New Hanover County, North Carolina
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 30 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 2 are also National Historic Landmarks. Most listings are in or near Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for North Carolina is not yet loaded on this site. Browse New Hanover titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP13 of 30 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
30 listed properties
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBNew Hanover was formed in 1729 (1729-11-27) from unorganized territory.
New Hanover Precinct (now NEW HANOVER) created from unorganized territory; northwestern boundary limit was indefinite.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusNew Hanover County population from 1790 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1790 | 1800 | 1820 | 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,831 | 7,060 | 10,866 | 13,312 | 21,715 | 21,376 | 25,785 | 40,620 | 47,935 | 63,272 | 71,742 | 103,471 | 160,307 | 225,702 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Moores Creek National Battlefield | Park unit | 38.1 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS10 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 10 of 10 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Calvary Memorial Cemetery |
| Federal Point Cemetery |
| Freeman Cemetery |
| Greenlawn Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Oakdale Cemetery |
| Oleander Memorial Gardens |
| Prospect Cemetery |
| Saint James Episcopal Cemetery |
| Shoulder Branch Cemetery |
| Wilmington National Cemetery |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Civil War battlefields nearby
ABPPAmerican Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.
| Battlefield | Study acres | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | 9,862 | 8.0 km |
Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for New Hanover County, North Carolina
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.