Hertford is a town and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

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

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, United States. The current population of Hertford, North Carolina is 1,912 based on the 2020 census. The US Census estimates the 2021 population at 1,925. The last official US Census in 2010 recorded the population at 2,143. Hertford is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region and is part of both the Elizabeth City Micropolitan Statistical Area and the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...

region. It is named after the county town of

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, n ...

, England.

History

Hertford was originally incorporated in 1758 as the county seat for Perquimans County, first inhabited by the Yeopim Indians. County records show that the Yeopim chief Kalcacenin sold land to George Durant at the river mouth in March 1662, adjacent to land he had already sold to Samuel Pricklove. The area was settled soon afterwards, and a brick house on the site, the Newbold-White House, has been dated by

dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atm ...

to 1730; it is the oldest known brick structure in the state. Through the first part of the 20th century, Hertford thrived as a lumber town, making good use of the nearby river. The bridge that spanned the river was a floating bridge, made of steel and wood. When a boat came near and wanted passage, the bridge would be unhooked from one bank and allowed to float out of the way. When the boat had passed, lines were used to haul the free end of the bridge in and reconnect it. An swing bridge with S-shaped approaches is in use today
Local lore
claims its shape is unique in the US, but the Blaine Hill "S" Bridge predates it by over a century. Hertford is the hometown of baseball pitcher

Catfish Hunter James Augustus Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999), nicknamed "Catfish", was a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). From to , he was a pitcher for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. Hunter wa ...

. Disc jockey Wolfman Jack is buried in nearby Belvidere, and the record company he started is still located in Hertford. The Church of the Holy Trinity, Cove Grove, Fletcher-Skinner-Nixon House and Outbuildings,

Hertford Historic District Hertford Historic District is a national historic district located at Hertford, Perquimans County, North Carolina. The district encompasses 219 contributing buildings, 2 contributing sites, 1 contributing structure, and 1 contributing object in ...

, Land's End, Newbold-White House, Samuel Nixon House, Old Neck Historic District, Perquimans County Courthouse, and Sutton-Newby House are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Geography

Hertford is located at (36.187292, -76.472345). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), 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 Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (0.74%) is water. Hertford is east of

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

. Hertford is also south of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 1,934 people, 1,045 households, and 612 families residing in the town.

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 2,143 people, 875 households, 553 families, and 1,062 housing units residing in the town. The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the town was 48.1% African American, 46.5% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 3.5% some other race, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic Latino of any race were 4.8% of the population. There were 875 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.9% were

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

living together, 25.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 32.8% of all households had individuals under 18 and 31% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.01. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.7% with an age of 19 or younger, 13.7% in their twenties, 14.8% from 30 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.0 males. In 2008, the median income for a household in the town was $19,681, and the median income for a family was $24,524. Males had a median income of $24,803 versus $17,938 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $13,502. About 33.6% of families and 39.2% 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 56.6% of those under age 18 and 21.0% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Hertford is served by U.S. Route 17 (US 17) which connects the town with

Edenton Edenton is a town in, and the county seat of, Chowan County, North Carolina, United States, on Albemarle Sound. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. In recent years Edenton has ...

to the south and Elizabeth City to the north. A

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city ...

of US 17 also exists, which connects Hertford to the neighboring town of Winfall and crosses over the

Perquimans River The Perquimans River is a coastal waterway in Northeastern North Carolina in the United States. Located entirely within Perquimans County, North Carolina, Perquimans County, the river drains directly to the Albemarle Sound between Durant's Neck o ...

on the "S-Bridge." NC Highway 37 also travels through Hertford, concurrent with US 17. Local public bus transportation is provided by the Inter-County Public Transportation Authority (ICPTA), with service to Pasquotank, Perquimans, Camden, Chowan, and Currituck counties.

Education

Perquimans County Schools Perquimans County Schools is the public school district responsible for Perquimans County, North Carolina. The district consists of four schools: *Perquimans County Central School in Winfall serving grades PK-2 *Hertford Grammar School in Her ...

**Hertford Grammar School serving grades 3-5 **

Perquimans County High School Perquimans County High School is a public high school located in Hertford, North Carolina. It is the only high school in Perquimans County. Perquimans County High School's enrollment as of 2010 is 519 students. The student body is 59% White; 39% ...

serving grades 9-12 Grades PK-2 and 6-8 are served by the county schools located in Winfall.

Industry

Agriculture is the chief industry of the area.

Notable people

* Beulah Burke, one of the original founders of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen s ...

sorority *

Lillie Burke Lillie Burke (died December 16, 1949) was an American woman who was one of the original founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in 1908, the first sorority founded by African-American women. Burke and her sister Beulah Burke were two of the nine c ...

, one of the original founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha and sister of Beulah Burke * Edward "Little Buster" Forehand, soul and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

musician * Jim "Catfish" Hunter, former MLB pitcher, 8x All-Star selection and 5x

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

champion, member of the

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

* Abe Manley, sports executive * Harry Skinner, U.S. Representative from

Louise Nixon Sutton Louise Nixon Sutton (November 4, 1925 – May 14, 2006) was a mathematician. She was the first African-American woman to be awarded a PhD in mathematics education by New York University, and the first chair of the Department of Physical Science ...

, mathematicianLouise Nixon Sutton, Mathematician of the African Diaspora
''The Mathematics Department of The State University of New York at Buffalo''. Retrieved 16 June 2019.

References

External links

Town of Hertford, North Carolina
{{authority control Towns in Perquimans County, North Carolina Towns in North Carolina County seats in North Carolina Elizabeth City, North Carolina micropolitan area Populated places established in 1758 1758 establishments in North Carolina Historic Albemarle Tour