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Johnston County is situated on the western edge of the Coastal Plain area. It has an area of approximately 778 square miles, or 516,480 acres. The northwest side of the county is about 15 miles east of Raleigh. It is bounded on the northeast and east by Nash, Wilson and Wayne Counties, on the south by Wayne and Sampson Counties, on the west and southwest by Harnett and Sampson Counties, and on the north and northwest by Wake County. The surface features consist of high, rolling uplands and broad, gently undulating interstream areas in the wide, level stretches. There is a gentle but fairly well defined slope throughout the Coastal Plain Section of the county. Elevations vary from 350 feet through the central part of the county to about 80 feet on the southeast corner, where the Neuse River leaves the area.

The soils in Johnston County may be classed in three groups, according to their origin: The sedimentary soils of the Coastal Plain; the residual soils of the Piedmont Plateau, and the alluvial soil's developed along the streams throughout the county. There is a total of 28 types of soils, including meadow and swamp. The most prominent of these is the Norfolk sandy loam. This soil is well adapted to truck crops, cotton, corn and tobacco, all of which have very good yields. Other prevalent soils are the Cecil soils, of which the coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, stony sandy loam, and clay loam, are well suited for the production of oats, wheat, corn, clover, cowpeas and to some extent, tobacco and cotton. Land values in the county vary from $20 to $200 and more an acre.

The climate of the county is well suited for a wide range of products. Truck and stock farming are growing rapidly in extent. The winters are short and comparatively mild, the mean winter temperature being 42 degrees. The summers are long and not excessively hot. The mean summer temperature is 77 degrees F. The average rainfall is about 50 inches and is well distributed throughout the year. Crops seldom suffer from drought, and the growing season is about 200 days, long enough for all ordinary crops.

With such seasons, it is not surprising that Twenty