Bladen County, North Carolina


Bladen County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,606. Its county seat is Elizabethtown. The county was created in 1734 as Bladen Precinct and gained county status in 1739.

History

Bladen County was formed in 1734 as Bladen Precinct of Bath County, from New Hanover Precinct. It was named for Martin Bladen, a member of the Board of Trade. With the abolition of Bath County in 1739, all of its constituent precincts became counties.
Bladen's original residents included the Waccamaw people.
Bladen County began as a vast territory, with indefinite northern and western boundaries. Reductions in its extent began in 1750, when its western part became Anson County. In 1754, the northern part of what was left of Bladen County became Cumberland County. In 1764, the southern part of what remained of Bladen County was combined with part of New Hanover County to form Brunswick County. In 1787, the western part of the now much smaller Bladen became Robeson County. Finally, in 1808, the southern part of Bladen County was combined with part of Brunswick County to form Columbus County.
Bladen County is considered the "mother county" of North Carolina, because of the present 100 counties in the state, 55 of them belonged to Bladen at one point.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. It is the fourth-largest county in North Carolina by land area.

State and local protected areas

Major water bodies

Adjacent counties

Major highways

*

Major infrastructure

Climate

Bladen County is located in the humid subtropical climate zone, with mostly moderate temperatures year round. Winters are mild across Bladen, with the warmest winter temperatures found in the southeastern portion of the county due to the influence of the nearby Atlantic Ocean. The average high temperature in January is around 55 °F. Summers are hot and humid, with the hottest summer temperatures found in the northern and western areas of Bladen County. The average high temperature in July is around 90 °F.
The USDA hardiness zones for Bladen County are Zone 8A and Zone 8B.

Extreme temperatures

Although uncommon, extreme temperatures can occur in Bladen County.
  • In December 1989, Elizabethtown recorded a new record low temperature of −3 °F.
  • In August 2007, Elizabethtown recorded a new record high temperature of 105 °F.

Frost

Frost does occur in Bladen County. Most of the county experiences 50–75 days of frost conditions annually. However, southeastern Bladen averages only 40–50 days of frost conditions annually, due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.

Snow

Like much of eastern North Carolina, snow is rare in Bladen County. On average, light snowfall occurs once or twice every 10 years.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 29,606. The median age was 44.7 years, 20.9% of residents were under the age of 18, and 22.0% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.3 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 54.4% White, 32.3% Black or African American, 2.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 6.1% from some other race, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 8.6% of the population.
Less than 0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 12,410 households in the county, of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 41.4% were married-couple households, 20.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 15,131 housing units, of which 18.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 70.9% were owner-occupied and 29.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.7%.
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010
White alone 18,03519,24215,83055.87%54.68%53.47%
Black or African American alone 12,17012,2029,50537.70%34.67%32.11%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 6187127011.91%2.02%2.37%
Asian alone 2667470.08%0.19%0.16%
Pacific Islander alone 11580.03%0.01%0.03%
Race and ethnicity in [the United States census|Other race] alone 3129670.10%0.08%0.23%
Mixed race or Multiracial 1894319020.59%1.22%3.05%
Hispanic or Latino 1,1982,5022,5463.71%7.11%8.60%
Total32,27835,19029,606100.00%100.00%100.00%

Demographic change

Between 2010 and 2020, Bladen County experienced a population decline of 15.9 percent, losing 5,584 residents.

Government and politics

Government

Bladen County is a member of the [Councils of governments in North Carolina|Lumber River Council of Governments], a regional planning board representing five counties.
It lies within the bounds of North Carolina's 15th Prosecutorial District, the 13A Superior Court District, and the 13th District Court District.

Politics

Following the 2018 United States Midterm Elections, an investigation was opened into accusations of an absentee ballot fraud scheme directed by McCrae Dowless in Bladen County, within North Carolina's 9th Congressional District. Accusations were based around the Republican Primary election, in which Mark Harris defeated incumbent Robert Pittenger, and around the general election, in which Harris initially appeared to defeat Democrat Dan McCready., the investigation is currently ongoing. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, Democrat, said it was possible over 1,000 ballots had been destroyed. According to District Attorney Jon David, Republican, the county has a "troubled history of political groups exploiting the use of absentee ballots." The scandal brought national media attention to Bladen.
As of 2022, Bladen County is home to about 22,000 registered voters, comprising about 9,700 registered Democrats, about 5,100 Republicans, and about 7,000 unaffiliated voters.

Education

Colleges

Public schools

Public schools within Bladen County are operated by Bladen County Schools.

Healthcare

Bladen County is served by a single hospital, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, based in Elizabethtown. According to the 2022 County Health Rankings produced by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, Bladen County ranked 85th in health outcomes of North Carolina's 100 counties, an improvement of 10 ranks over the previous five years. Per the ranking, 26 percent of adults say they are in poor or fair health, the average life expectancy is 75 years, and 16 percent of people under the age of 65 lack health insurance. It has one primary care physician per 4,670 residents.

Economy

Agriculture constitutes a major part of Bladen County's economy. Smithfield Foods operates a pork processing facility north of the town of Tar Heel, the largest such plant in the world. It employs 5,800 workers, making it the county's largest employer. The county is the largest producer of blueberries in the state. Area farmers also grow soybeans, peanuts, corn, wheat, and cotton. The county suffers from a large poverty rate and is one of the most economically distressed counties in the state. According to census figures, about 70 percent of working people in Bladen are employed outside the county.

Communities

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Bladen County.
† = county seat
RankNameTypePopulation
1† 'ElizabethtownTown3,296
2BladenboroTown1,648
3[White Lake, North Carolina|White Lake]Town843
4ClarktonTown614
5KellyCDP446
6East ArcadiaTown418
7White OakCDP346
8DublinTown267
9ButtersCDP250
10Tar Heel'Town90