Editing Wentworth, North Carolina (section)

==History==
Wentworth was established as "[[Rockingham County Courthouse (North Carolina)|Rockingham Courthouse]]" in 1787 making it the oldest settlement in Rockingham County. The post office there was established in November 1794. The settlement was chartered as Wentworth in 1798. Both, Wentworth and Rockingham County were named in homage to the same individual; the Marquis of Rockingham, [[Charles Watson-Wentworth]]. Watson-Wentworth served two terms as the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] and greatly advocated for colonial independence.<ref>Butler, Lindley S (1982). Rockingham County: A Brief History. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Division of Archives and History.</ref>
[[File:Log cabins in Wentworth, North Carolina LCCN2011631027.tif|left|thumb|The [[Carter Plantation (Wentworth, North Carolina)|Carter Family Plantation]] in Wentworth.]]

Almost two hundred years later, in the 1990s, the Wentworth community was facing the possibility of much of its area being annexed into neighboring Reidsville which had repeatedly but unsuccessfully tried to take the county seat for over a century. County officials, none of whom lived in Wentworth, declined to oppose this possible annexation. Nevertheless, the local community banded together with an initiative which stopped this impending annexation. In 1998, with approval from the state General Assembly, the town of Wentworth amended the lapse within their original 1798 charter and remained as its own [[municipality]]. Until its reactivation (which included an area considerably larger than the original courthouse village of approximately one hundred people) Wentworth was the smallest county seat in the state.<ref>[http://www.townofwentworth.com/index_temp.php "Home."] Town Of Wentworth - North Carolina. Retrieved 2012-12-01.</ref>

The [[Dead Timber Ford Sluices]], [[Eagle Falls Sluice]], [[Rockingham County Courthouse (North Carolina)|Rockingham County Courthouse]], [[Wentworth Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery]], and [[Wright Tavern (Wentworth, North Carolina)|Wright Tavern]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>