Guilford

Formed June 4, 1771 (29th county)

Guilford County (541,309), Greensboro (299,101)

The Modern concrete facility was erected in 1974.  It was built at Eugene and Sycamore streets.  It is five blocks north of United States Highway 70 Alternate.  Eduardo Catalano and Peter Sugar are the architects.  There is an augmenting 1990 courthouse in High Point.  The county was established on June 4, 1771 from Rowan and Orange counties as the 29th county.  There were 1873 and 1920 courthouses earlier in Greensboro, the only county seat.  The county is named for the Earl of Guilford.  Greensboro is named for Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene.  He is also the namesake of Greene County and the county seat of Pitt County.  Guilford County was the birthplace for 1 North Carolina Governor, Jonathan Worth. 

Guilford County government consists of a manager, a register, a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk (executive).  It has 9 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-one Superior Court Judges serve Guilford, Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Iredell, Orange, Rockingham, Rowan, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes, and Yadkin counties and Forty-nine District Court Judges and a court clerk serve Guilford County (judicial.)  The county is in the northern part of the state.  Raleigh, North Carolina is southeast and Charlotte, North Carolina is southwest of the county.  The county center is in Greensboro 2.8 miles West-Northwest of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Rockingham, Alamance, Randolph, Davidson, Forsyth, and Stokes counties. 

The area of the county is 658 square miles.  It is 24 out of 100 in the state.  It ranks 3 out of 100 in population in the state.  It has a density of 822.7 persons per square mile making it 5 out of 100 in the state.  Guilford County has 82.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 40 travels through the county east to west from Alamance County to Forsyth County.  Interstate Highway 74 is joined with Interstate Highway 40 from Forsyth County, splits and heads south into Randolph County.  Interstate Highway 85 enters joined with Interstate Highway 40 from Alamance County, splits and exits southwest into Randolph County.  United States Highway 29 comes in from Rockingham County, north, and goes into Randolph County, southwest.  United States Highway 70 enters from Alamance County, east, and joins United States Highway 29 into Randolph County.  United States Highway 158 clips the northwest corner from Rockingham County, north, to Forsyth County, west.  United States Highway 220 comes from the north, Rockingham County, and joins Interstate Highway 74 into Randolph County.  United States Highway 421 travels from Forsyth County, west, to Randolph County, southeast.  The county is a rectangle.  Greensboro dominates the center of the county.  Greensboro is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 55.3% of the county population.  The county is pronounced GIL-FORD.  This county is in the Greensboro-High Point Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Location in State and Municipalities

Greensboro

Jamestown

Oak Ridge

Pleasant Garden

Sedalia

Stokesdale

Summerfield

Whitsett

Archdale

Burlington

Gibsonville

High Point

Kernersville

Jerry Fager
Courthouses.co
Old Courthouse (Courthouses.co)
High Point Courthouse (Courthouses.co)