Map of New Hanover County, North Carolina

New Hanover County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 225,702. Though the second-smallest NC county in land area, it is one of the most populous, as its county seat, Wilmington, is one of the state’s largest cities. The county was created in 1729 as New Hanover Precinct and gained county status in 1739. New Hanover County is included in the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which also includes neighboring Pender County.

New Hanover County overview:
Name:	New Hanover County
FIPS code:	37-129
State:	North Carolina
Founded:	1729
Named for:	House of Hanover
Seat:	Wilmington
Largest city:	Wilmington
Total Area:	328 sq mi (850 km²)
Land Area:	192 sq mi (500 km²)
Total Population:	229,018
Population Density:	1,192.8/sq mi (460.5/km²)
Time zone:	UTC−5 (Eastern)
Summer Time Zone (DST):	UTC−4 (EDT)
Website:	www.nhcgov.com

New Hanover County location map. Where is New Hanover County?

New Hanover County location on the U.S. Map. Where is New Hanover County. — Location of New Hanover County in the the United States.

New Hanover County location on the North Carolina map. Where is New Hanover County. — Location of New Hanover County in North Carolina.

History

Located in the Low Country or Tidewater of North Carolina, the county was formed in 1729 as New Hanover Precinct of Bath County, from Craven Precinct. It was named for the House of Hanover, a German royal family then ruling Great Britain.

In 1734 parts of New Hanover Precinct became Bladen Precinct and Onslow Precinct. With the abolition of Bath County in 1739, all of its constituent precincts became counties.

In 1750 the northern part of New Hanover County became Duplin County. In 1764 another part of New Hanover County was combined with part of Bladen County to form Brunswick County. Finally, in 1875 the separation of northern New Hanover County to form Pender County reduced it to its present dimensions. The county was developed as plantations, largely for the cultivation of tobacco and other commodity crops by enslaved African Americans.

By 1860, the county seat and county were majority-black in population, with most of those people enslaved. Some of the closing battles of the American Civil War took place in this county, including the Second Battle of Fort Fisher (the last major coastal stronghold of the Confederacy) and the Battle of Wilmington. White Democrats were resentful when freedmen were given the vote.

Following the Reconstruction era, white Democrats regained control of the state legislature and continued to impose white supremacy across the state through Jim Crow laws. Violence by whites against blacks increased in the late 19th century, with 22 lynching deaths of African Americans recorded before the mid-20th century.

Racial terrorism on a larger scale took place in the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, when a group of white Democrats rejected a duly elected, biracial city government. After overthrowing the Fusionist government, the mayor and city council, they led mobs that rioted and attacked the city’s black neighborhoods and residents. A total of 60 to 300 blacks are believed to have been killed in the rioting, leaders were driven out of the city, and the presses of a black-owned newspaper were destroyed, along with many houses and businesses.

The insurrection was planned by a group of nine conspirators, who included Hugh MacRae. He later donated land to New Hanover County for a park; it was named in his honor. A plaque was installed there explaining the donation and his life; it does not refer to his role in the 1898 coup d’état.

Soon after, the state passed a new constitution raising barriers to voter registration: this effectively disenfranchised most blacks and imposed Jim Crow laws, forcing blacks out of the political system and into legal second-class status. These civil rights injustices were largely maintained into the 1960s, three generations later.

New Hanover County Road Map

New Hanover CountyStreet Map. — Street map of New Hanover County, North Carolina. Source: OpenStreetMap (OSM)

New Hanover CountyMap — New Hanover Countypolitical map.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 328 square miles (850 km), of which 192 square miles (500 km) is land and 137 square miles (350 km) (42%) is water. It is the second-smallest county in North Carolina by land area (ahead of only Chowan County).

Islands

Eagle Island
Pleasure Island
Figure Eight Island
Masonboro Island
Wrightsville Beach
Zeke’s Island

Major water bodies

Atlantic Ocean
Banks Channel
Bradley Creek
Brunswick River
Cape Fear River
Frying Pan Shoals
Futch Creek
Greenfield Lake
Howe Creek
Intracoastal Waterway
Lake Sutton
Leutze Lake
Northeast Cape Fear River
Onslow Bay
Smith Creek
Snow’s Cut
Whiskey Creek

State and Local protected areas/sites

Airlie Gardens
Battleship North Carolina
Battery Buchanan
Bellhammon Tract (part)
Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve
Carolina Beach State Park
Federal Point
Fort Fisher State Historic Site
Fort Fisher State Recreation Area
Masonboro Island Estuarine Reserve Dedicated Nature Preserve
Masonboro Island Reserve
Masonboro Sound Area Outstanding Resource Water
New Hanover County Arboretum
Pages Creek Park Preserve
South of Onslow County Mechanical Harvesting of Oysters Prohibited Area (part)
The Rocks at Fort Fisher
Topsail Sound and Middle Sound Area Outstanding Resource Water
Wilmington Historic District
Zekes Island Estuarine Reserve Dedicated Nature Preserve (part)
Zeke’s Island Reserve (part)

Adjacent counties

Pender County – north
Brunswick County – west

Major highways

I-40
I-140 / NC 140
US 17
US 17 Byp. (To be the Military Cutoff Extension and the Hampstead Bypass, ending in Pender County)
US 17 Bus.
US 74
US 76
US 117
US 421
US 421 Truck
NC 132
NC 133
NC 211

Major infrastructure

Amtrak Thruway (Forden Station)
Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority
Fort Fisher – Southport Ferry (To Brunswick County)
Pilots Ridge, small private airport near Myrtle Grove
Port of Wilmington
Wilmington International Airport