| 1663 | Carolina Charter granted by King Charles II to the eight Lords Proprietor |
| 1664 | Albemarle, Clarendon, Craven counties formed |
| 1667 | Clarendon County abandoned |
| 1668 | Chowan, Currituck, Pasquotank and Perquimans precincts (of Albemarle) formed |
| 1670 | Settlement of Craven Co. (on the Ashley River in SC) begins. Colony-wide General Court established, |
| 1690 | French colony from VA settle on Pamlico River |
| 1696 | Bath County formed |
| 1705 | Archdale (Craven), Pamptecough (Beaufort), Wickham (Hyde) precincts formed |
| 1706 | Bath (town) becomes first incorporated town in NC |
| 1710 | New Bern founded by DeGraffenreid and Swiss and German colonists |
| 1711-1715 | Tuscarora War |
| 1712 | Beaufort, Craven, Hyde counties names changed from Pamptecough, Archdale and Wickham. Craven County records destroyed by Indians |
| 1722 | Bertie, Carteret counties formed |
| 1725 | Patents issued to settle lower Cape Fear |
| 1729 | Seven of the eight Lords Proprietors sell their shares to King George II, making North Carolina a royal colony New Hanover, Tyrrell counties formed |
| 1734 | Bladen, Onslow counties formed |
| 1739-1748 | Spanish Alarm |
| 1739 | Highland Scots settle Cape Fear Valley Bath and Albemarle counties discontinued |
| 1741 | Edgecombe and Northampton counties formed |
| 1743 | Granville district boundary established |
| 1746 | Granville and Johnston counties formed |
| 1750 | Anson and Duplin counties formed |
| 1752 | Orange County formed Onslow County records destroyed by storm |
| 1753 | Rowan County formed Moravians from PA settle in piedmont at Wachovia |
| 1754 | Cumberland County formed District courts established in Edenton, Enfield, New Bern, Wilmington and Salisbury |
| 1755 | Onslow County records destroyed by storm |
| 1755-1763 | French and Indian War |
| 1758 | Dobbs and Halifax counties formed |
| 1759 | Hertford County formed Halifax district court replaces Enfield |
| 1760 | Pitt County formed |
| 1762 | Mecklenburg County formed |
| 1764 | Brunswick and Bute counties formed |
| 1768 | Hillsborough District court established Tryon County formed |
| 1768-1771 | War of the Regulation |
| 1770 | Bladen County courthouse fire |
| 1771 | Guilford, Surry, Chatham and Wake counties formed |
| 1774 | Martin County formed |
| 1775 | Governor disbands court system |
| 1776-1783 | Revolutionary War |
| 1776 | Granville district lands confiscated |
| 1777 | Burke, Camden, Caswell, Nash, and Wilkes counties formed |
| 1779 | Tryon and Bute counties discontinued Franklin, Gates, Jones, Lincoln, Montgomery, Rutherford, Randolph, Richmond, Warren, and Wayne counties formed |
| 1781 | Guilford County courthouse fire, Orange County records destroyed when buried in woods to avoid capture or destruction by Cornwallis, Wayne County records may have been destroyed in courthouse fire |
| 1782 | Morganton District court established |
| 1784 | Moore and Sampson counties formed State of Franklin formed |
| 1785 | Rockingham County formed |
| 1786 | Onslow County records destroyed by storm |
| 1787 | Robeson County formed Fayetteville District court established |
| 1788 | State of Franklin discontinued Site chosen for new capital Iredell County formed |
| 1789 | North Carolina ratified the Constitution North Carolina ceded western lands to federal government Stokes County formed Hyde County courthouse fire |
| 1791 | Buncombe, Glasgow, Lenoir and Person counties formed Raleigh becomes state capital Dobbs County discontinued |
| 1792 | State capitol building in Raleigh completed Cabarrus County formed |
| 1795 | Daughters begin to inherit equally with sons |
| 1797 | Lincoln County records may have been destroyed by fire in private home |
| 1798 | New Hanover County courthouse fire may have destroyed some records |
| 1799 | Glasgow County discontinued Ashe, Greene, Washington counties formed |
| 1800 | Bladen County courthouse fire |
| 1806 | County Superior Courts formed and District Court abolished |
| 1808 | Columbus and Haywood counties formed |
| 1812-1814 | War of 1812 |
| 1819 | New Hanover County courthouse fire may have damaged some records |
| 1822 | Davidson County formed |
| 1827 | Hyde County courthouse fire |
| 1828 | Macon County formed |
| 1830 | Buncombe and Hertford courthouse fires |
| 1832 | Wake County register's office fire |
| 1833 | Yancey County formed |
| 1835 | Montgomery County courthouse fire |
| 1836 | Davie County formed |
| 1838 | Henderson County formed Trail of Tears: most of North Carolina's Cherokees are moved west to Indian Territory |
| 1839 | Cherokee County formed |
| 1840 | Montgomery County courthouse fire, New Hanover County courthouse fire may have damaged some records |
| 1841 | Cleveland, Caldwell, and Stanley counties formed |
| 1842 | Catawba, McDowell, and Union counties formed Currituck County fir |
| 1846 | Gaston County formed |
| 1846-1848 | War with Mexico |
| 1847 | Alexander County formed |
| 1848 | Chowan County court records destroyed by acting clerk |
| 1849 | Alamance, Forsyth, and Watauga counties formed |
| 1850 | Yadkin County formed |
| 1851 | Madison and Jackson counties formed |
| 1854 | Iredell County courthouse fire |
| 1855 | Polk, Harnett, Wilson counties formed |
| 1857 | Pitt County courthouse fire |
| 1859 | Alleghany County formed |
| 1861-1865 | Civil War |
| 1861 | North Carolina secedes from the union Clay, Mitchell, and Transylvania counties formed |
| 1862 | Hertford and Jones courthouse fires, Washington County records destroyed by bombardment |
| 1865 | Ashe, Buncombe, Cherokee courthouse fires, Alexander, Brunswick, Burke, Rowan records destroyed |
| 1866 | Davidson County courthouse fire, cohabitation records begin for freedmen |
| 1868 | North Carolina readmitted to the union upon adopting a new constitution Many of the state's laws changed radically. New court system established Marriage bonds discontinued Anson County courthouse fire |
| 1869 | Washington County courthouse fire |
| 1870 | Dare County formed Clay County records destroyed by fire |
| 1871 | Swain County formed |
| 1872 | Graham and Pamlico counties formed Guilford County courthouse fire |
| 1873 | Watauga County courthouse fire |
| 1874 | Gaston County courthouse fire |
| 1875 | Pender County formed |
| 1876 | Cabarrus and Greene courthouse fires |
| 1878 | Lenoir County courthouse fire |
| 1879 | Swain County courthouse fire |
| 1880 | Lenoir County courthouse fire |
| 1881 | Durham and Vance counties formed Washington County courthouse fire |
| 1884 | Martin County courthouse fire |
| 1886 | Montgomery County may have suffered record loss from courthouse fire. The clerk said that he saved the records but that they were "in a state of great confusion." |
| 1889 | Moore County courthouse fire |
| 1892 | Harnett County courthouse fire |
| 1893 | Bladen County courthouse fire |
| 1894 | Harnett County courthouse fire |
| 1895 | Cherokee County courthouse fire |
| 1898-1899 | Spanish-American War |
| 1899 | Scotland County formed |
| 1903 | North Carolina Historical Commission formed (now Division of Archives and History) |
| 1907 | Lee County formed Mitchell County records destroyed in move to new courthouse Rutherford County courthouse fire |
| 1911 | Avery and Hoke counties formed |
| 1913 | State law requires vital records registration Jackson County records lost when county seat moved |
| 1921 | Sampson County clerk's office fire |
| 1926 | Cherokee County courthouse fire |
| 1932 | Alleghany County courthouse fire, Haywood County records destroyed in move to new courthouse |
| 1935 | Some Warren County records may have been destroyed |
| 1957 | Brunswick County clerk's office fire |
| 1967 | Alexander County courthouse fire |
North Carolina Timeline
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