The act establishing Burke specified that the first court was to be held
at a place the justices should decide until they selected a permanent place
for the courthouse and had the same erected. In 1784 Morgansborough was
established and made the county seat.1
Burke County comprised such a large territory that it later became the mother of all or part of 16 counties including Buncombe, Catawba, Mitchell, Madison, Yancey, Caldwell, McDowell and Alexander.2
Burke County was named in honor of Dr. Thomas Burke, a member of the Continental
Congress and governor of North Carolina, 1781-1782.1
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