Gates County is a

county 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 northeastern portion of 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 ...

, on the border with

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,478, making it the fifth-least populous county in North Carolina. 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 Gatesville. Gates County is included in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake, VA-NC Combined Statistical Area. It is part of the

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 ...

area of the Inner Banks.

History

Early history

As in other areas along the waterways, Indigenous peoples of the Americas lived in this region for thousands of years, with different groups leaving and new ones migrating to settle again. They created settlements, increasingly permanent, along the

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

Chowanoke were the largest tribe in North Carolina of the many in the Algonquian language family and it occupied most of the territory along the river. After suffering dramatic population decreases by the early 17th century due to

infectious diseases infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

from Europe, which they had no immunity to, most of the survivors were pushed out by encroaching Tuscarora, an

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages () are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, almost all surviving I ...

-speaking tribe. In 1585, the Ralph Lane Colony explored the Chowan River at least as far up as present-day Winton. In 1622, the John Pory Colony led an expedition from Virginia to the Chowan River. (Pory was secretary of the Province of Virginia.) In 1629, Sir Robert Heath was granted a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

to settle Carolina. This patent embraced Gates County. The Chowanoke waged war against the encroaching colonists in 1644 but they ultimately lost. During the 1650s, colonists from Virginia began to move increasingly into the

region. Colonel Drew and Roger Green led an expedition into the Albemarle area. In 1654, Francis Speight was granted a patent for of land near Raynor Swamp. The first English settlement in Gates County was established near Corapeake in 1660. In 1670, Colonel Henry Baker of Nansemond County obtained a grant of land for near Buckland. The Chowanoke renewed their effort to expel the colonists, warring from 1675 to 1677. Following the English defeat of these forces, in 1677 they created a Chowanoke Indian Reservation, the first within the present-day United States. The 11,360-acre reservation was established at the Chowanoke settlement between Bennett's Creek and Catherine Creek in Gates.Justin Petrone, "Chowanoke Descendants Reclaim Ancestral Land, Envision Cultural Center"
, ''Indian Country Today,'' August 10, 2016; accessed August 10, 2016 From 1684 to 1722 Gates County was a part of the Chowan precinct. In 1711, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel established an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

school for Chowanoke and other local Indians at Sarum, with a Mr. Mashburn as the teacher. During the 18th century, the Chowanoke lost most of their land, selling off portions to help the tribe survive. Men's names were recorded in tribal conveyances, and many descendants can trace their ancestry to these families. Some members began to intermarry with other tribes, such as the nearby Meherrin people, as well as Englishmen and Africans. In 1738, local settlers created a mail route from

Suffolk, Virginia Suffolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of 2020, the population was 94,324. It is the List of cities in Virginia, 10th-most populous city in Virginia, the largest city in Virginia by bou ...

to Corapeake, North Carolina and Edenton, North Carolina. The stagecoach route crossed the Chowan River at Barfield. Gates County was organized in 1779 from parts of Chowan,

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 (crossing), ford on ...

, and Perquimans counties. It was named for General Horatio Gates, who had commanded the victorious American colonial forces at the

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) were two battles between the American Continental Army and the British Army fought near Saratoga, New York, concluding the Saratoga campaign in the American Revolutionary War. The Battle ...

in 1777.

1800s

In 1806, white settlers established Middle Swamp Baptist Church as the first

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church in Gates County. This accompanied the

Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the late 18th to early 19th century in the United States. It spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching and sparked a number of reform movements. Revivals were a k ...

revival in the South after the American Revolution, which was led by Baptist and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

preachers. In 1811, Savages United Methodist Church was established, the oldest Methodist Church in Gates County. Both denominations preached both to enslaved blacks as well as white residents, and they accepted slaves and free blacks as members and sometimes even as preachers. The Chowanoke Indians lost their last 30-acre plot of communal land in 1821. Although Gates County residents were mostly yeomen farmers who owned few slaves, the South overall still had a slave society which classified people as either black or white. However, the Native Americans managed to maintain their culture and absorbed people of other races in their

matrilineal Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...

kinship systems. The Chowanoke were increasingly classified as

free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who we ...

, as where free blacks and

mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

s. In the antebellum, Gates County—like several other North Carolina border counties—also became to home to a substantial number of free blacks who sought better treatment in North Carolina than in other states, with 361 recorded in the 1860 census. In 1825, the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

travelled through Gates County and was entertained at Pipkin's Inn. The town of Gatesville was incorporated in 1830. The old courthouse was built in 1836. Its oldest remaining component is its Federal-style bell, which the town had purchased in 1781. According to the 1850 census, only 15 of the county's 717 farms produced cotton. In 1851, the Reynoldson Academy was established.

Free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who we ...

, who were often of mixed race, organized New Hope Baptist Church in 1859.

Port of Hamburg

County residents worked to develop better connections to major ports. From 1805 to 1822, they excavated the White Oak Marsh Canal or Hamburg Ditch (now known as Cross Canal), about south of the Virginia line. It was Gates County's water route to the major port of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, running straight east for through the Dismal Swamp, from a landing on Daniels Road in Gates County to the Dismal Swamp Canal that led to Norfolk. The Cross Canal is no longer a through route, as it was blocked by hurricanes that toppled trees and blocked access. Until the late 20th century, sportsmen in small boats used the Gates County end, at the site of the town of Hamburg, to enter the swamp.

Civil War and Reconstruction

Prior to 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 ...

, most of Gates County was covered with virgin timber. In 1861, A. J. Walton was chosen as Gates County's representative to the North Carolina secession convention. After North Carolina voted to secede, the "Gates Guard"

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

was formed raised to protect its borders. It was soon joined by a second company, the "Gates Minutemen". However, Gates County's greatest contribution was in supplying food to the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

. General William P. Roberts would become the youngest general. Brigadier General Laurence S. Baker, another Gates County native, lost his right arm in the war. Jack Fairless of Gates County was dishonorably discharged from the Confederate army for stealing. He returned home and formed an outlaw band known as the "Buffaloes". Made up of draft dodgers, Confederate deserters, and renegades from both armies, Fairless's Buffaloes terrorized the old men, women, children who were trying to keep their farms going. Fairless was finally killed by his own men when they turned on him. Fort Dillard was a Confederate post in Gates County, though the county was sometimes subject to Union raids. The story of the "Ellis Girls" is told even today. While fishing in the Chowan River, the sisters saw a Union gunboat on its way upriver to attack Winton. Union soldiers from the gunboat seized the girls and kept them prisoner on until they had finished burning down the town. In 1878, Jethro Goodman introduced peanuts into Gates County. Thad Eure, a Secretary of State, was born here in 1899.

1900s

On May 9, 1925, the first bridge opened across the Chowan River between Gates and Hertford counties. In 1925, U.S. Route 158 opened between Gates and Pasquotank counties, constructed through the Great Dismal Swamp. In the 1930s Gates County still had no paved roads and few people owned automobiles. Most families grew their own produce and some raised livestock. In 1935 during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the Sunbury Ruritan Club was established, the first and oldest Ruritan chapter in the state. The civic organization of men was active in improving the town: "in its first three months..., the Sunbury Ruritan Club sponsored a Community Agriculture Fair; contacted NC DOT to place a stop signal at the Edenton-to-Suffolk Road; purchased school books for needy children; paid one-half the cost of new shades for the school; had the school piano tuned; and later made a contribution to the school's basketball team and sponsored a move to hire a police officer to serve the community." Beckford Junction was a train switch in the city that enabled trains to go to Suffolk, Elizabeth City, or Edenton. Beckford Junction was abandoned in 1940. The last passenger train serving Gates County ended service in 1954. That year the Gates County Historical Society was established. In 1973 A.B. Coleman donated of land in the Millpond to the state. This was the basis of the Merchants Millpond State Park. In 1984 a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

struck Gates County, killing two people and causing an estimated $500,000 to $5,000,000 worth of damage.

Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful and large tropical cyclone which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth list of named tropical cyclones, named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1 ...

hit Gates County in 1999.

2000s

In September 2007 Gates County was chosen as a potential site for a

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

landing field in the northeastern part of the state. In 2014 Delois Chavis, a Chowanoke descendant, worked with other Chowanoke to buy 146 acres of the tribe's former reservation land near Bennett's Creek. She had grown up knowing of her Native American identity from her parents and grandparents, and is among those who want to revive the tribe. They have organized as the Chowanoke Indian Tribe, and plan to build a cultural center on the land to help their efforts.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.48%) is water.

National protected area

Great Dismal Swamp

The counties of Gates, Perquimans, Camden and Currituck contain sixty percent of the Great Dismal swamp. In 1973, Union Camp donated the land which it owned in the swamp to

the Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

. The Conservancy next donated the land to the Department of The Interior, and the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was created. The refuge consists of of swamp and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

surrounding Lake Drummond.

State and local protected area

* Chowan Swamp Game Land (part) * Chowan Swamp State Natural Area * Merchants Millpond State Park In 1811, the Norfleet family built the first dam at the millpond. At that time, it consisted of around 750 to of water. The mill ground corn. In 1856 the Millpond was sold and became known as Williams Millpond. In 1910, Charles Lawrence purchased the Millpond. It became known as Merchants Millpond. In the 1960s A. B. Coleman purchased the Millpond. In 1973, A.B. Coleman donated of the land to North Carolina under the condition that it was to become a state park. Today Merchants Millpond occupies .

Major water body

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

City of Suffolk, Virginia – north * Camden County – northeast * Pasquotank County – east * Perquimans County – south * Chowan County – south * Hertford County – west * Southampton County, Virginia – northwest

Major highways

* * * * * *

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 10,478 people, 4,638 households, and 3,205 families residing in the county.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 12,197 people, 3,901 households, and 2,933 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 4,389 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 63.7%

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 ...

, 33.2%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.6% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races; 1.4% 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 3,901 households, out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% 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, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.80% were non-families; 21.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.09. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.70% under the age of 18, 6.10% from 18 to 24, 29.10% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,647, and the median income for a family was $41,511. Males had a median income of $32,227 versus $21,014 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 $15,963. About 14.50% of families and 17.00% 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 17.90% of those under age 18 and 26.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Gates County is run by a

council–manager government The council–manager government is a form of local government commonly used for municipalities and counties in the United States and Ireland, in New Zealand regional councils, and in Canadian municipalities. In the council-manager government, ...

. The county is led by a five-member board of commissioners. Each member, while representing a single constituency, is elected at-large in staggered four-year terms. Presided over by a chairman elected by the commissioners from among their members for a one-year term, the board is responsible for adopting the county's budget, fixing the local property tax rate, and setting priorities for county government. The county manager is responsible for overseeing most of county administration and executing the will of the board. Gates 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. Gates County had previously supported a Republican in federal elections only in

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's 1972 landslide, but broke this tradition to support

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

Economy

Most of Gates County's revenue comes from property taxes on personal property, with a small percentage coming from commercial sources.

Industries

The main industries are agriculture and forest products. Heritage tourism and recreation are increasing in importance.

Education

Gates County Schools has five schools ranging from

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

. Those five schools are separated into one

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

( Gates County Senior High School), one

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

, and three

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

. Gates County is quite prideful in its high school athletics. Gates County High School has won a state championship in football, in 1971. That team was led by legendary coach, Pete Smoak. Most recently, the football team has been successful in the Tar-Roanoke Conference, and winning the conference in 2010. The Red Barons galvanized the entire northeastern part of North Carolina, as it went on its improbable run, winning 11 games in a row, and going undefeated in the conference. This team was led by current head coach, Matt Biggy. In 2023 the Red Barons soccer team went undefeated in conference play and set a school record for soccer wins in a season, led by head coach Dominic Ross. It is home to many athletes, including Thomas Smith, formerly of the Buffalo Bills, and Walter Smith I, formerly of the Toronto Argonauts.

Rosenwald Schools

Rosenwald Schools were schools set up by money from the Rosenwald Fund. This fund was created in 1917 by

Julius Rosenwald Julius Rosenwald (August 12, 1862 – January 6, 1932) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known as a part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and for establishing the Rosenwald Fund, which donated millions i ...

, Chicago businessman and head of Sears Corporation to encourage construction of schools, mostly in the South, for rural black children who were underserved by the segregated public school system. The fund required communities to raise matching funds, including the use of public money and the support of school boards. At the time, the school boards were run by whites. Blacks had been disfranchised throughout the South since the turn of the century, so services for them were typically underfunded. Black communities strongly supported the schools, raising money, and sometimes contributing both land and labor. In effect they taxed themselves twice to support education. The schools were built to model designs developed by

architects An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was founded as a normal school for teachers on July 4, 1881, by the ...

, a

historically black college Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

. The Rosenwald Fund stimulated the construction of more than 4,977 schools and related structures for African-American children before the program ended in 1948 when the fund was depleted. Seven Rosenwald Schools built in communities in Gates County. In some areas, such schools have been converted to community centers and other uses. * Corapeake (still standing) * Reid's Grove (still standing) * T.S. Cooper * Hobbsvile * Reynoldson * Sunbury * Roduco

Communities

Town

* Gatesville (county seat and largest community)

Townships

* Gatesville * Hall * Reynoldson * Haslett * Holly Grove * Hunters Mill * Mintonsville

Census-designated place

* Sunbury

Unincorporated communities

* Buckland * Corapeake * Eason Crossroads *

Eure Eure ( ; ; or ) is a department in the administrative region of Normandy, northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2021, Eure had a population of 598,934.Gates * Hoflers Fork * Holly Grove * Hobbsville * Mintonsville * Roduco * Sandy Cross * Selwin * Sunbury * Tarheel * White Oak

Post offices

* Corapeake * Sunbury * Hobbsville * Gatesville * Roduco * Eure * Gates

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1779 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1779