Johnston County, North Carolina

Smithfield is a town in and the county seat of Johnston County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,292. The town is located near North Carolina's Research Triangle and is about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of downtown Raleigh. The Raleigh-Durham-Cary combined statistical area has a population over 2 million residents. Smithfield is home to the Ava Gardner Museum, Wild Bill's Western Town named Shadowhawk, and is situated along the Neuse River, where visitors enjoy the annual Ham & Yam Festival, walks along the Buffalo Creek Greenway, and the historic downtown district.

Johnston County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located at Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina. It was designed by architect Harry Barton and built in 1920–1921. It is a three-story, rectangular steel frame building with a cut stone veneer in the Classical Revival style. It features a four-column portico in antis, a tetrastyle pedimented portico, and a stone balustrade at the roofline. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Brooklyn Historic District is a national historic district located at Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina. It encompasses 88 contributing buildings in a predominantly residential section of Smithfield. It includes notable examples of Queen Anne style architecture and buildings dating from about the 1870s through the 1940s. Located in the district is the separately listed Hood-Strickland House. Other notable buildings include the Smithfield Elementary School (1912-1913), the Smithfield Steam Laundry (c. 1902), Woodall-Fleming House (c. 1870), Davis-Boyette House (1889), Ellington-Holland House (c. 1900), Willis Henry Austin House (1912), Dr. Thel Hooks House (1916), and Ragsdale-McLemore House (1922). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Hood-Strickland House, also known as the T. R. Hood House, is a historic home located at Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina. It was built between 1887 and 1889, and is a two-story, three-bay, T-shaped Italianate style frame dwelling. It has a tall clipped gable roof, bracketed cornice, three sided bays, tall corbelled chimneys, segmental arched windows, and a decorative porch. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Smithfield Masonic Lodge, also known as the Brooks Building, is a historic Masonic Lodge located at Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina, United States It is believed to be built in about 1854, and had moved to its present location in 1915–1917. It is a two-story, three-bay, rectangular vernacular Greek Revival style frame building. It has a gable front temple form and is sheathed in plain weatherboard. Fellowship Lodge No. 84 occupied the building until the 1940s, and the Smithfield Woman's Club met in the building from 1917 through 1933. The building house Smithfield's first public library operated by the Smithfield Woman's Club. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Hood Brothers Building, also known as Hood's Corner, is a historic commercial building located at Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina. It was built in 1923, and is a two-story, five bay by six bay, rectangular steel frame building with a brick veneer in the Classical Revival style. The building incorporates two storefronts; the second and third floors were occupied by offices. The storefronts were for many years occupied by a drug store and barber shop. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It is located in the Downtown Smithfield Historic District.

Downtown Smithfield Historic District is a national historic district located at Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina. It encompasses 24 contributing buildings in the central business district of Smithfield. It includes notable examples of Classical Revival and Art Deco style architecture and buildings dating from about the 1890s through the 1930s. Located in the district is the separately listed Hood Brothers Building. Other notable buildings include the Austin Building (1921), First Citizens Bank (1913), Carolina Telephone Building (1913), Municipal Building (1937), and the Howell Theater (1935). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

The Ava Gardner Museum is a museum dedicated to American actress Ava Gardner. Located in downtown Smithfield, North Carolina, the museum holds an extensive collection of artifacts from Gardner's career and private life. The museum usually attracts 7,000 visitors a year.

The former US Post Office is a historic post office building located at Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina. It was designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect and built in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration. It is a two-story, five-bay, rectangular brick building in the Colonial Revival style. It consists of three distinct sections: the two-story front block; a one-story rectangular center block; and a two-level rear block. The front facade features fluted Ionic order pilasters rising to a frieze supporting a broken pediment. The building housed federal government offices until 1990. The building was renovated in 1991 to house law offices. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

North Smithfield Historic District is a national historic district located at Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina. It encompasses 120 contributing buildings, 3 contributing sites, and 1 contributing structure in a predominantly residential section of Smithfield. It includes notable examples of Italianate and Queen Anne style architecture and buildings dating from about the 1850s through the 1940s. Notable buildings include the Lunceford-Narron House (c. 1885), Massey-Wilson House (c. 1885), Stevens-Mattox House (c. 1910), Allred-Pou-Wellons-McGowan House (c. 1905), (former) Smithfield Water Power Plant (c. 1913), and St Ann's Catholic Church (1935). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

West Smithfield was an unincorporated community and census-designated place and is now a district of Smithfield, North Carolina in Johnston County, North Carolina, United States. The population was last recorded separately from Smithfield in 2000, when 59 people resided in the CDP.

Johnston Community College (JCC) is a public community college in Smithfield, North Carolina. It is located 30 miles (48 km) east of Raleigh, near the junction of I-95 and US 70. The 175-acre (0.71 km2) main campus has 11 student buildings, an auditorium capable of seating 1,011 people, a 4,800-square-foot multi-use/banquet hall, four vocational shops/labs, a 16-acre (65,000 m2) arboretum, and three ponds. Johnston Community College has off-campus centers throughout Johnston County, including the Cleveland Center, the Workforce Development Center, and the Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center, a 2,800-acre (11 km2) wildlife preserve, and a teaching facility. JCC is the home of the North Carolina Truck Driver Training school, the oldest truck driver training program in the United States. JCC also offers the programs of the Johnston County Career and Technical Leadership Academy.