Harnett

Formed February 13, 1855 (84^th county)

Harnett County (133,554), Lillington (4,742), Dunn (8,446)  

A 2002 red brick and concrete Modern courthouse is sited on Harnett Boulevard at Pine State Street.  Harnett Boulevard is United States Highway 401 in the town.  Bill Highsmith and Barry Lamm are the columned building architects.  There was an 1895 courthouse earlier in Lillington the only county seat.  The county was established on February 13, 1855 from Cumberland County as the 84^th county.  Harnett County is named for Cornelius Harnett, member of the Colonial Congress.  The county seat is named for American Revolutionary War hero John Alexander Lillington. 

Harnett County government consists of a manager, a register, a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-four Superior Court Judges serve Harnett, Alamance, Anson, Cumberland, Hoke, Johnston, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond, Scotland, Stanly, Union, and Wake counties, Eleven District Court Judges serve Harnett, Johnston, and Lee counties and a court clerk serves Harnett County (judicial.)  The county is in east central North Carolina.  Fayetteville, North Carolina is southeast and Raleigh, North Carolina is northeast of the county.  The county center is 5.9 miles Southwest of Lillington.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wake, Johnston, Sampson, Cumberland, Moore, Lee, and Chatham counties. 

The area of the county is 601 square miles.  It is 27 out of 100 in the state.  It ranks 23 out of 100 in population in the state.  It has a density of 222.2 persons per square mile making it 24 out of 100 in the state.  Harnett County has 18.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 95 clips the eastern tip of the county from Johnston County, northeast, to Cumberland County, southeast.  United States Highway 301 parallels Interstate Highway 95 from Johnston to Cumberland counties.  United States Highway 401 enters from Wake County, north, and exits into Cumberland County, south.  United States Highway 421 crosses east to west from Sampson County to Lee County.  The county resembles a funnel facing northeast.  Lillington is located near the center of the county.  Dunn is on the eastern border.  Lillington is the county seat and Dunn is the largest city.  Lillington is 3.6% of the county population while Dunn is 6.3% of the county population.  This county is in the Dunn Micropolitan Statistical Area.