Johnston County - Johnston County Heritage Center Museum and Research Library

The Johnston County Heritage Center is open FREE OF CHARGE 9:00-5:00 Monday-Saturday (except weekday holidays observed by the County of Johnston and the Saturday before Easter).

What's inside the Heritage Center

Photo of two women doing genealogical research in the Heritage Center Reading Room Researchers of local history and genealogy can access an exceptional collection of materials in the Margaret McLemore Lee Reading Room and the Brown-Ross Audio-Visual Room. We hold approximately 2,000 books, 800 reels of microfilm, 300 maps/atlases, 50,000 photographic images, 400 private collections of books and papers, and vertical files on genealogy, biography, and local history. Local history materials relate exclusively to Johnston County, while the focus for genealogical records primarily includes the eastern half of North Carolina and the Virginia Tidewater region. Materials for other regions may be available through interlibrary loan.

You may do online searches of our catalogued items through the following links (click on title for immediate access):

Heritage Center's Archival Inventory - including artifacts, photographs, microfilms, maps, audio-visual recordings, and more

Public Library's Online Catalog - including Heritage Center's collection of reference books on local history and genealogy

Some of the materials available for genealogical research at the Heritage Center:

Searchable Databases Online (click on title for immediate access):

Printed Materials:

U.S. Census, 1784-1787
North Carolina Census Indexes, 1790-1870
Johnston County Census Records, 1850-1920
Marriages, 1764-1920
Wills, 1746-1870
Court minutes, 1759-1850
Cemetery directories
Bible records
Family histories, including various materials on file as well as published genealogies
Military service records
Civil War Collection, including history books and files on various subjects
School yearbooks, 1920s to the present: Click here for a list of what we have
Historic Architecture Survey files

Microfilm Collections:

North Carolina Census Records, 1790-1930
Johnston County Deeds, 1759-1947
Marriage Register, 1760-1979
Wills, 1761-1968
Other Courthouse records, starting 1712
Church records
Civil War prison and service records
Newspapers, 19th Century to the present - with obituaries index

Recent Acquisitions:

Pair of dried grave-vine hangars for curing hams, according to the late Rose Grantham Patterson
Photos of Yelvington Grove School children and of Smithfield School students, 1920s
Farming & household records of Costa William Hocutt, O'Neals Township, 1940s-1970s
Alpha Beta Chapter, Delta Kappa Gamma Society International records, including biographies of Johnston County educators collected 1998-2000
Kennedy assassination clippings collected in large scrapbook by Smithfield School fifth graders, Agnes Gunter, teacher, 1963
Photo including 13 members of the Smithfield High School Class of 1935 and other students (19 of 23 identified on back)
Photo of Smithfield High School Class of 1912: Paul Eason, Julia Rand, Gardner Hudson, Oliver Rand, Ed Woodall
Barber Mill history: copies of 1879 documents and photos 1925 ff.
Worley's & Pepsi-Cola soft drinks bottled in Selma, N.C.
Photo of Willie Franklin Grimes, Johnston County Sheriff, 1912-1918
DVD: World War II veteran Ed Johnson's oral-history interview by N.C. State Archives, 2012
Joyce & Reubin Thompson Photograph Collection: various family pictures with identifications, 1907-1952
Clayton Centennial commemorative coins
DVD: "Harley Alonza Peterson Cemetery," 2012
Newspaper clippings, photographs, plaques about life & banking career of Mary C. Smith, native of Smithfield
Photo of Frank B. Holding with Dave Cutter at groundbreaking for Cutter Laboratories plant at Clayton, September 1972
Photo: Clayton Girl Scout Troop 521, 1964-65 - identified
Booklet: "The History of the Guy C. Lee Company and the Lampe & Malphrus Lumber Company," by Ross W. Lampe, 2012
Photos of Smithfield firemen & trucks in front of old fire station on S. Fourth Street, 1940s

What historical items will the Heritage Center accept for our archives?
Click here to read our Acquisition of Artifacts Policy

Researching our collections in person

We welcome any serious researcher to use our library's facilities. We're open 9-5 Monday-Saturday. Admission is free of charge. All materials are non-circulating and not available for inter-library loan. A photocopier and microfilm reader-printer are available for use by our patrons for a nominal fee. Staff members are on duty at all times to help you with your search.

Please visit us in person at:

The Johnston County Heritage Center
241 E. Market Street
(at the corner of Market and Third streets)
Downtown Smithfield, North Carolina
Telephone (919) 934-2836

Requesting information by mail

Image of Historical Books The Heritage Center staff, for a fee starting at $25 per hour, will do limited research of records available within our collections and then mail the results to you.

For genealogical information, send us your research request in writing and include the following information: individual name to be researched; dates of birth, death, marriage, etc., if known; and location(town or township) and dates of residence in Johnston County, if known. Please include your e-mail address so our staff can contact you promptly if necessary.

Historical requests (non-genealogical) should also be made in writing. Queries should be made with respect to a specific topic, person, or event, giving precise dates whenever possible. Please include your e-mail address so our staff may contact you promptly if necessary.

A minimum fee of $25 is required for each search request, payable in advance. Actual charges are calculated at $25 per hour required by our staff to fulfill a particular request. (NOTE: A minimum fee of $50 is charged for lineage society research performed by our staff searching for the proofs needed for membership.) E-mail us at heritagecenter@johnstonnc.com to determine how fees may be handled for your particular scenario.

Once you're clear about your charge, make a personal check or money order payable to the Johnston County Heritage Center and mail with your written request for information to:

Johnston County Heritage Center
PO Box 2709
Smithfield, NC 27577