North Carolina State Treasurer

History of the office

The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, adopted in 1669, provided for a treasurer to handle "all matters that concern the public revenue and treasury" with the assistance of 6 undertreasurers and 12 auditors. Despite this, early colonial governors of the Province of Carolina acted as their own treasurers due to minimal revenue. After the province incurred large debts during Cary's Rebellion and the Tuscarora War, the governor and his council appointed treasurers for each of the seven precincts of the province in 1711. In 1714 Governor Edward Hyde appointed Edward Moseley as treasurer of North Carolina and overseer of all precinct treasurers. He held the office until 1735, when he was made responsible for overseeing the "southern district" and William Downing was made responsible for the "northern district". The split system continued with different officeholders until 1776, when the North Carolina General Assembly required all treasurers to be appointed by themselves and barred them from holding other public offices.

In 1779 and 1782, four and one additional treasury districts were respectively added, bring the total number to seven. In 1784, the positions were folded into one office located in Hillsborough with a two-year term on a salary. Memucan Hunt was the first person to hold the new office. In 1795, the state treasury was relocated to Raleigh, the new capital of the state, and some of the treasurer's bookkeeping functions were given to the state comptroller. In 1868 North Carolina ratified a new constitution which stipulated that the office be filled by a popularly elected candidate with four-year terms. From 1887 to 1899, the treasurer was responsible for oversight of the state banking industry.

North Carolina received a triple A bond credit rating for the first time in the early 1960s—during the tenure of State Treasurer Edwin M. Gill—and maintained the rating throughout the rest of his time in office. The Department of State Treasurer was created by the General Assembly in 1971. John Haywood, who served for 40 years from 1787 until 1827, was the longest-tenured treasurer.

Powers, duties, and structure

The state treasurer is a constitutional officer. Article III, Section 7, of the Constitution of North Carolina stipulates the popular election of the treasurer every four years. The office holder is not subject to term limits. In the event of a vacancy in the office, the Governor of North Carolina has the authority to appoint a successor until a candidate is elected at the next general election for members of the General Assembly. They sit on the North Carolina Council of State

The treasurer leads the Department of State Treasurer, which has six divisions: Retirement Systems Division, State Health Plan Division, Investment Management Division, State and Local Government Finance Division, Financial Operations Division, and Unclaimed Property Division. The Local Government Commission is a subagency of the department and the treasurer serves ex officio as chairman of the body. The treasurer is the sole fiduciary of the governmental employee pension fund and manages the State Health Plan. As with all Council of State officers, the treasurer's salary is fixed by the General Assembly and cannot be reduced during their term of office. As of 2025, the treasurer's annual salary is $168,384.

List of State Treasurers

Colonial Treasurers

• Edward Moseley, 1715–1735

Northern District

• William Downing, 1735–1739
• William Smith, 1739–1740
• John Hodgson, 1740–1747
• Thomas Barker, 1748–1752
• John Haywood, 1752–1754
• Thomas Barker, 1754–1764
• Joseph Montfort, 1764–1775
• Samuel Johnston, 1775

Southern District

• Edward Moseley, 1735–1749
• Eleazer Allen, 1749–1750
• John Starkey, 1750–1765
• Samuel Swann, 1765–1766
• John Ashe, 1766–1773
• Richard Caswell, 1773–1775

State Treasurers

Districted

From 1777 to 1779, the State was divided into two districts, Northern and Southern, each with a treasurer. From 1779 to 1782, there were six districts, each with a treasurer, as follows: Edenton, Salisbury, Hillsboro, Halifax, New Bern, Wilmington. In 1782, a seventh district-Morgan-was created. In 1784, the district system was abandoned.

• John Ashe, 1777–1781 (Southern District, later Wilmington District)
• William Skinner, 1777–1784 (Northern District, later Edenton district)
• Green Hill, 1779–1784 (Halifax District)
• Richard Cogdell, 1779–1782 (New Bern District)
• William Cathey, 1779–1781 (Salisbury District)
• Matthew Jones, 1779–1782 (Hillsboro District)
• Timothy Bloodworth, 1781–1784 (Wilmington District)
• Robert Lanier, 1782–1784 (Salisbury District)
• Memucan Hunt, 1782–1784 (Hillsboro District)
• John Brown, 1782–1784 (Morgan District)
• Benjamin Exum, 1782–1784 (New Bern District)

Whole state

References

Works cited

References

1. "History of North Carolina Treasurers". North Carolina Department of State Treasurer.
2. Towles, Louis P.. (2006). "Treasurer". North Carolina Government & Heritage Library.
3. "History". North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks.
4. McCleary, Nancy. (January 2, 2025). "Folwell proud of record as state treasurer". The Sanford Herald.
5. "Terms of Office". North Carolina State Board of Elections.
6. (May 2011). "States' Lines of Succession of Gubernatorial Powers". National Emergency Management Association.
7. "Divisions". North Carolina Department of State Treasurer.
8. Vaillancourt, Cory. (November 9, 2022). "NC's Local Government Commission returns to its roots in Western North Carolina". Smoky Mountain News.
9. Stick, David. (2006). "Local Government Commission". North Carolina Government & Heritage Library.
10. MacMillan, Mike. (July 1, 2022). "State Treasurer Dale Folwell relishes the chance to stir it up". Business North Carolina.
11. Vaughan, Dawn Baumgartner. (March 31, 2025). "NC Gov. Josh Stein’s Cabinet salaries are mostly higher than Cooper’s. See the data". The News & Observer.
12. (December 2022). "Moseley, Edward". North Carolina Government & Heritage Library.
13. Reidinger, Martin. "Downing, William". North Carolina Government & Heritage Library.
14. Stumpf, Vernon O.. "Hodgson, John". North Carolina Government & Heritage Library.
15. Connor, R.D.D.. (1913). "North Carolina Manual".
16. (1913). "A Manual of North Carolina". North Carolina Historical Commission.
17. Wheeler, John H.. (1874). "The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina".