 Sarecta was the first incorporated town in Duplin County, North Carolina, established in 1787. In 1736, Duplin County (then upper New Hanover County) was the destination of several hundred Ulster Scots (Scotch-Irish) and a handful of Swiss Protestants. They settled on a plot of land, 71,160 acres between the N. E. Cape Fear River and Black River, obtained from the Crown by Henry McCulloh Esq. of London. Sarecta, originally called Sorcata, was the first settlement in the region on the Northeast Cape Fear.
When Sampson County was created out of a portion of Duplin County in 1784, there was a need to establish a new court house in a more central location. Sarecta and the present location of Kenansville were the two candidates, and General James Kenan (for whom Kenansville is named) cast the deciding vote against Sarecta.
By act of the North Carolina General Assembly on January 6, 1787, the town was established under the spelling "Sarecto" and was 100 acres in size including lots and property for a town commons. In the early 19th century, gazetteers would typically describe "Sarecto" as the "chief town" in Duplin County.
The town was named for Soracte Mountain near Rome. It still had its town charter until 1984 when North Carolina did a sweep to revoke the charters of towns which no longer had a functioning government.
The town exported raw materials to Wilmington.
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