Micro, NC

Micro is a Johnston County town where the 2020 census counted 458 residents, up from 441 in 2010. The community began around 1890 along the Short-Cut rail line of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, a route that pulled several Johnston County towns into the railroad era. When the town received its charter in 1899, it was called Jerome for local landowner Jerome Creech; the name changed to Micro in 1905 to avoid confusion with another Jerome in North Carolina.

That rail-town beginning still supplies Micro's starting point, even as everyday travel follows the county's roads. North Johnston Middle School and North Johnston High School connect the town to the larger school community around Micro, while rural roads lead through farms and scattered homes. The town's name is brief, but its railroad origin is unusually clear. The town is small in area, but its story sits inside Johnston County's broader shift from older farm routes to rail-linked markets and, later, modern highway commuting.