Greene

Formed January 1, 1791 (55^th county)

Greene County (20,449), Snow Hill (1,477)

The Classical Revival red/brown brick courthouse was constructed in 1939.  It is located on Greene Street between 1^st and 2^nd streets.  United States Highway 258 turns at the courthouse.  Thomas B. Herman provided the designs.  The building was renovated in 1972 and 2012.  A Justice Center was added in 2010.  The courthouse features columns with a bell and veteran memorials on the grounds.  The county was formed on January 1, 1791 from Johnston County as the 55^th county.  There was an 1876 courthouse earlier in Snow Hill, the only county seat.  The county was named for Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene.  He is also the namesake for the county seats of Guilford County and Pitt County.  The county seat name is descriptive of the banks of a local creek. 

Greene County government consists of a manager, a register, a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Fourteen Superior Court Judges serve Greene, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Duplin, Jones, Lenoir, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Robeson, Sampson, and Wayne counties, Two District Court Judges serve Greene, Lenoir, and Wayne counties and a court clerk serves Greene County (judicial.)  The county is in eastern North Carolina.  Raleigh, North Carolina is west and Fayetteville, North Carolina is southwest of the county.  The county center is 4.8 miles North-Northeast of Snow Hill.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Pitt, Lenoir, Wayne, and Wilson counties. 

The area of the county is 267 square miles.  It is 91 out of 100 in the state.  It ranks 80 out of 100 in population in the state.  It has a density of 76.6 persons per square mile making it 62 out of 100 in the state.  Greene County has 10.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 13 crosses the county from northeast to southwest from Pitt County to Wayne County.  United States Highway 258 goes north to south from Pitt County to Lenoir County.  United States Highway 264 enters from Pitt County, east, and exits into Wayne County, west.  The county looks like a bag of marbles.  Snow Hill is in the southwest quarter of the county.  Snow Hill is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 7.2% of the county population.  This county is in the Greenville Metropolitan Statistical Area.