Old Courthouse Nursery, LLC was founded in May of 2000 to produce liner material for the wholesale nursery trade. Our customers are primarily other nurseries.  We produce woody ornamentals (shrubs) and trees in containers. Container sizes range from 2” rooted cutting plugs to 25-gallon pots.  Our plants are grown in SpinOut containers.

The Facilities
The nursery is currently 40 acres in size with about 25 acres of actual container/greenhouse production. The nursery is totally irrigated. The primary water sources are deep wells with surface water (pond) and the county water system as a backup.

There is 35,000 square feet of greenhouse area used for propagation and winter protection. Most of the cuttings for propagation come from our own nursery stock, but we do obtain some cuttings from other nurseries.

The nursery currently has 15 year-round employees and 10-15 seasonal employees.

About Our Name
The name Old Courthouse Nursery was chosen because the site of the Duplin County Courthouse (1754 to 1784) is on the property.  In 1784 Sampson County was created from the western portion of Duplin County. The present Sampson/Duplin County Line bisects the nursery.

Another unique feature of the nursery is that originally it was the Turkey Research Farm for Carroll’s Foods. The existing buildings are being used as office, storage and maintenance space.

A Word About the Owner
The owner of Old Courthouse Nursery is Jeffrey Matthews, grandson of O. S. Carroll, founder of Carroll’s Foods. Jeffrey is the son of the late Joyce Carroll Matthews. Old Courthouse Nursery strives to carry on both the rich historical and family traditions that laid the foundation for the nursery operation.