Davidson

Formed January 1, 1822 (64^th county)

Davidson County (168,933), Lexington (19,629), Thomasville (27,169)

A Modern red brick building was constructed in 1959 to replace an 1868 courthouse.  The structure is located on Center Street between State and Vance streets.  The courthouse is two blocks west of United States Highway 70 Business in the town.  Echols-Sparger & Associates are the architects.  The county was formed from Rowan County on January 1, 1822 as the 64^th county with Lexington as the only county seat.  The county is named for Revolutionary War General William Lee Davidson.  Lexington is named for Lexington, Massachusetts. 

Davidson County government consists of a manager, a register, a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-one Superior Court Judges serve Davidson, Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Iredell, Orange, Rockingham, Rowan, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes, and Yadkin counties, Ten District Court Judges serve Davidson and Davie counties and a court clerk serves Davidson County (judicial.)  Davidson County is located in central North Carolina.  Greensboro, North Carolina is northeast and Charlotte, North Carolina is southwest of the county.  The county center is 5.4 miles Southeast of Lexington.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph, Montgomery, Stanly, Rowan, and Davie counties. 

The area of the county is 568 square miles.  It is 31 out of 100 in the state.  It ranks 17 out of 100 in population in the state.  It has a density of 297.4 persons per square mile making it 17 out of 100 in the state.  Davidson County has 36.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 85 travels through the county from northeast to southwest from Randolph County to Rowan County.  United States Highways 29/70 parallel Interstate Highway 85 from Randolph to Rowan counties.  United States Highway 52 enters from the north, Forsyth County, and joins United States Highway 29 into Rowan County.  United States Highway 64 goes east to west from Randolph County to Davie County.  The county is shaped like the State of Illinois.  Lexington is in the northern third of the county.  Thomasville is in the northeast corner of the county and extends into Randolph County.  Lexington is the county seat and Thomasville is the largest city.  Lexington is 11.6% of the county population while Thomasville is 16.1% of the county population.  This county is in the Thomasville-Lexington Micropolitan Statistical Area.