# Hertford County, North Carolina

Hertford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,552. Its county seat is Winton. It is classified within the region known in the 21st century as the Inner Banks.

## History

Hertford County is home of the Meherrin Indian Tribe, descendants of indigenous people who had inhabited the region for many centuries. After decades of encroachment by English colonists, the Tribe moved south from Virginia, where they settled in 1706 on a reservation abandoned by the Chowanoke. This six-square-mile reservation was at Parker's Ferry near the mouth of the Meherrin River. It was confirmed by a treaty of 1726. However, they were not able to keep the reservation lands.
European explorers and surveyors visited the land in the late 1500s and 1600s. The first land grant to a white settler dates to 1703. Early settlers were of English, Scottish, Scotch-Irish, Irish, and French descent. They introduced a plantation system of agriculture. Between the eventual communities of Winton, Ahoskie, and Cofield, a community of nonwhite people arose in what would eventually be dubbed the Winton Triangle. The first recorded nonwhite landowner in the area dates to the 1740s.
A new county was first proposed by Representative John Campbell of the North Carolina colonial legislature on December 12, 1758, when he presented the body with a petition from area residents who were frustrated by the distances they had to travel to attend court sessions. Representative Benjamin Wynns introduced another bill in 1759 following the presentation of a second petition and it was passed and ratified as law on December 19, 1759, creating Hertford County from parts of Bertie County, Chowan County, and Northampton County, effective May 1, 1760. It was named for Francis Seymour-Conway, Marquess of Hertford. The county court convened at Cotton's Ferry until the town of Winton was incorporated upon land gifted by Wynns and designated the seat of government in 1766, and a courthouse was subsequently constructed. In 1764, the border between Hertford and Northampton was slightly altered. In 1779, parts of Hertford County were combined with parts of Chowan County and Perquimans County to form Gates County. In 1830 the original courthouse was burned, but was subsequently rebuilt.
Hertford's economy prospered in the Antebellum period, underpinned by slavery-supported agriculture and the use of the Meherrin and Chowan rivers as trade routes to southern Virginia. Murfreesboro developed with the construction of several large homes funded by the prosperity. The Chowan Baptist Female Institute was also created in the county in 1841. The 1860 U.S. census recorded the county's population at 9,504 people, of whom 47 percent were enslaved and about 12 percent were free people of color.
During the American Civil War, North Carolina seceded from the United States and joined the Confederate States of America. Men from Hertford County served in several Confederate States Army infantry and cavalry units. Federal forces intervened in eastern North Carolina early in the conflict, and in February 1862 they captured Roanoke Island, exposing territory along the Chowan River vulnerable to further penetration. Federal gunboats were subsequently dispatched up the river to destroy rail bridges north of Winton but were repulsed in an ambush by Confederate artillery. The following day federal troops landed at Winton and set most of its buildings ablaze, including the county courthouse, leading to the loss of numerous official county records and documents.
After the war, Winton slowly rebuilt, with a new courthouse erected in 1870. The county's economy continued to be based in agriculture, though it underwent changes. The abolition of slavery led to the adoption of a tenant farming system and increasing emphasis was placed on the cotton cash crop, leading to a decline in subsistence farming. Peanuts cultivation was introduced in about 1880 and eventually overtook cotton production. The local lumber and fishing industries grew in importance in the latter portion of the 19th century. In 1877, a small portion of Bertie was annexed to Hertford. In 1884, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad began construction on its Norfolk—Rocky Mount Line, which traveled through the Hertford communities of Ahoskie, Cofield, and Tunis. The railroad fueled growth in Ahoskie, drawing industry and leading it to surpass Winton as the county's most economically significant town.
In 1907, Hertford County's boundary with Northampton County was further delineated by state law. Damage to cotton crops by the boll weevil in the early 1900s led the county's agricultural sector to diversify into livestock as well as tobacco and the production of fruits and vegetables. In the 1950s, the county government invested in the construction of new facilities, including the erection of a new courthouse in 1956.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 360.40 square miles (933.4 km$^2$), of which 353.16 square miles (914.7 km$^2$) is land and 7.24 square miles (18.8 km$^2$) (2.01%) is water.

### State and local protected area

* Chowan Swamp Game Land (part)

### Major water bodies

* Ahoskie River
* Cutawhiskie Creek
* Chowan River
* Indian Creek
* Meherrin River
* Panther Creek
* Potecasi Creek
* Tukey Creek
* Wiccacon River

### Adjacent counties

* Southampton County, Virginia – north
* Gates County – east
* Chowan County – southeast
* Bertie County – south
* Northampton County – west

### Major highways

* US 13
* US 158
* US 158 Bus.
* US 258
* NC 11
* NC 35
* NC 42
* NC 45
* NC 305
* NC 461
* NC 561

### Major infrastructure

* Parker's Ferry, river ferry across the Meherrin River

## Demographics
### 2020 census

Hertford County racial composition :
| Race | Number | Percentage |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 6,721 | 31.19% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 12,215 | 56.68% |
| Native American | 188 | 0.87% |
| Asian | 113 | 0.52% |
| Pacific Islander | 3 | 0.01% |
| Other/Mixed | 733 | 3.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,579 | 7.33% |
As of the 2020 census, there were 21,552 people, 8,845 households, and 5,419 families residing in the county.

### 2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 24,669 people, 8,953 households, and 6,240 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 people per square mile (25 people/km$^2$). There were 9,724 housing units at an average density of 28 units per square mile (11 units/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 60.5% Black or African American, 35.6% White, 1.1% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.8% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. 1.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 8,953 households, out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.80% were married couples living together, 19.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.30% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.30% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 85.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $26,422, and the median income for a family was $32,002. Males had a median income of $26,730 versus $20,144 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,641. About 15.90% of families and 18.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.30% of those under age 18 and 21.00% of those age 65 or over.

## Government and politics

Hertford County is a member of the Mid-East Commission regional council of governments.
As of October 2022, 66 percent of registered voters in Hertford County are Democrats—the highest Democratic registration rate statewide—while Republicans have their lowest county registration rate.
Rivers Correctional Institution, a private prison operated by the GEO Group which operates under contract from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and houses many felons who committed crimes in Washington, DC, is 1 mile (1.6 km) from Winton.
United States presidential election results for Hertford County, North Carolina :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 3,561 | 36.18% | 6,191 | 62.90% | 91 | 0.92% |
| 2020 | 3,479 | 32.72% | 7,097 | 66.74% | 58 | 0.55% |
| 2016 | 3,099 | 30.42% | 6,910 | 67.84% | 177 | 1.74% |
| 2012 | 3,007 | 27.54% | 7,843 | 71.84% | 68 | 0.62% |
| 2008 | 3,089 | 29.00% | 7,513 | 70.54% | 48 | 0.45% |
| 2004 | 2,942 | 36.18% | 5,141 | 63.22% | 49 | 0.60% |
| 2000 | 2,382 | 30.16% | 5,484 | 69.44% | 31 | 0.39% |
| 1996 | 1,823 | 25.86% | 4,856 | 68.89% | 370 | 5.25% |
| 1992 | 2,208 | 28.78% | 4,609 | 60.08% | 855 | 11.14% |
| 1988 | 2,977 | 37.54% | 4,943 | 62.33% | 10 | 0.13% |
| 1984 | 3,176 | 41.27% | 4,498 | 58.45% | 21 | 0.27% |
| 1980 | 1,854 | 30.59% | 4,102 | 67.69% | 104 | 1.72% |
| 1976 | 1,517 | 27.53% | 3,986 | 72.34% | 7 | 0.13% |
| 1972 | 2,794 | 58.34% | 1,928 | 40.26% | 67 | 1.40% |
| 1968 | 1,125 | 17.04% | 3,275 | 49.60% | 2,203 | 33.36% |
| 1964 | 994 | 20.09% | 3,953 | 79.91% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 781 | 20.10% | 3,105 | 79.90% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 729 | 21.21% | 2,708 | 78.79% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 579 | 16.84% | 2,859 | 83.16% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 196 | 8.04% | 2,165 | 88.80% | 77 | 3.16% |
| 1944 | 125 | 5.89% | 1,996 | 94.11% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 92 | 3.60% | 2,464 | 96.40% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 84 | 3.48% | 2,327 | 96.52% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 88 | 4.56% | 1,835 | 95.08% | 7 | 0.36% |
| 1928 | 393 | 27.62% | 1,030 | 72.38% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 164 | 14.92% | 932 | 84.80% | 3 | 0.27% |
| 1920 | 221 | 16.68% | 1,104 | 83.32% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 209 | 17.61% | 977 | 82.31% | 1 | 0.08% |
| 1912 | 61 | 6.72% | 742 | 81.72% | 105 | 11.56% |

## Economy

Hertford County benefits from a larger industrial presence than some of its neighboring counties. Several large employers are located in Hertford County, including a privately run federal prison, Chowan University, a Nucor steel mill, several Perdue poultry processing facilities, an aluminum extrusion facility in Winton, and a lumber-processing facility in Ahoskie. These industries, combined with a typical range of local retail, restaurant and service businesses, combine to give Hertford County one of the lowest unemployment rates in Northeastern North Carolina. The larger area has historically lagged behind the rest of the state in terms of economic development.

## Education

Hertford County Public Schools has seven schools ranging from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. These include three high schools (the main high school being Hertford County High School), one middle school, and three elementary schools. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction rated the county school system as "low-performing" for the 2021–2022 school year.

## Media

Hertford County is served by the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald newspaper. There are five radio stations in Hertford County: WDLZ FM 98.3, an Adult Contemporary radio station and WWDR AM 1080, an Adult Urban Contemporary radio station, are located in Murfreesboro. WQDK FM 99.3, a Country Music radio station and WRCS AM 970, an Urban Gospel radio station, are located in Ahoskie. WBKU FM 91.7, a non-commercial, Contemporary Christian Music radio station which also broadcasts programming from the American Family Radio network, is located in Ahoskie.

## Communities
### Towns

* Ahoskie (largest community)
* Como
* Harrellsville
* Murfreesboro
* Winton (county seat)

### Census-designated place

* Cofield

### Townships

* Ahoskie
* Harrellsville
* Maneys Neck
* Murfreesboro
* St. John's
* Winton