Northampton County, North Carolina




Northampton County, North Carolina

Year Established	County Seat		Population (2000)
1741	Jackson		22,086

First Settled	First Settled By		Significance of County Name
1660s	Virginians		James Crompton, Earl of Northampton


Other Significant Towns:	Gaston	Garysburg	Pleasant Hill	Woodland
	Margaretsville	Pendleton	Conway	Cherry Chapel
Click Here - To see how Northampton County evolved each decade - includes all the known towns and villages.

A History of Northampton County

In 1806, Atherton was established as the county seat. Jackson is the current county seat.

Mowfield Plantation in the 1920s. Mowfield was the birthplace of the thoroughbred
racehorse Sir Archy (1805-1833).

Northampton County was formed in 1741 from Bertie County. It was named in honor of Lord Compton, Earl of Northampton. It is in the northeastern section of North Carolina astride the state's coastal plain and Piedmont regions. It is bounded by the state of Virginia and Halifax, Bertie, and Hertford counties. The present land area is 533.49 square miles. In 1806, Atherton was established as the courthouse. Jackson is currently the county seat.

Northampton County is number one in peanut production in the state of North Carolina and number two in cotton production. Agri-business accounts for approximately half of the revenues generated by local business. The principle types of farm products are: peanuts, cotton, broilers, and hogs.

Northampton County was formed in 1741 from Bertie County which was formed in 1721. Settlement in the area began in the late 1660s as witnessed by references in deeds of the county and early land grants. Native Americans in the area at the time of European settlement were the Meherrins with Tuscarora, Chowanoac, and Occaneechi among others, nearby.

Water transportation was extremely important to the earliest settlers. Early settlement developed along two lines; a few large land holdings along the rivers and moderate to small holdings along rivers and creeks. Many of the European settlers in the area came from southeastern Virginia but also settlers migrated from the eastern areas of settlement in North Carolina.

The Society of Friends or Quakers were among the earliest settlers. Slavery was not predominant in the county in the early phase of European settlement. European indentured servants were the primary labor force. Slavery (Africans, Native Americans and some poor whites) grew as the agricultural environment changed. Today, Northampton County is a demographically diverse environment.