Early History: 1758 - 1860

Hertford County, located in northeastern North Carolina, was formed in 1759 from portions of Bertie, Chowan, and Northampton counties. The Chowan River forms the northeastern border of the county, with the navigable Meherrin and Wiccacon rivers also running through the county. At the time of European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Meherrin Indians, whose village was located on the Chowan River near present-day Winton.

During the earliest decades of European settlement, the northern portion of the county, near the Chowan River, was good farmland and well-suited to plantation agriculture, producing tobacco, cotton, peanuts, corn, and soybeans, while the southern portion was primarily swampland and therefore dominated by the lumber and naval stores industries, as well as subsistence farming. Herring fishing has always been important on Chowan River as well, with both Native Americans and early European settlers relying heavily on the seasonal arrival of large numbers of herring in the river.

Located on the south bank of the Chowan River, Winton is the county seat of Hertford County. The area was originally known as Cotton’s Ferry, named for Alexander Cotton who operated a ferry across the Chowan River starting in the 1740s. However, by the mid-1760s, Benjamin Wynns had acquired the Cotton land, donated 150 acres for a town, and the first courthouse had been constructed. The town was established as the county seat in 1766. The first men appointed by the General Assembly to oversee the town were Henry Hill, William Murfree, Mathias Brickell, Joseph Dickinson, Henry King, and Benjamin Wynns, all of whom have present-day streets within the historic district named in their honor. At the time of Winton’s establishment as the county seat, Hertford County extended east of the Chowan River, with Winton in a central location. The portion of Hertford County located east of the river became part of Gates County in 1779, however Winton remained the Hertford County seat despite no longer being centrally located. By 1820, the town included only the northernmost portion of the historic district, extending from the Chowan River southward to Wynn Street. The original courthouse was destroyed in 1830 when a man convicted of forgery set fire to the building to destroy evidence in his case, although he was unsuccessful in avoiding conviction.

During the early 1800s, the population of free people of color grew substantially in Hertford County, including primarily farmers, fishermen, artisans, and laborers who had migrated south from Virginia. In 1790, free people of color comprise about four percent of the total population, growing to just under ten percent in 1820.

Meanwhile, slavery became increasingly important to the agricultural economy of Winton and Hertford County. From 1790 to 1860, tobacco and cotton production in the county increased, and with it the enslaved population. During that time, the non-white population grew from 45% to almost 60%.