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The first court was ordered held at the home of Robert Lindsay and provided
for the commissioners to buy the land of John Campbell for the courthouse
site. In 1785 Martinsville was laid out as the courthouse. It was named
in honor of Alexander Martin, governor of North Carolina, 1782-1785 and
1789-1792. The courthouse had been called Guilford Court House until the
passage of this act. Commissioners were named by the act of 1807 to select
a place at the center of the county for the erection of a new courthouse,
as the old one was badly in need of repair and not conveniently located.
Commissioners were also named to purchase 30 acres of land and have the
new courthouse erected. They were to sell the old courthouse.1
Guilford County was named in honor of Francis North who was
Earl of Guilford. He was the father of Lord North who was Prime Minister
under George III during the Revolution. Lord North afterward succeeded his
father as Earl of Guilford. In 1808 the
new county seat, Greensboro, was named Greensborough in honor of Nathaniel Greene.1
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