Chowan County ( )
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Retrieved February 8, 2013. is one of the 100

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,708. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Edenton. The county was created between 1668 and 1671 as Shaftesbury Precinct and later renamed Chowan Precinct. It gained county status in 1739.

History

Chowan was formed in 1670 as a precinct, originally called Shaftesbury, in Albemarle County. By 1685 it had been renamed for the Chowan Indian tribe, which lived in the northeastern part of the

Carolina Colony The Province of Carolina was a colony of the Kingdom of England (1663–1707) and later the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until the Carolinas were partitioned into North and Sou ...

. Chowan County is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by

Albemarle Sound Albemarle Sound () is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan River, Chowan and Roanoke River, Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean b ...

Chowan River The Chowan River (cho-WAHHN)
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Charles Eden, was established. In 1722 it was designated, and has continued to be, the

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the Albemarle Artillery was recruited in 1862 from Chowan and Tyrrell men at Edenton by local attorney William Badham, Jr. After cannons were recast from bronze donated as bells from local courthouses and churches to arm the battery, the unit was renamed the Edenton Bell Battery. They named their cannon: ''Columbia'', ''St. Paul'', ''Fannie Roulac'', and ''Edenton''. Two of the guns, long thought lost, have been returned to Edenton in recent years. The ''St. Paul'' and the ''Edenton'' now can be seen on display at Edenton's waterfront park. The county was named after the historical Chowanoc American Indian tribe, also called Chowan.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (26.10%) is water. It is the smallest county in North Carolina by land area and third-smallest by total area.

State and local protected sites

* Historic Edenton * James Iredell House

Major water bodies

Chowan River The Chowan River (cho-WAHHN)
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Gates County – north *

Perquimans County Perquimans County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 13,005. Its county seat is Hertford, North Carolina, Hertford. The Harve ...

– east * Tyrrell County – southeast * Washington County – south *

Bertie County Bertie County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina Col ...

– west * Hertford County – northwest

Major highways

* * * * * *

Major infrastructure

* Northeastern Regional Airport

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 13,708 people, 6,133 households, and 3,986 families residing in the county.

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 14,793 people, 5,580 households, and 4,006 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 6,443 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 62.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 34.3%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.8% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. 3.2% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 5,580 households, out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.00% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 15.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 25.30% 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 2.94. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.90% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 24.10% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 88.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,928, and the median income for a family was $36,986. Males had a median income of $29,719 versus $19,826 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $15,027. About 13.70% of families and 17.60% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 25.50% of those under age 18 and 16.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Chowan County is a member of the

Albemarle Commission Albemarle may refer to: People * Albemarle (given name) * Duke of Albemarle, includes a list of the dukes * Earl of Albemarle, includes a list of the earls Places United States * Albemarle, North Carolina, a city * Albemarle Sound, an estuary on t ...

regional council of governments. Chowan County is represented by Bobby Hanig in the 1st district of the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The Senate ...

Communities

Town

* Edenton (county seat and largest community)

Townships

* Township 1, Edenton * Township 2, Middle * Township 3, Upper * Township 4, Yeopim

Census-designated places

* Arrowhead Beach *

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

* Chowan Beach

Other unincorporated places

* Rockyhock * Selwin * Sign Pine * Tyner

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1739 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1739