots]], [[Ulster Scots people|Scots-Irish]], [[English people|English]], [[French Huguenot]], and [[Germans|German]] ancestry began in the mid-17th and continued into the 19th centuries.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sokolow |first=Jayme A. |title=The Great Encounter: Native Peoples and European Settlers in the Americas, 1492-1800 |date=2016 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=978-0-7656-0982-3 |location=Florence |oclc=953661432}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carson |first=Scott Alan |date=April 2004 |title=European Immigration to America's Great Basin, 1850–1870 |url=https://direct.mit.edu/jinh/article/34/4/569-594/47814 |journal=The Journal of Interdisciplinary History |language=en |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=569–594 |doi=10.1162/002219504773512543 |issn=0022-1953}}</ref> The settlers tended to be yeoman farmers, and few owned any slaves.

Religious affiliation in the county reflects the early settlers and is predominantly [[Protestant]]. Due to Person County's nearness to Virginia, the Carolina coast, and the [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachian]] foothills, a wide variety of [[Southern American English]] dialects can be heard here, including [[Piedmont region of Virginia|Virginia Piedmont]], Coastal Southern, South Midland, and [[African-American English]].

===Revolutionary and Civil Wars===
The county was named for Brigadier General [[Thomas Person]], a [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] patriot, who made significant contributions to Person County and surrounding areas. He was a trustee of the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]]. His generous donations were recognized by the construction and naming of Person Hall.

Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Moore, Deputy Quartermaster General of the Hillsborough district, was another Revolutionary War hero, commanding the Person County militia at the disastrous [[Battle of Camden]]. He was captured and held on the prison ship ''Torbay''. In 1775-1776 he had purchased property in the south of Person County and named his plantation Mt. Tirzah. His home, constructed in 1778, has been renovated recently. Stephen Moore was buried in the family cemetery.

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Person County supplied between 800 and 1000 soldiers to the [[Confederate Army]]. A granite monument at the Courthouse honors E. Fletcher Satterfield, who carried the [[Flags of the Confederate States of America|Confederate flag]] at [[Battle of Gettysburg|Gettysburg]].

===Late 19th century===
J.A. Long, W.W. Kitchin, A.R. Foushee, J.S. Bradsher, J.C. Pass, W.F. Reade, and R.E. Long were key leaders who helped make a transition to a more diversified economic base after the Civil War. The arrival of the newly constructed [[Norfolk and Western Railroad]] was a major influence around 1890, as it enabled the addition of tobacco processing plants and warehouses to the rural economy. Although the processing plants disappeared many years ago, a few of the warehouses still stand.

J.A. Long established Peoples Bank in 1891 and the [[Roxboro Cotton Mill]] in 1899, later known as Tultex Yarns. His home at Roxboro, the [[James A. and Laura Thompson Long House]], was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2005.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> Long died in 1915 but was succeeded by his son, J.A. Long, Jr., who began attracting new business to Roxboro. Baker Company opened here in 1923, making textile manufacturing a major contributor to the local economy for decades. Baker was merged with [[Collins and Aikman Corporation]] (C&A), becoming a major industry in Person County for several decades before closing in August 2006. Textile manufacturers have moved to other locations in the US and overseas.

===20th and 21st centuries===
Residential and commercial development have grown steadily over the past few years in part due to the county's location near the [[Research Triangle]] region. The Hyco Lake area and southern portion of the county have had an influx of new home and commercial development in the late 20th and early 21st century. The county's largest employers are [[Duke Energy]], [[Eaton Corporation]], [[Georgia-Pacific Corporation]] and [[GKN|GKN Driveline]].

The [[Holloway-Walker Dollarhite House]], [[Henry-Vernon House]], [[Burleigh (Concord, North Carolina)|Burleigh]], and [[Waverly Plantation (Cunningham, North Carolina)|Waverly Plantation]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] outside Roxboro.<ref name="nris"/>