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Goldsboro is a city in Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 39,043 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. Founded in 1787, incorporated in 1847, it is the county seat of Wayne County. The city is situated in the North Carolina's Coastal Plain and is bordered on the south by the Neuse River and the west by the Little River, about 35 miles southwest of Greenville6 and 90 km (55mi) southeast of Raleigh, the state capital. Goldsboro is best known as home to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. History
Around 1787, when Wayne County was formed, a town named Waynesborough grew around the county's courthouse. Located on the east bank of the Neuse River, the town became the county seat. Population growth in Waynesborough continued through the 1830s, however this changed once the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad was completed in the early 1840s. By then, a hotel had been built at the intersection of the railroad and New Bern Road, which grew into a community after the train started to transport passengers from there. More and more citizens soon relocated from Waynesborough to this growing village, named eventually "Goldsborough's Junction" after Major Matthew T. Goldsborough, an Assistant Chief Engineer with the railroad line. Later this was shortened simply to Goldsborough. In 1847, the town was incorporated and became the new Wayne County seat. In the following decades, Goldsborough's growth continued in part by new railroad connections to Charlotte and Beaufort. By 1861, the town's population was estimated to be 1,500. Because of its importance as railroad junction, Goldsborough played a significant role in the Civil War, for both stationing Confederate troops as well as transporting their supplies. The town also provided hospitals for soldiers wounded in nearby battles. In December 1862, the Battle of Goldsborough Bridge was waged, in which both sides fought for possession of the strategically significant Wilmington and Weldon Railroad Bridge. Union General John Foster arrived with his troops on December 17, aiming to destroy this bridge in order to put an end to the vital supply chain from the port of Wilmington. He succeeded on that same day, his troops overpowering the small amount of defending Confederate soldiers, and burning down the bridge. On their way back to New Bern, Foster's men were attacked again by Confederate troops, but they survived the attack with less casualties than the enemy. Goldsborough was once more the scene of a Union offensive in 1865, during Union General Sherman's Carolinas Campaign. After the battles of Bentonville and Wyse Fork, Sherman's forces met with the armies of Schofield, their troops taking over the city in March. During the following three weeks, Goldsborough was occupied by over 100,000 Union soldiers. After the war was over, some of these troops continued to stay in the city. In 1869, the spelling of the city was officially changed to Goldsboro. The Seymour Johnson Air Force Base opened on the outskirts of Goldsboro in April 1942. From this point on, much of the city's population and businesses increased as result of the airbase's presence. As noted in the List of military nuclear accidents, in 1961, two hydrogen bombs were dropped accidentally on the village of Faro, 12 miles north of Goldsboro. The two Mark39 weapons were released after the crew abandoned a B-52 bomber which had suffered mid-flight structural failure. Both bombs went through several steps in the arming sequence, but neither one detonated. In 1993, Money Magazine recognised Goldsboro as one of the top ten "Best Places to Live in America". Research Tips
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