Brunswick County was originally inhabited by natives we call the Cape Fear Indians (we never learned what they called themselves, but they were kin to the Waccamaw and the Choctaw Indians), and their name for the area was Chicora. Chicora extended inland into present-day Columbus County and well into South Carolina (present-day Horry County).

The first European to land on Brunswick County soil was, in fact, an Italian, in 1524. Giovanni Verrazano, in the service of the king of France, landed on the coast in what he described as thirty-four degrees latitude. If true, this would be New Hanover County, but with imprecise instruments, he could very well have landed in Brunswick County.

Two years later, in 1526, a Spaniard named Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon came to establish a colony. In what he described as latitude 33 degrees and 40 minutes, he entered a large river which he named the Rio Jordan, evidence of the first discovery of the Cape Fear River. De Ayllon did not settle along the Cape Fear, but went further south to Winyah Bay in South Carolina, then abandoned this settlement soon thereafter.

In 1629, King Charles I of England granted all of present-day North and South Carolina to proprietors, and this grant was named Carolana, latin for Charles. The original proprietors never settled in Carolana, and the grant expired. In August 1662, William Hilton, of the Massachusettes Bay Colony reached the Cape Fear River, and he explored it deep into the interior of the colony.

One of Hilton's explorations included the "sounding" of the "Indian River" (now Town Creek) with help from the local Indians, which he described as friendly, but poor and simple with an inclination to be thievish. Hilton purchased a considerable tract of land along the Indian River, but apparently never settled there.

Upon receiving Hilton's news, many New Englanders requested grants along the Cape Fear River in 1663, and even tried to settle. After a short while, they returned home - the reason therefore now not known.

On March 24, 1663, King Charles II signed the charter by which he granted to eight of his favorites all the land between 31 and 36 degrees latitude, and this was named Carolina in his honor. Carolina extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific. William Hilton and John Vassal both brought settlers to the Brunswick area (originally named Clarendon County) in 1663, and within two years it was reported to have over 800 persons spread out for some sixty miles along the Cape Fear River. The center of the settlements was Charles Town, the first community of that name in Carolina, and this was located on the west bank of the Cape Fear River at or near the mouth of what is now called Town Creek. However, by 1667 Clarendon County was completely abandoned. Settlers had become disillusioned with the harshness of the wilderness, and the local Indians made life difficult for them. So, they packed up and left.

From 1667 to 1725, few Englishmen attempted to settle in Brunswick County. Thomas James was granted 1,000 acres on the west side of the Cape Fear River in 1714 and he tried to settle there. In 1715, he was found by Maurice Moore, he and his family murdered by the local Indians. In 1724, Jacob Johnson and his wife Ann were known to be living illegally in the area (having not been granted any lands by the proprietors), but they did not stay long. There are hints of merchant activities in and around the area from 1700 to 1725, but there are no detailed records available to substantiate this.

The earliest legal grant was to Landgrave Thomas Smith on May 8, 1713, with the conveyance of Smith Island (now Bald Head Island) and most of present-day Southport. In 1725, settlement began in earnest. Grants were dated June 3, 1725, with lands received by Maurice Moore, Samuel Swann, Charles Harrison, and Eleazar Allen. Maurice Moore transferred many acres to his brother, Roger Moore, who developed what is now called Orton Plantation.

Brunswick Town was the first County Seat of the newly formed Brunswick County. It remained so until 1779, well after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. In 1779, Lockwood Folly was established as the County Seat, and the Court was convened at the house of John Bell until the courthouse was built in 1786. On November 28,1808, the County Seat was moved to Smithville, a town established in 1792 at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Smithville was later named Southport, and the County Seat remained there until 1975, when it was moved to Bolivia, the current County Seat.

Brunswick County was divided into several districts since inception, but in 1812 these were stabilized into six: Northwest, Town Creek, Smithville, Shallotte, Lockwood Folly, and Waccamaw - all of which are current townships.

From the earliest settlement in Brunswick Town in 1726 to the late 1860s, towns began to spring up around Brunswick County. Lockwood Folly sprang up, became the County Seat, then faded into oblivion.

In the earliest reference in 1734, a traveler crossed the Little Charlotte River on a ferry, with a settlement near the ferry called Little Charlotte. By 1807, a bridge spanned the Little Charlotte River where the ferry once was. By the 1830s, Little Charlotte was now called Shallotte, the river was now called the Shallotte River, and a post office was established there in 1837. Shallotte was incorporated in 1899. Recent findings of old maps of this area indicates that the Shallot River was so named as early as 1747 and definitely by 1757 - so, the name of Shallotte probably goes back well before the 1830s.

In the early 1800s, roads were constructed from Wilmington to Shallotte and on to Georgetown, South Carolina, an important Naval Stores area. These roads were mostly sand and nearly impassable. Therefore, river trade was the easiest way. A trading post was established in the 1820s well up the Lockwood Folly River, near the new road between Wilmington and Shallotte. This trading post was originally called the "Old Georgetown Way," even shortened to "Old G.W.," but locals finally named it Supply in the late 1860s.

The town of Bolivia was established in the 1890s and was incorporated in 1911. In 1975, the County Seat was moved from Southport to Bolivia because Bolivia was closer to the center of the county and could provide better service to the population.

The US Army Corps of Engineers dredged the US Intracoastal Waterway in the 1930s. Upon completion of this several "barrier islands" became attractive properties immediately after World War II. Development began in earnest in the 1950s, with the boom beginning in the 1960s. Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach, Sunset Beach, Long Beach, Yaupon Beach, and Caswell Beach have all been incorporated since the 1950s, and are tremendous vacation attractions today.

Further inland, other small towns sprang up. Exum came into being. Ash was home to Waccamaw High School until all schools were consolidated in 1973. Longwood, Grissettown, and Thomasboro came along in the southern part of the county. As did Calabash (home of world famous seafood) and Hickman's Crossroads. On the northern end of the county, Maco, Bishop, Bellville, and Winnabow grew into towns. While, in the middle of the county remains the ever-present Green Swamp, the largest swamp in North Carolina.

Boiling Springs Lakes was started in the 1960s, and is a favorite golfing community near Southport.