Duplin

Formed January 1, 1750 (19^th county)

Duplin (48,705), Kenansville (766), Wallace (3,418)

A small tower sits on the 1911 yellow brick Neo-Classical structure.  There was an 1816 courthouse previously.  The courthouse is at Duplin Street at Main Street.  North Carolina State Highway 11 is Main Street.  The building was enlarged in 1959 and 1979.  Oliver Duke Wheeler provided the building designs.  The courthouse features veteran memorials on the ground.  An Annex is attached to the back of the structure.  Duplin Courthouse was the first county seat until 1785 when Kenansville took over.  The county was founded on January 1, 1750 from parts of New Hanover County as the 19^th county.  The county is named for Thomas Hay, Viscount of Dupplin.  The county seat is named for General James Kenan. 

Duplin 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 Duplin, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Robeson, Sampson, and Wayne counties, Six District Court Judges serve Duplin, Jones, Onslow, and Sampson counties and a court clerk serves Duplin County (judicial.)  The county is in the southeast part of the state.  Fayetteville, North Carolina is west and Raleigh, North Carolina is northwest of the county.  The county center is 8.1 miles Southeast of Kenansville nearer Magnolia.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wayne, Lenoir, Jones, Onslow, Pender, and Sampson counties. 

The area of the county is 820 square miles.  It is 13 out of 100 in the state.  It ranks 53 out of 100 in population in the state.  It has a density of 59.4 persons per square mile making it 72 out of 100 in the state.  Duplin County has 25.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 40 travels through the county from northwest to south from Sampson County to Pender County.  United States Highway 117 enters from the north, Wayne County and exits to the south, Pender County.  The county looks like an overstuffed recliner chair.  Kenansville is located slightly west of center in the county.  Wallace is on the southern border of the county and extends into Pender County.  Kenansville is the county seat and Wallace is the largest city.  Kenansville is 1.6% of the county population while Wallace is 7.0% of the county population.