[2] Jones County is part of the New Bern, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The area eventually encompassing Jones County was inhabited by Tuscarora Native Americans before the arrival of German and Swiss settlers in the early 1700s.

It was named for Willie Jones,[4] a planter, slaveholder, Revolutionary leader, and president of the North Carolina Committee of Safety during the war.

[3] The rural Low Country county was originally developed for plantations, which were dependent on the labor of enslaved African Americans.

Jones County is a member of the regional Eastern Carolina Council of Governments.

The Jones County Government relies entirely upon an all volunteer (non-paid) fire department force segregated by geographic location(s).

The Law Enforcement structure consists of one paid Pollocksville Police Chief, one paid Maysville Police Chief, and an elected Sheriff with a small (less than 25 person force) to handle law enforcement, detention, and emergency communications.

Emergency ambulance services consist of one full-time medical unit dispatched from the town of Trenton and relies heavily on other volunteer EMS personnel geographically scattered around the county to assist with a medical emergency.

Many enjoy boating and fishing activities as well as camping at the 17 Family Campground along Highway 17 north in Maysville.