Hertford County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 sove ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,552. Its

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 st ...

is Winton. It is classified within the region known in the 21st century as the

Inner Banks The Inner Banks is a neologism made up by developers and tourism promoters to describe the inland coastal region of eastern North Carolina. Without historical precedent, the term "Inner Banks" is an early 21st-century construct that is part of a ...

History

Hertford County is home of the

Meherrin The Meherrin Nation ( autonym: Kauwets'a:ka, "People of the Water") is one of seven state-recognized nations of Native Americans in North Carolina. They reside in rural northeastern North Carolina, near the river of the same name on the Virgini ...

Indian Tribe, descendants of

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original 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 The Chowanoke, also spelled Chowanoc, are an Algonquian-language Native American tribe who historically inhabited the coastal area of the Upper South of the United States. At the time of the first English contacts in 1585 and 1586, they were th ...

. This six-square-mile reservation was at Parker's Ferry near the mouth of the

Meherrin River The Meherrin River is a long 6th order tributary to the Chowan River that joins in Hertford County, North Carolina. A twenty-foot-high dam on the river creates a reservoir in Emporia. For most of its length, the Meherrin is not large enough f ...

. It was confirmed by a treaty of 1726.Brenda Linton and Leslie S. Stewart, ''Economic Development Assessment for the Meherrin Tribe'', University of North Carolina, Jul 2003, accessed 26 Oct 2009
/ref> However, they were not able to keep the reservation lands. The Tribe today has approximately 900 enrolled members, most living within 10–15 miles of the former reservation. The tribe is recognized by the state and is seeking Federal recognition. The Meherrin have an annual Pow Wow at the end of October. The county was formed in 1759 from parts of

Bertie County Bertie County ( , with both syllables stressed) is a county located in the northeast area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,934. Its county seat is Windsor. The county was created in 1722 as Berti ...

, Chowan County, and Northampton County. It was named for Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Earl of Hertford, later 1st Marquess of Hertford. In 1779 the northeastern part of Hertford County was combined with parts of Chowan County and

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

Gates County Gates County is a small, rural county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of North Carolina, on the border with Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,478. Its county seat is Gatesville. Gates County is includ ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water.

Major water bodies

* Ahoskie River * Cutawhiskie Creek *

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

Indian Creek *

* Panther Creek *

Potecasi Creek Potecasi Creek is a long 4th order tributary to the Meherrin River in Hertford County, North Carolina. This is the only stream of this name in the United States. Variant names According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also b ...

* Tukey Creek * Turnpike Branch * Wiccacon River

Adjacent counties

Southampton County, Virginia Southampton County is a county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. North Carolina is to the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,996. Its county seat is Courtland. History In the early 17th century ...

– north *

– east * Chowan County – southeast *

– south * Northampton County – west

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * *

Major infrastructure

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

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 of ...

, there were 21,552 people, 8,845 households, and 5,419 families residing in the county.

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 in ...

of 2010, there were 24,669 people, 8,953 households, and 6,240 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

was 64 people per square mile (25/km²). There were 9,724 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile (11/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 60.5%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 35.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 1.1% Native American, 0.5%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.8% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.0% from two or more races. 1.4% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

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 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 county was $15,641. About 15.90% of families and 18.30% 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 t ...

, 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 The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in North America, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company's ...

which operates under contract from the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

and houses many felons who committed crimes in Washington, DC, is from Winton.Pierre, Robert E. "N.C. Prison Doesn't Serve D.C. Inmates Well, Critics Say." ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

''. October 14, 2007. p
1

. Retrieved on February 5, 2016.

Economy

Several large employers are located in Hertford County, including a privately run federal prison,

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

Nucor Nucor Corporation is an American producer of steel and related products based in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the largest steel producer in the United States, the largest "mini-mill" steelmaker (i.e. it uses electric arc furnaces to melt s ...

steel mill, several

Perdue Perdue may refer to: * Perdue (surname) * Rural Municipality of Perdue No. 346, Saskatchewan, Canada ** Perdue, Saskatchewan, Canada * Perdue Farms Perdue Farms is the parent company of Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness, based in Salisbu ...

poultry processing facilities, an

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

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 Inner Banks is a neologism made up by developers and tourism promoters to describe the inland coastal region of eastern North Carolina. Without historical precedent, the term "Inner Banks" is an early 21st-century construct that is part of a ...

. The larger area has historically lagged behind the rest of the state in terms of economic development.

Education

Hertford County Public Schools Hertford County Public Schools (also called Hertford County Schools) is a Pre-kindergarten, PK–Twelfth grade, 12 graded school district serving Hertford County, North Carolina. The Pre-tertiary-education accreditation, accredited district is led ...

has seven schools ranging from pre-kindergarten to

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

. These include three high schools (the main high school being

Hertford County High School Hertford County Public Schools (also called Hertford County Schools) is a Pre-kindergarten, PK–Twelfth grade, 12 graded school district serving Hertford County, North Carolina. The Pre-tertiary-education accreditation, accredited district is led ...

), one

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

, and three

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

. The

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

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 The ''Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald'' was founded as a newspaper in 1914 as the Ahoskie Patriot and now serves the rural North Carolina communities of Bertie, Hertford, Northampton and Gates counties, including the towns of Ahoskie, Murfreesboro ...

'' 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 town) *

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...

* Harrellsville *

Murfreesboro Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

* Winton (county seat)

Census-designated place

* Cofield

Townships

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

References

External links

Hertford County government official website
{{authority control 1759 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1759 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in North Carolina