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North Carolina · Piedmont · #806
Davidson County, North Carolina
In the North Carolina Piedmont between Greensboro and Charlotte, Davidson County's Lexington has staked a culinary claim that the rest of North Carolina takes seriously - the Lexington style of barbecue, with its pork shoulder slow-cooked over hardwood and sauced with a Piedmont vinegar-tomato dip, has produced more BBQ restaurants per capita than almost anywhere in the country, and the annual Barbecue Festival is one of the largest food festivals in the Southeast.
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Services: Building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permit review/issuance; modular/manufactured home, demolition, sign, renovation, and swimming pool permits; enforces the county Floodplain Ordinance
Related: Lexington City Hall – (336) 243-2489; Thomasville City Hall – (336) 475-4210; Lexington Zoning – (336) 248-3900, each handle permits within their respective town limits.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Davidson County Veterans Services Office – Lexington, NC
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Davidson County Public Library – 4 branches plus a bookmobile
Main Branch: Lexington Public Library – 602 S. Main Street, Lexington, NC 27292 | (336) 242-2040 | Fax: (336) 248-4122 | Hours: Mon–Thu 9 AM–8 PM, Fri 9 AM–5:30 PM, Sat 9:30 AM–3 PM (closed Sun)
Related: West Davidson Public Library – 246 Tyro School Road, Lexington, NC 27295, (336) 853-4800; Denton Public Library – 310 W Salisbury Street, Denton, NC 27239, (336) 859-2215; Genealogy & History Room – 612 S Main Street, Lexington, NC; Davidson County Bookmobile.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Lexington, Davidson County’s seat, is genuinely and proudly known nationwide as “THE BARBECUE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD” – a title earned over more than a century of dedicated pork barbecue tradition; the story traces back to 1919, when a local resident named Sid Weaver opened the town’s first barbecue stand behind the Davidson County Courthouse at the Davidson County Fair, slow-smoking pork shoulders over hickory wood and basting them in a distinctive tangy, vinegar-and-tomato-based sauce that locals still call “dip” – a recipe style that developed in a region shaped by both German and Scotch-Irish settlers, both cultures with their own deep traditions of slow-cooked pork; the resulting style, now known nationally as “Lexington-style barbecue,” is distinguished from Eastern North Carolina barbecue by its use of pork shoulder rather than whole hog and its ketchup-tinged vinegar sauce, and it remains such fiercely guarded local tradition that each of Lexington’s more than a dozen barbecue restaurants – an extraordinary ratio of roughly one for every 1,500 residents – keeps its exact sauce recipe a closely held secret; Lexington Barbecue, established in 1962, was honored as an “America’s Classic” by the James Beard Foundation in 2003, and U.S. News & World Report has ranked Lexington among America’s top four cities for barbecue; the city’s devotion to its signature dish is celebrated every October at the Lexington Barbecue Festival, first held in 1984 when organizers cooked just 3,000 pounds of barbecue for roughly 30,000 attendees – the festival has since grown into one of the largest street festivals in North Carolina, drawing more than 150,000-200,000 visitors annually (over eight times the town’s own population) to sample barbecue from up to 20 local restaurants along an eight-block stretch of closed-off Main Street, alongside hundreds of arts, crafts, and food vendors; the festival is formally listed in the book “1,000 Places to See in the USA & Canada Before You Die”; visitors exploring Lexington today can also follow the town’s “Pigs in the City” public art trail, spotting more than 30 whimsically painted pig sculptures with names like “Pigsaw” and “Swine Lake” scattered throughout downtown, and can learn more about the barbecue tradition’s history at the Davidson County Historical Museum, housed inside the historic 1858 Davidson County Courthouse
Notes: Lexington’s genuine, deeply documented status as “The Barbecue Capital of the World” – anchored by a century-old culinary tradition, a James Beard “America’s Classic” restaurant, and one of the largest food festivals in the state – is one of the most distinctive culinary heritage sites found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Davidson County GIS – accessible via co.davidson.nc.us
Parcel Search: Davidson County Tax Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Davidson County Emergency Management
Services: An open-admission facility primarily funded by county government and donations; protects/feeds/houses stray, injured, abused, or unwanted animals and works to reunite lost pets with owners
Related: Animal Control – (336) 242-2904 (trap requests); Thomasville City Animal Control – (336) 249-0131; Lexington City Animal Control – (336) 249-0131 ext. 911 – these are separate municipal agencies from the county shelter, so confirm the right jurisdiction for your address.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) – deq.nc.gov
Notes: Contact your specific municipality directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Davidson County’s seat, Lexington, is genuinely known nationwide as “The Barbecue Capital of the World,” home to a century-old pork barbecue tradition and one of North Carolina’s largest annual food festivals. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Davidson County
Davidson County’s Lexington BBQ identity is not casual – the city has approximately one BBQ restaurant per 1,000 residents, a concentration that reflects a genuine regional food culture rather than tourism marketing. The Lexington Barbecue Festival each October draws over 100,000 visitors to a city of 22,000. The Piedmont pork shoulder tradition, the oak and hickory smoking, and the red dip sauce (a vinegar-tomato hybrid distinct from eastern NC’s pure vinegar sauce) represent a regional culinary identity with deep community roots.
Thomasville, the county’s second city, holds the Big Chair – an 18-foot wooden Duncan Phyfe chair that has stood in downtown since 1951 as a symbol of the furniture manufacturing heritage. Thomasville’s and Lexington’s furniture industry, while diminished from its peak, continues in specialized and case-goods manufacturing. High Rock Lake on the Yadkin River provides recreation.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
North Carolina assesses property at 100% of market value. Property owners may appeal to the County Board of Equalization and Review. North Carolina offers elderly and disabled exclusions for qualifying homeowners. North Carolina has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Davidson County Senior Services
913 Greensboro Street, Lexington, NC 27292
Phone: (336) 249-0144
Senior Services
Davidson County Senior Services
913 Greensboro Street, Lexington, NC 27292
Phone: (336) 249-0144
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT
110 West Center St, Lexington, NC 27292
(336) 236-3400
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Davidson County Clerk of Superior Court, Lexington (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The Old Davidson County Courthouse (1858), NRHP-listed, now houses the Davidson County Historical Museum.
Local societies
No dedicated Davidson County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Davidson County Clerk of Superior Court – Estates Division Hall of Justice, 110 West Center Street (mail: P.O. Box 1064), Lexington, NC 27293 (336) 236-3115
Davidson County is in the Piedmont Triad region of central North Carolina, seated in Lexington. The 1858 Old Davidson County Courthouse, Classical Revival in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now houses the Davidson County Historical Museum.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
North Carolina has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Probate is handled by the Clerk of Superior Court – an elected official who serves as the ex officio judge of probate – in the county where the decedent was domiciled, under Chapter 28A of the North Carolina General Statutes. Unlike most states, North Carolina does not have a separate probate court; the Clerk’s Estates Division handles all wills, estates, and guardianship matters.
Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of Decedent (“collection by affidavit,” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-25-1 and § 28A-25-1.1) – available when the decedent’s personal property, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $20,000, or $30,000 if the surviving spouse is the sole heir and receives all property covered by the statute. Filed at least 30 days after death, using Form AOC-E-203B. Real property CANNOT be transferred through this process. If the decedent left a will, the will must first be admitted to probate and a certified copy attached to the affidavit.
Summary Administration – an abbreviated procedure available only when the surviving spouse is the sole heir.
Full Estate Administration – required for larger or more complex estates; the personal representative (called “executor” if named in a will, “administrator” if intestate) is appointed by the Clerk and receives Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
File the will (if any) and a petition with the Clerk of Superior Court, Estates Division, in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The Clerk appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors; North Carolina’s creditor claim period is typically at least three months from first publication.
The personal representative inventories the estate’s assets, pays debts and expenses, and distributes the remaining assets according to the will or North Carolina’s intestacy law, reporting back to the Clerk at key stages.
The estate is closed once a final accounting is filed and approved by the Clerk.
What it costs
Filing fees for full estate administration generally follow the statewide statutory schedule, which scales with the estate’s value.
North Carolina repealed its state estate tax in 2013. There is no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax – only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
500 West Center St, Lexington, NC 27292
(336) 242-2100
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
900 Greensboro St, Lexington, NC 27292
(336) 242-2190
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
27 West Center St, Lexington, NC 27292
(336) 242-2300
Social Services
220 South Main St, Lexington, NC 27292
(336) 242-2400
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Davidson County Health Department – Lexington, NC
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Lexington
Population: 168,000
Tier: 2
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Davidson County facilities via Amazon.
