When European settlers first began to arrive in what is now Jones County, the natives were Tuscarora Indians. These Indians had earlier migrated from the area now known as New York and Pennsylvania, where they were part of the league of Iroquois Indians. The Tuscarora lived in bark wigwams and grew abundant crops of corn, peaches and other edible plants. Jones and Craven Counties were settled about 1710 by German Palatines and by the Swiss who were led by Baron Christopher de Graffenried. These people suffered many hardships during their first years in the new land. Soon, they were caught in the midst of Cary's Rebellion and the Tuscarora War. Homes were burned, crops were destroyed and people were killed. The Baron returned to Europe a broken man, and the settlements ceased to exist as distinct communities. Settlers were scattered along the Trent River. The river was named after the Trent River in England. Three of the leading colonial leaders were Baron Christopher de Graffenried, the young Swiss nobleman who brought some of the first settlers to the area; Nathan Bryan, a wealthy talented man who represented the New Bern District in the 4th and 5th U.S. Congress of 1775 and 1799, a man of great piety and a good public servant; and Abner Nash, who was born in eastern North Carolina.

It was on January 19, 1779, that Craven County was divided into two distinct counties and Jones County came into existence. In 1779 a portion of Carteret County was also annexed to Jones County. In 1788 a portion of Dobbs County and Carteret County were also annexed to Jones County. Jones County takes its name from an aristocratic radical named Willie Jones (whose first name was pronounced "Wylie"). In a day when wealthy landowners among the patriots of the American Revolution generally were conservatives, Willie Jones was a political activist. The plan to confederate the single, sovereign states into a nation with a national government was hotly debated. Critics of the newly signed Constitution objected that a Bill of Rights had not been included; the President had too much independence; the Senate was too autocratic; Congress had too many powers, and the national government had too much authority. Supporters of the Constitution rallied for ratification. They became known as the Federalists. Their opponents were called Anti-Federalists. One of the most distinguished and influential Anti-Federalists in the colonies, the man responsible for North Carolina's refusal to join the Union for a year after its formation, was a shrewd and wealthy planter from Halifax, Willie Jones. It was only a matter of time before North Carolina came "under the Federal roof" as the twelfth state one year later in the autumn of 1789.

Where cotton was king, today tobacco is king. According to the 1997 census, the County produced 8,649,000 pounds of tobacco to rank number 31 in the State. The County ranked 10th in cotton raised with 30,500 bales weighing 480 pounds each. Important crops were soybeans with 306,000 bushels grown and corn which checked in at 990,000 bushels. Other crops included, wheat, barley, oats, peanuts, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, strawberries, and sorghum. The County ranks 11th in the raising of hogs and pigs. Other livestock raised includes turkeys, cattle, beef cows, goats, milk cows and chickens.