Jones County is located in southeastern North Carolina, eight miles from the Atlantic Ocean and 85 miles east-southeast of Raleigh. Jones County is bounded by Carteret, Craven, Lenoir, Duplin and Onslow Counties. In area, Jones County consists of 467 square miles of flat to undulating land making it 50th in size in the State. The Trent River meanders through the County causing one to suggest that every farm in the county drains into the Trent. However, the southern boundary with Onslow County is formed by the White Oak River. Much of the County is contained in the Great Dover Swamp in the north, White Oak Pocosin in the south central portion, and Lake Pocosin to the east. The areas are fertile, but to date have been of somewhat limited usage. They do provide excellent forest lands and excellent environments for a rich variety of wildlife. To this end, Jones County has been a leading provider of lumber and has become well known among outdoorsmen. Jones County, along with Onslow County, contains the largest forest laboratory in the nation, Hoffman Forest. The 78,000- acre laboratory which covers the White Oak Pocosin was established in 1934 by the N.C. Forest Foundation and is used as a forestry laboratory by students of N.C. State University. Another large part of the county makes up a part of the Croatan National Forest. Formed in 1932 from parts of Jones, Carteret and Craven Counties, it consists of 294,610 acres. These areas make up 65% of Jones County.