Brunswick County is the southernmost

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the U.S. state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 136,693. Its population was only 73,143 in 2000, making it one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. With a nominal growth rate of approximately 47% in ten years, much of the growth is centered in the eastern section of the county in the suburbs of Wilmington such as Leland, Belville and Southport. A 2019 estimated population of 142,820 makes Brunswick the fourth-fastest-growing county in the country. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, which at a population of around 150 people is among the least populous county seats in the state. Brunswick County is included in the Myrtle Beach- Conway- North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. It was formerly part of the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Brunswick County and Wilmington area leaders disputed the change, but unsuccessfully. Much of the economy of the county is built around tourism, with beach communities lying along the south-facing beaches past Cape Fear such as Bald Head Island (the southernmost point of North Carolina) and

Oak Island Oak Island is a privately owned island in Lunenburg County on the south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. The tree-covered island is one of several islands in Mahone Bay, and is connected to the mainland by a causeway. The nearest community is th ...

being popular destinations. Calabash, on the border of South Carolina, is renowned for its fried

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

, with "Calabash-style" restaurants dotting the region. The proximity to EUE/Screen Gems Studios in nearby Wilmington has made Brunswick County a popular filming location for many movies and TV shows.

History

The county was formed in 1764 from parts of

Bladen County Bladen County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

...

and New Hanover County. It was named for the colonial port of Brunswick Town (now in ruins) which itself was named for Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg; at the time held by the British kings of the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house or ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (19%) is water. It is the fourth-largest county in North Carolina by total area. The Brunswick River and the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Caro ...

provide access to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The Brunswick Nuclear Generating Station is to the north of Southport.

Hydrogeology

The principal ground-water-supply sources for Brunswick County are the surficial aquifer for domestic supplies and the Castle Hayne aquifer for municipal supplies.

Beaches

* Caswell Beach * Holden Beach *

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...

* Ocean Isle Beach * Sunset Beach * Yaupon Beach

Islands

* Bald Head Island * Bird Island *

Major water bodies

* Alligator Creek *

* Black River, home to one of the oldest trees in the world (1622 years old) in

Bladen County Bladen County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

...

* Brunswick River *

* Elizabeth River * Frying Pan Shoals *

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...

Lockwood Folly River Lockwood Folly River or Lockwood's Folly River is a short tidal river in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. Waters from the Green Swamp drain into the river near Supply and flow southward to empty into the Atlantic Intracoastal W ...

* Little River * North Lake *

Northeast Cape Fear River Northeast Cape Fear River is a long 5th order tributary to the Cape Fear River in southeastern North Carolina. Variant names According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known historically as: * North East River * N ...

* Orton Pond * Patricia Lake * Saucepan Creek * Shallotte River *

Waccamaw River The Waccamaw River is a river, approximately 140 miles (225 km) long, in southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina in the United States. It drains an area of approximately 1,110 square miles (2886 km²) in the coastal plai ...

State and local protected area/sites

* Bald Head Island Natural Area * Bald Head Woods Maritime Forest Preserve * Bird Island Reserve * Brunswick Nature Park * Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site * Green Swamp Preserve (part) *

Myrtle Head Savanna Myrtle may refer to: Plants *Myrtaceae, the myrtle family **''Myrtus'', the myrtle genus * List of plants known as myrtle, including a list of trees and plants known as myrtle In geography Canada * Myrtle, Ontario, a community United States * ...

Oak Island Lighthouse The Oak Island Lighthouse is located in the Town of Caswell Beach near the mouth of the Cape Fear River in Southeastern North Carolina. It sits next to the Oak Island Coast Guard Station on the east end of Oak Island in Brunswick County looki ...

* Old Baldy Lighthouse and Smith Island Museum * Orton Creek Preserve * South of Onslow County Mechanical Harvesting of Oysters Prohibited Area (part) * Zekes Island Estuarine Reserve Dedicated Nature Preserve (part) * Zeke's Island Reserve (part)

Adjacent counties

* Pender County - north * New Hanover County - east * Columbus County - west-northwest * Horry County, South Carolina - west

Major highways

* (Concurrency with US 74/76, NC 211, and US 17) * * * (Bolivia) * (Shallotte) * * * * * * * * * * * *

Major infrastructure

Cape Fear Regional Jetport Cape Fear Regional Jetport , also known as Howie Franklin Field, is a public use airport in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. It is owned by the Brunswick County Airport Commission and located one nautical mile (2 km) ...

, near

* Fort Fisher - Southport Ferry (To New Hanover County) * MCAS Sunny Point, military base and terminal near Southport. * Odell Williamson Municipial Airport * Southport - Bald Head Island Ferry, Private ferry that services Bald Head Island.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 136,693 people, 59,416 households, and 39,806 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 73,143 people, 30,438 households, and 22,037 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 86 people per square mile (33/km²). There were 51,431 housing units at an average density of 60 per square mile (23/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 82.30%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 14.38%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.68% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.32% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. 2.68% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 30,438 households, out of which 25.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.76. In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.20% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 25.70% from 25 to 44, 29.20% from 45 to 64, and 16.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,888, and the median income for a family was $42,037. Males had a median income of $30,138 versus $22,066 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $19,857. About 9.50% of families and 12.60% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 19.40% of those under age 18 and 8.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Brunswick County is a member of the regional Cape Fear Council of Governments. The county lies in the inner coastal plain, most of which was highly pro-secession, and part of the Democratic “

Solid South The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...

” from the late 19th century through 1964. However, Brunswick County was less fertile than the “Black Belt” and consequently had significant pro-Union and

Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

sympathies. The county frequently backed Republicans at state and local levels even when the state was consistently Democratic apart from

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

’s 1928 victory. Only three times since the Civil War –

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

in 1888, Alton B. Parker in 1904 and

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

in 1980Melendez, Albert J.; ''The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004'', pp. 265-270 – has Brunswick County backed a losing Democratic presidential candidate. Carter in that 1980 election remains the last Democrat to win a majority of Brunswick County’s ballots, although

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

won a plurality in 1992.

Communities

Cities

* Boiling Spring Lakes *

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each s ...

* Southport * Leland (largest city)

Towns

* Belville *

(county seat) * Calabash * Carolina Shores * Caswell Beach * Holden Beach * Leland * Navassa *

* Ocean Isle Beach * Sandy Creek * Shallotte * St. James * Sunset Beach * Varnamtown

Village

* Bald Head Island

Unincorporated communities

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

* Batarora * Bell Swamp *

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

* Biven * Bonaparte Landing * Boone's Neck * Bowensville * Brunswick Station * Camp Branch * Cedar Grove * Civietown * Clairmont * Clarendon * Coolvale * Doe Creek * Eastbrook * Easy Hill * Half Hell * Longwood * Maco *

Piney Grove Piney Grove at Southall's Plantation is a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Holdcroft, Charles City County, Virginia. The scale and character of the collection of domestic architecture at this site recalls the vern ...

* Red Bug * Sunset Harbor * Supply * Thomasboro *

Winnabow Winnabow is a unincorporated community and census-designated place in Brunswick County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is located at It is mainly a farming community along US Highway 17. There is no large retail presence in the area, exc ...

References

External links

* * {{coord, 34.04, -78.22, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-NC_source:UScensus1990 Cape Fear (region) 1764 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1764