[5] On August 4, 1661, George Durant purchased land from Cisketando, king of the Yeopim Indian tribe.

By 1662 Durant was living in Virginia on a tract of land along the Perquimans River which flows into Albemarle Sound, which became part of the Carolina colony in 1665.

[10] During the initial years of colonization, the population of Craven County was sparse and grew slowly.

[11] John Carter served as the first sheriff of Craven County, but died in 1740 in the line of duty, when ambushed by an outlaw he was trying to apprehend.

[16] Craven developed an economy centered around agriculture, timber and turpentine, small manufacturing, and commerce emanating from the port of New Bern.

[20] The Panic of 1819 heavily impacted the county and triggered a two decade-long period of economic contraction.

[22] The population rose from 13,394 in 1820 to 16,268 by 1860, though poverty remained a problem and many born in the country migrated elsewhere in search of better economic prospects.

[26] The Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries in August 1861 gave United States forces a foothold in eastern North Carolina and provoked the flight of women and children from New Bern.

[27] The county's economy was heavily impacted by the Civil War with the depletion of livestock, damage of property, and the emancipation of slaves.

[28] Most food crop production also suffered, though cotton, tobacco, and rice yields increased.

[30] Most of the rest found unskilled work in the local farming, fishing, and turpentine industries.

[32] General Edward Canby, the commander of the Second Military District, replaced New Bern's municipal government and also chose the county's sheriff.

Following registration efforts, black voters outnumbered whites in the county, and remained a majority of the electorate until the end of the century.

[33] Together with local whites who had held Unionist sympathies before the war and recently arrived carpetbaggers, they constituted a strong base for the Republican Party.

[47] Craven County is a member of the Eastern Carolina Council of Governments, a regional multi-county planning and economic coordination body.

[52] In January 2025, John Matthew Nigh, an inmate at the Craven County Jail, escaped from the facility.

Nigh was being held in custody on multiple felony charges, including three counts of attempted murder on law enforcement officers in nearby Onslow County.

Law enforcement agencies from the counties of Carteret, Craven, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, Onslow, Pamlico, and Pitt are assisting in the search.

The national Democratic party's support for the Civil Rights Movement caused its white electorate to defect to George Wallace’s American Independent campaign in 1968.