Editing Wayne County, North Carolina (section)

==History==
Prior to 1730, [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] were the only known occupants of the territory now known as Wayne County. Settlers trickled into the territory, occupying land along the Neuse River. There was no general migration here until after 1750; as populations built up in the coastal areas, some settlers moved west for land.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Heritage of Wayne County, North Carolina|year=1982|author=Wayne County Heritage Book Committee|url=https://archive.org/details/WayneCountyHeritageFamilyHistories|pages=137, 232, 530}}</ref>

Wayne County was established during the [[American Revolutionary War]] on November 2, 1779, from the western part of [[Dobbs County, North Carolina|Dobbs County]]. It was named for [[Anthony Wayne|"Mad Anthony" Wayne]], a general in the war. The act establishing the county provided that the first court should be held at the home of Josiah Sasser, at which time the justices were to decide on a place for all subsequent courts until a courthouse could be erected. By 1782 the commissioners were named. In 1787 an act was passed establishing Waynesborough on the west side of the [[Neuse River]], on the land of Andrew Bass. The courthouse was built there.<ref name="Wayne County Facts">{{Cite web|url=http://www.waynegov.com/about/facts.asp|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724230942/http://www.waynegov.com/about/facts.asp|title=Wayne County Facts<!-- Bot generated title -->|archivedate=July 24, 2008}}</ref>

In 1855, parts of Wayne County, [[Edgecombe County, North Carolina|Edgecombe County]], [[Johnston County, North Carolina|Johnston County]], and [[Nash County, North Carolina|Nash County]] were combined to form [[Wilson County, North Carolina|Wilson County]].