Northampton 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

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 17,471. 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 ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

. Northampton County is part of the Roanoke Rapids, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Rocky Mount- Wilson-Roanoke Rapids, NC Combined Statistical Area.

History

The area was first organized under English colonial authority as the Albemarle Precinct. In 1729 part of Albemarle was split off to form Bertie Precinct. In 1739 all former precincts became counties. Northampton County was formed from part of Bertie County in 1741. It was named for James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton. In 1759 parts of Northampton County, Bertie County, and Chowan County were combined to form Hertford County. In 1959, the county went to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend the use of a

literacy test A literacy test assesses a person's literacy skills: their ability to read and write. Literacy tests have been administered by various governments, particularly to immigrants. Between the 1850s and 1960s, literacy tests were used as an effecti ...

as a requirement to vote. In '' Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections'', the court held that, provided the tests were applied equally to all races and were not "merely a device to make racial discrimination easy," they were allowable. Congress subsequently prohibited use of such tests under the

National Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United States, P ...

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 (2.52%) is water.

State and local protected areas

* Lake Gaston Public Recreation Area (part) * Roanoke Rapids Lake Day Use Area (part) * Upper Roanoke River Wetlands Game Land (part)

Major water bodies

* Bull Neck Swamp * Corduroy Swamp * Doolittle Millpond * Gumberry Swamp *

Lake Gaston Lake Gaston is a reservoir in the eastern United States. Part of the lake is in the North Carolina counties of Halifax County, North Carolina, Halifax, Northampton County, North Carolina, Northampton, and Warren County, North Carolina, Warren. Th ...

* Meherrin River * Occoneechee Creek * Paddys Delight Creek * Potecasi Creek * Ramsey Creek * Roanoke Rapids Lake *

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the ...

* Taylors Millpond * Urahaw Swamp

Adjacent counties

Greensville County, Virginia Greensville County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,391. Its county seat is Emporia. History Greensville County was established in 1781 from Brunswick County. The county is ...

- north * Southampton County, Virginia - northeast * Hertford County - east *

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

- southeast * Halifax County - southwest * Warren County - northwest *

Brunswick County, Virginia Brunswick County is a United States county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Brunswick County was created in 1720 from parts of Prince George, Surry and Isle of Wight counties. The county was named for the forme ...

- north-northwest

Major highways

* * * (bypass of Garysburg) * * * * * * * * *

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 17,471 people, 8,547 households, and 5,610 families residing in the county.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 22,099 people living in the county; 58.4% were Black or African American, 39.2%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.8% of some other race and 1.0% of two or more races. 1.4% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 22,086 people, 8,691 households, and 5,953 families living 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 10,455 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 59.43%

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 ...

, 39.09%

, 0.32% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.05%

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 ...

, 0.39% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 0.73% 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 8,691 households, out of which 27.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.50% 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, 18.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. 28.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.30% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 17.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,652, and the median income for a family was $34,648. Males had a median income of $27,970 versus $21,183 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 $15,413. About 17.00% of families and 21.30% 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 ...

, including 29.80% of those under age 18 and 21.50% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Northampton County is a member of the regional Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments. Northampton is a traditionally Democratic county, being one of only two counties in the state won by

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

during his 1972 landslide loss. Apart from two counties in

South Texas South Texas is a geographic and cultural region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of th ...

; Northampton County is the only county in the United States to vote Democratic in every presidential election over the past century; the last Democratic candidate to lose the county was

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

. Apart from

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...

and McGovern who received just over 51 percent, every Democratic nominee in the past century has received at least 55 percent of the county's vote. Northampton County has the longest ongoing Democratic voting streak in the United States after

Starr County, Texas Starr County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 65,920. Its county seat is Rio Grande City. The county was created in 1848. It is named for James Harper Starr, who served as secretary of the tre ...

flipped Republican in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. Northampton County is part of

North Carolina's 1st congressional district North Carolina's 1st congressional district is located in the northeastern part of the state. It consists of many Black Belt in the American South, Black Belt counties that border Virginia and it extends southward into several counties of the In ...

, which has a

Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated PVI or CPVI, is a measurement of how partisan a U.S. congressional district or U.S. state is. This partisanship is indicated as lean towards either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, com ...

of R+1 and has been represented by a Democratic Congressman since 1899. It is currently represented by Don Davis. In the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...

, Northampton County lies within the 27th district, which also covers Halifax County and is represented by Democrat Michael H. Wray. In 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 ...

, Northampton County lies within the 3rd district, represented by Republican Bobby Hanig.

Education

The

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) oversees the public school system in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The DPI is headed by the State Superintendent and the North Carolina State Board of Education. It is headquarte ...

rated the county school system as "low-performing" for the 2021–2022 school year. A school system is considered low-performing if a majority of its schools are. A school is considered low-performing if it receives a D or F, unless it has exceeded expectations. Each of the schools had "met expectations" except where specified otherwise. The department's appraisal of the schools was as follows: * Central Elementary: D * Willis Hare Elementary: F * Gaston STEM Leadership Academy: F * Conway Middle: D (exceeded expectations) * Northampton Early College: B (no expectations were set) * Northampton County High School: D (did not meet expectations) * Northampton Virtual Academy: N/A

Communities

Towns

Conway Conway may refer to: Places United States * Conway, Arkansas * Conway County, Arkansas * Lake Conway, Arkansas * Conway, Florida * Conway, Iowa * Conway, Kansas * Conway, Louisiana * Conway, Massachusetts * Conway, Michigan * Conway Townshi ...

* Garysburg * Gaston (largest community) *

(county seat) * Lasker * Rich Square * Seaboard *

Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

Unincorporated communities

* Margarettsville *

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

* Pleasant Hill * Turners Crossroads

Townships

* Gaston * Jackson * Kirby * Occoneechee * Pleasant Hill * Rich Square * Roanoke * Seaboard * Wiccanee

Notes

The South Texas counties voting Democrat at every election since before World War I comprise

Jim Hogg James Stephen Hogg (March 24, 1851March 3, 1906) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the List of Governors of Texas, 20th governor of Texas from 1891 to 1895. He was born near Rusk, Texas. Hogg was a follower of the conservativi ...

and Brooks Counties

References

Works cited

External links

* *
Northampton County Chamber of Commerce

Northampton County Health Department

Northampton County Public Schools

NCGenWeb Northampton County
genealogy resources for the county {{Authority control Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina micropolitan area 1741 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1741 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in North Carolina