The original inhabitants of the area, the Tuscarora Indians, fought with these immigrants and on March 20–23, 1713, a fighting force of South Carolinians and Yamasee Indians, under Colonel Murice Moore, defeated the Tuscarora, under the leadership of Chief Hancock.

This was the final major battle of the Tuscarora War at Fort Neoheroka near current day Snow Hill.

In 1758, the area now recognized as Greene and Lenoir Counties was separated from Johnston and named Dobbs for the Royal Governor.

In 1799, Glasgow's involvement in military land grant frauds forced him to resign and leave the state.

The town draws its name from the historic white sandy banks of nearby Contentnea Creek.

That area was ceded to the federal government and became part of the Southwest Territory (1790–1796) and the State of Tennessee (after 1796).

Prior to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Greene County was an overwhelmingly Democratic “Solid South” bastion.

[14] However, opposition to the voting and civil rights legislation of the Lyndon Johnson administration turned the county over to George Wallace in the 1968 presidential election, and Richard Nixon became the first Republican winner since Benjamin Harrison in 1888[15] with 75 percent of the vote in 1972.

[19] Higher education is provided through nearby East Carolina University or community colleges located in Goldsboro, Greenville and Kinston.