Warrenton is a town in and the county seat of

Warren County, North Carolina Warren County is a County (United States), county located in the northeastern Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina, on the northern border with Virginia, made famous for a Warren County PCB Landfill, lan ...

, United States. The population was 862 at the 2010 census. Warrenton, now served by U.S. routes 158 and 401, was founded in 1779. It became one of the wealthiest towns in the state from 1840 to 1860, being a trading center of an area of rich tobacco and cotton

plantations Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...

. It has a large stock of historic architecture buildings. More than 90 percent of its buildings are listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

and its National Historic District encompasses nearly half its area.

History and attractions

Warrenton was founded at the time when

Bute County Bute County, North Carolina is a former county in eastern North Carolina. In 1779, it was divided into Franklin County and Warren County and ceased to exist. History Bute County was established on June 10, 1764, from the eastern part of Gra ...

was divided to form

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

and Franklin counties. Named for Dr.

Joseph Warren Joseph Warren (June 11, 1741 – June 17, 1775), a Founding Father of the United States, was an American physician who was one of the most important figures in the Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot movement in Boston, Massachusetts, Bos ...

, a patriot and soldier who fell at the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, it was incorporated in 1779. William Christmas platted and surveyed the streets and lots, and public squares that year. He established one hundred lots of one-half acre each, convenient streets and squares, and a common area for the use of the town. The area was developed as tobacco and cotton plantations. Warrenton served as a regional center for trade and entertainment. Many early and mid-19th century houses have been preserved. The planters chartered private academies to educate their children, one of the earliest being The Warrenton Male Academy, formed in 1788. A girls' school was founded by Jacob Mordecai, a

Sephardic Jew Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

, whose son Moses became a prominent lawyer in

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

. Commercial and government structures in the town date to the late 19th century and early 1900s. In the 1850s, the town became a busy center of commerce when the railroad was built to improve shipping of the commodities of the rich tobacco and cotton fields to markets; it became the wealthiest town in North Carolina of the time. The well-known builder Jacob Holt lived here; he built

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style houses throughout the region and his workshop supplied

millwork Millwork is historically any wood-mill produced decorative material used in building construction. Stock profiled and patterned millwork building components fabricated by milling at a planing mill can usually be installed with minimal alterat ...

to builders even farther afield. Warrenton became one of the wealthiest towns in North Carolina from 1840 to 1860, with property owners building fine residences and commercial buildings, forming the core of its current historic architecture. They employed the prominent architects Jacob W. Holt and

Albert Gamaliel Jones Albert Gamaliel Jones (c. 1812 – c. 1880) was a notable "house carpenter" from Warren County, North Carolina. He built "distinctive" Greek Revival plantation houses and college buildings. A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Re ...

, who designed and built houses in the Federal, Greek Revival, and

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Ita ...

s. The Warrenton Historic District was listed on the

in 1976, and includes over 200 contributing buildings. The

Coleman-White House Coleman-White House, also known as Whitesome, is a historic home located at Warrenton, Warren County, North Carolina. It was built between 1821 and 1824, and is a two-story, three-bay, late Federal style rectangular frame dwelling. It has a ...

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

, Liberia School, Reedy Rill, Shady Oaks, Sledge-Hayley House, Mansfield Thornton House, and John Watson House are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 851 people, 555 households, and 256 families residing in the town.

Notable people

* Richard Alston, former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

and

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

player *

Josiah Bailey Josiah William Bailey (September 14, 1873 – December 15, 1946) was an American politician who served as a U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina from 1931 to 1946. Early life and education Born in Warrenton, North Carolina, he grew ...

, Democratic

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from 1931 to 1946 *

Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army Officer (armed forces), officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate General officers in the Confederate States Army, general in th ...

, senior officer in 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 ...

* George Freeman Bragg,

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, journalist, social activist and historian * Thomas Bragg, the 34th Governor of the U.S. state of

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 ...

from 1855 to 1859 *

Eleanor Kearny Carr William Eleanor Kearny Carr (March 1, 1840 – March 29, 1912) was an American planter class, planter and political hostess who served as the First Lady of North Carolina from 1893 to 1897 as the wife of Governor Elias Carr. She was a charter memb ...

, the wife of N.C. Governor Elias Carr *

Saxby Chambliss Clarence Saxby Chambliss (; born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician who was a United States Senate, United States Senator from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party (Unite ...

, Republican

representing the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

from 2003 to 2015 * John O. Crosby, American educator who served 1874 as the minister for the first Colored Baptist church in Warrenton * Micajah Thomas Hawkins, a U.S. Congressman from

from 1831 to 1841 * David Henderson, former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player * Laura Montgomery Henderson (1867–1940), clubwoman; president, Alabama Federation of Women's Clubs *

Rick Hendrick Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III (born July 12, 1949) is an American businessman. He is best known as the owner of the NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports. He is also a co-owner of JR Motorsports and founder of the Hendrick Automotive Group, the l ...

, businessman,

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

team owner *

Jacob W. Holt Jacob W. Holt (March 30, 1811 September 21, 1880) was an American carpenter and builder-architect in Warrenton, North Carolina. Some twenty or more buildings are known to have been built by him or are attributed to him and his workshop by local ...

, early to mid-19th century carpenter and builder-architect of Warrenton * John Adams Hyman, politician, state senator, and congressman; the first African American to represent North Carolina in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

* Randy Jordan, former NFL player and current NFL coach *

Caroline Katzenstein Caroline Katzenstein (1888 – January 31, 1968) was an American Women's suffrage, suffragist, activist, advocate for equal rights, insurance agent, and author. She was active in the local Philadelphia suffragist movement through the Pennsylvania ...

, suffragist and author * John H. Kerr, American jurist and politician * John H. Kerr Jr., served in the North Carolina State Legislature (both chambers) * John H. Kerr III, Democratic member of the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

* Rachel Mordecai Lazarus, American educator and correspondent with the children's writer

Maria Edgeworth Maria Edgeworth (1 January 1768 – 22 May 1849) was a prolific Anglo-Irish novelist of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and a significant figure in the evolution of the novel i ...

Anne Carter Lee Anne Carter Lee (June 18, 1839 – October 20, 1862) was the fourth child and second daughter of General Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee. She grew up at Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, Arlington House on her family's plantati ...

, daughter of

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

, died in Warrenton *

Nathaniel Macon Nathaniel Macon (December 17, 1757June 29, 1837) was an American politician who represented North Carolina in both houses of United States Congress, Congress. He was the fifth Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, speaker of the ...

, former

and

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

Chandler Owen Chandler Owen (April 5, 1889 – November 2, 1967) was an African-American writer, editor and early member of the Socialist Party of America. Born in North Carolina, he studied and worked in New York City, then moved to Chicago for much of his c ...

, writer and editor * William C. Rivers, US Army major general * Chuck Rowland, former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player *

Mary Tannahill Mary Harvey Tannahill (January 11, 1863 – June 21, 1951) was an American painter, printmaker, embroiderer and batik maker. She studied in the United States and Europe and spent 30 summers in Provincetown, Massachusetts, with the artist colon ...

, painter, printmaker, embroiderer and batik maker * Corey Terry, American former professional football linebacker who played in the

for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

from 1999 to 2000 *

Marvin Townes Marvin Townes (born November 9, 1980) is a former American football running back. College An honor roll student at East Carolina University, Townes earned All-Conference USA honors as a kick returner and posted the 12th 1,000 yard season ...

, American football running back * Panthea Twitty, American photographer, ceramist, and historian * Joel Whitaker,

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

and

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player and coach

References

External links

Discover Warren County
{{authority control County seats in North Carolina Towns in North Carolina Towns in Warren County, North Carolina Populated places established in 1779 1779 establishments in North Carolina