Duplin County was
created in 1750 from the northern part of New Hanover County. It was
named for Sir Thomas Hays, Lord Dupplin, a member of the Board of
Trade and Plantations for the Crown in the 1740s.
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Early settlers included the Welsh, Germans,
Swiss, French Huguenots, English and Scottish Highlanders. Settlements in the
beginning years were primarily located along the river and larger creeks, the
best means of transportation.
Henry McCulloch, a wealthy London merchant,
arrived in 1736 to settle 71,160 acres granted to him by the British Crown. He
established several settlements. Sarecta, on the east bank of the Northeast Cape
Fear River, became Duplin's first incorporated town in 1787. Another settlement
was established on the west side of the river in Goshen Swamp. A
third, originally referred to as Golden Grove, became the town of
Kenansville.
The early settlers were
primarily Presbyterians. They established the Goshen congregation in
1736, later to be called the Grove congregation. Still active today,
it is the oldest Presbyterian congregation in the state.
The first official county court was held in Duplin County in 1751. The first
courthouse was built on Turkey Swamp, near the Duplin/Sampson county line a
short time later. The creation of Sampson County from the western half of Duplin
County in 1784 caused the courthouse to move to a more central location, later
to be known as Kenansville. The deciding factor is said to be a spring, still
flowing today, which provided good water. |
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