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Official Website
Harnett County was formed in 1855 and was named for American Revolutionary war soldier Cornelius Harnett,[3] who was also a delegate to the Continental Congress.
The first settlers came to the region in the mid-1720s, and were followed by Highland Scots immigrants. The Scots settled in the foothills, where land was more affordable, rather than in the rich alluvial soil area of the coastal plain. After the defeat by the British of Bonny Prince Charles at Culloden, Scots immigrants came up the Cape Fear River in ever increasing numbers and settled in western Harnett County.
During the American Revolutionary War, many of the Scots were Loyalists. In their defeat in Scotland, they had been forced to take ironclad vows that prohibited taking up arms against the British. Some Rebels considered them traitors to the cause of Independence. Public executions of suspected spies occurred. One site near Lillington was the scene of a mass execution of "Scots Traitors."
Adjacent Counties
Cities & Towns
- Angier
- Coats
- Dunn
- Erwin
- Lillington (County Seat)
- Fuquay-Varina (part)
Other Townships & Communities: Anderson Creek, Averasboro, Barbecue, Barclaysville, Black River, Buckhorn, Buies Creek, Bunnlevel, Cape Fear, Chalybeate Springs, Christian Light, Cokesbury, Duke, Duncan, Flat Branch, Flatwoods, Grove, Hectors Creek, Johnsonville, Kipling, Luart, Mamers, Mount Pisgah, Neills Creek, Norrington, Olivia, Overhills, Pineview, Raven Rock, Rawls, Ryes, Seminole, Shawtown, Spout Springs, Stewarts Creek, Turlington and Upper Little River
Cemeteries
Links
USS Harnett County - LST-821
National Register of Historic Places
Black Heritage of Harnett County
