Editing Surry County, North Carolina (section)

==History==
[[File:1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - North Carolina (NC) - Surry County - Surry County - ED 86-1 to 55 - NARA - 22118060.jpg|thumb|1950 map of Surry County]]
The county was formed in 1771 from [[Rowan County, North Carolina|Rowan County]] as part of the British [[Province of North Carolina]]. It was named for the county of [[Surrey]] in England, birthplace of [[William Tryon]], [[List of Governors of North Carolina|governor of North Carolina]] from 1765 to 1771.

In 1777, parts of Surry County and Washington District (now [[Washington County, Tennessee]]) were combined to form [[Wilkes County, North Carolina|Wilkes County]]. The first permanent courthouse was established at Richmond in 1779, what is now the modern-day [[Old Richmond Township, Forsyth County, North Carolina|Old Richmond Township]] in [[Forsyth County, North Carolina|Forsyth County]] near [[Donnaha, North Carolina|Donnaha]]. However, in 1789 the eastern half of Surry County became [[Stokes County, North Carolina|Stokes County]], thus making the Richmond site unusable for either county. In 1790, the county seat was moved to [[Rockford, North Carolina|Rockford]], where it remained for over half a century. In 1850, half of the county's remaining territory south of the [[Yadkin River]] became [[Yadkin County, North Carolina|Yadkin County]]. The town of [[Dobson, North Carolina|Dobson]] was established in 1853 to be the new county seat.