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Warren County, North Carolina
and our neighbors

Warren and Franklin Counties were formed in 1779 from Bute County which had been established in 1764. For several years the inhabitants of Bute had longed for a division of the county because of the hardships to fulfill civil duties from the remote parts of the very large county. On 26 April 1777 Mr. Benjamin Seawell introduced a petition in the North Carolina General Assembly from the several inhabitants of Bute for a division of the County. For some reason the division was not made. Two years later, in 1779, Mr. Edward Jones introduced another petition 'for the division. A bill was slated and enacted into law on 20 January 1779:

.... That from and after the passing of this Act the County of Buts shall be divided into two distinct Counties by a direct line from the Granville line to Halifax or Nash County line as the case may be, leaving in each part or division an equal quantity of Acres as near as can be ascertained ... and all that part or division which lies North of said line and adjacent to Virginia shall be a distinct County by the name of Warren, and all that part or division that lies South of said line shall be a distinct County by the name of Franklin;.. (SRNC, XXIV, 227)

On 29 January 1779 the General Assembly meeting at Halifax appointed the Commissioners for dividing Bute County. Julius Nichols, John Faulcon, William Duke, John Norwood, and Matthew Thomas were to be responsible for measuring the bounds of Bute County, running the dividing line, and choosing sites near the center of each county whore courthouses and public buildings were to be built. Later in 1779 two other acts of Assembly established Warrenton and Louisburg as County Seats of Warren and Franklin Counties respectively,

In 1786 Warren County annexed more territory, a part of Granville County:

.... Beginning at the point where the line of division between Warren and Granville Counties shall touch the line of division between this State and the State of Virginia, and running thence west along the said line to Nutbush Creek, thence up said creek as it meanders to the mouth of Anderson's Swamp, thence up the said swamp to the fork, thence up the south fork of the said swamp to Stark's mill, thence 'by a line to be run due south until it shall touch the aforesaid line of division between Warren and Granville, be, and the same is hereby annexed to and shall remain a part of the County of Warren .... (SRNC, XXIV, 866)

Warren County remains today the same except for a western part which was cut off to form a part of Vance County when it was formed in 1881.

Bute Co. was formed  from Granville Co. in 1764 and  abolished in 1779 when it was divided into Warren Co. and Franklin Co.  The courthouse of Bute Co. was located at a place called "Buffalo Rice Path" on land owned by Jethro Sumner about 6 miles southeast of present Warrenton, North Carolina.  Most of the records of Bute County are still located in Warren Co. though some may be found in Franklin Co.

Warren County, North Carolina County Area in 1760


 
County Area in 1770 County Area Today
From the above maps you can see than anyone doing research in Bute Co. should also check for their ancestors in Granville, the parent Co. as well as the present counties of Vance,   Franklin, WakeNorthampton, Halifax and Nash.  We do hope you will visit our neighboring counties.
 
 

Warren County Communities & Townships they are or were located in

 
Afton  Shocco  North Carolina
Arcola  Fishing Creek  North Carolina
Aspen (small community in Eastern Warren Co., discontinued 1915)  Judkins  North Carolina
Axtell  Sandy Creek  North Carolina
Church Hill  Six Pound  North Carolina
Elams  Roanoke  North Carolina
Elberon  Sandy Creek  North Carolina
Embro  Judkins  North Carolina
Enterprise  River  North Carolina
Five Forks  Six Pound  North Carolina
Grove Hill  (fork of Grove Hill Rd & Arcola Rd)  Fishing Creek  North Carolina
Inez  Fork  North Carolina
Jerusalem Church  Hawtree  North Carolina
Liberia  Warrenton  North Carolina
Lickskillet  Shocco  North Carolina
Littleton (officially became part of Halifax Co. in July 1974)  River  North Carolina
Macon  Six Pound  North Carolina
Manson  Sandy Creek  North Carolina
Marmaduke  Fishing Creek  North Carolina
Merry Mount (extreme northern part of township)  Hawtree  North Carolina
Norlina  Smith Creek  North Carolina
Oakville  Hawtree  North Carolina
Odell  Fishing Creek  North Carolina
Oine  Smith Creek  North Carolina
Old Bethlehem  Fishing Creek  North Carolina
Parktown  Shocco  North Carolina
Paschall  Hawtree  North Carolina
Ridgeway  Smith Creek  North Carolina
Rose Hill  Nutbush  North Carolina
Snow Hill  Warrenton  North Carolina
Soul City  Nutbush  North Carolina
Vaughan  Judkins  North Carolina
Vicksboro  Sandy Creek  North Carolina
Warren Plains  Fishing Creek  North Carolina
Warrenton  Warrenton  North Carolina
Wise  Hawtree  North Carolina

Warren County Townships

 

(click image to enlarge map)

 

Current  Warren County Townships:

 

Fishing Creek Township

Fork Township

Hawtree Township

Judkins Township

Nutbush Township

Roanoke Township

River Township

Sandy Creek Township

Shocco Township

Smith Creek Township

Sixpound Township

Warrenton Township

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Townships through the years

While most Townships or Districts existed in Warren County since its beginnings, they were not always identified in Census records. The following are the Townships that were listed in the Federal Census years of 1850 thru 1930.

   

1850

1860

Nutbush District

Warrenton

Sandy Creek District

(other townships not indicated)

Warren District

 

Warrenton

 
   
   

1870

1880
Township No. 1 - River Township Fishing Creek Township
Township No. 2 - Six Pound Township Fork Township
Township No. 3 - Hawtree Township Hawtree Township
Township No. 4 - Smith Creek Township Judkins Township
Township No. 5 - Nutbush Township Littleton Township
Township No. 6 - Sandy Creek Township Nutbush Township
Township No. 7 - Shocco Township River Township
Township No. 8 - Fishing Creek Township Sandy Creek Township
Township No. 9 - Judkins Township Shocco Township
Township No. 10 -Warrenton Township Six Pound Township
  Smith Creek Township
see 1874 Map Warrenton Township
   
   
1900 1910
Fishing Creek Township Fishing Creek Township
Fork Township Fork Township
Hawtree Township Hawtree Township
Judkins Township Judkins Township
Nutbush Township Nutbush Township
River Township River Township
Sandy Creek Township Roanoke Township
Shocco Township Sandy Creek Township
Six Pound Township Shocco Township
Smith Creek Township Six Pound Township
Warrenton Township Smith Creek Township
  Warrenton Township
  West Warrenton Township
   
   
1920 1930
Fishing Creek Township Fishing Creek Township
Fork Township Fork Township
Hawtree Township Hawtree Township
Judkins Township Judkins Township
Nutbush Township Nutbush Township
River Township River Township
Roanoke Township Roanoke Township
Sandy Creek Township Sandy Creek Township
Shocco Township Shocco Township
Six Pound Township Six Pound Township
Smith Creek Township Smith Creek Township
Warrenton Township Warrenton Township
   
 

Descriptions of some Warren County Locations Seen in Records, North Carolina Gazetteer, by William S. Powell:

 
Fishing Creek:
rises in E Vance County and flows NE in Vance and Warren Counties and SE and S in Warren County to the Franklin-Warren, Halifax-Nash, and Halifax-Edgecombe county lines to a point approx. 7 mi. N of Tarboro. From there, it flows S to enter Tar River. It appears as Great Fishing Creek on the Moseley map, 1733, and on the Collet map, 1770.

Fishing Creek Township: SE Warren County.
Not to be confused with nearby Fishing Creek Township, E central Granville County. Fishing Creek District had 59 heads of families in 1790.

Little Fishing Creek:
is formed in E central Warren County by the junction of Walkers Creek and Big Branch. It flows SE into W Halifax County, where it enters Fishing Creek on the Halifax-Nash county line. Appears as Conway Creek on the Moseley map, 1733, and as Little Fishing Creek on the Collet map, 1770.

Hawtree Creek:
rises in N central Warren County and flows N into Virginia, where it enters Roanoke River. Appears on the Moseley map, 1733.

Littleton:
town in E Warren County and NW Halifax County. Alt. 389. Inc. 1877 and named for Little Manor (Home of William Person Little, state senator from Warren County: 1804-1806. The house was built in 1780 and is still standing) Person's Ordinary, the tavern owned by Thomas Person (1733-1800), Regulator, officer of the Continental Line, and state legislator, was located there and is shown on the Collet map, 1770. The tavern, which is still standing, was called Peterson Inn on the Price map, 1808. Littleton was mentioned by name in newspapers as early as 1823, and in 1831 a post office was est. there under the present name. The MacRae map, 1833, shows Littleton as an established community.
Additional: Originally Littleton was divided between the counties of Warren and Halifax,but in July 1, 1974 an election was made to make Littleton only to be a part of Halifax County

Middleburg-Nutbush Township:
E Vance County. Two separate townships were merged in 1965.

Nutbush: See Williamsboro.

Nutbush Creek:
rises in city of Henderson in central Vance County and flows N into Kerr Lake. Shown on the Moseley map, 1733.

Nutbush Township: See Middleburg-Nutbush Township.

Roanoke Township: NE Warren County.
Not to be confused with the nearby locations of Roanoke Township in E. central Northampton County, nor Roanoke Rapids in Northern Halifax County.
 
Sandy Creek:
rises in SE Vance County and flows SE across Warren and Franklin Counties and into Nash County, where, in Hilliardston community, the name is changed to Swift Creek, which see.
(Note: there are 8 Sandy Creeks, plus a Big Sandy Creek, and Little Sandy Creek, & 3 Townships in NC; they are in Wilkes, Alamance, Cumberland, Davidson, Durham, Granville, Randolph, Franklin, Vance & Warren)
 

Shocco:
community in N Franklin County. Site of popular nineteenth-century springs and resort.

Shocco Springs:
former health resort in s(outh) Warren County on Shocco Creek. Located approx. 9 mi. s(outh) of the city of Warrenton, it was famous in the nineteenth century as a social, recreational, and health resort built around mineral springs. Shocco Male Academy was located here. Neither is in existence any longer. Shocco Springs had a post office from 1832 until 1866, and was shown on the Price map, 1808.

Shocco Township, S(outh) Warren County:
Shocco Creek rises in e(ast) Vance County and flows se through Warren County onto the Franklin -Warren County line where it enters Fishing Creek. Shown on the Price map, 1808. Named for the Shoccoree Indian Tribe.

 
Shocco Creek:
rises in E Vance County and flows SE through Warren County onto the Franklin-Warren County line, where it enters Fishing Creek. Shown on the Price map, 1808. Named for the Shoccoree Indian tribe.
 
Sixpound Creek:
rises in N central Warren County and flows N then NE into Lake Gaston. Appears on the Moseley map, 1733.
 
 
Smith Creek:
rises in W Warren County and flows NE into Mecklenburg County, Va., where it enters Roanoke River. Shown on the Moseley map, 1733, as Great Creek but appears by the present name on the Price map, 1808.
 
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Copyright 2002 to present by  Deloris Williams, Nola Duffy, Ginger Christmas-Beattie for the NCGenWeb Project. No portion of anything on this site is to be used for anything other than personal research. Any republication or reposting is expressly forbidden without express written consent of the owner.  This page was last updated on 04/30/2021