Formed January 1, 1668 (1st county)
Chowan County (13,705), Edenton (4,458)
The 1979 red brick Modern Georgian facility is located at the corner of Broad and Church streets. Broad Street is United States Highway 17 Business in the town. J. Everett Fauber, Jr., is the architect of this columned building. There was a 1767 courthouse previously also in Edenton, the only county seat. This courthouse is also used which makes it the oldest continuous used courthouse in North Carolina. Veteran memorials are in the park across the street from the back of the courthouses. The county was established on January 1, 1668 from Albemarle County, which no longer exists and is considered the original county. The county was named for the Native American tribe. Edenton was named for Colonial Governor Charles Eden. Chowan County was the birthplace for 1 North Carolina Governor, James Iredell, Jr.
Chowan County government consists of a manager, a register, a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk (executive). It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.) Sixteen Superior Court Judges serve Chowan, Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Currituck, Dare, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Person, Pitts, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, and Wilson counties, Three District Court Judges serve Chowan, Camden, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquotank, and Perquimans counties and a court clerk serves Chowan County (judicial.) Chowan County is in the northeast part of North Carolina. Norfolk, Virginia is northeast and Raleigh, North Carolina is southwest of the county. The county center is 11.7 miles North of Edenton nearer Valhalla. The county is surrounded clockwise by Gates, Perquimans, Washington, Bertie, and Hertford counties.
The area of the county is 234 square miles. It is 98 out of 100 in the state. It ranks 89 out of 100 in population in the state. It has a density of 58.6 persons per square mile making it 74 out of 100 in the state. Chowan County has 32.5% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 17 enters the county from Perquimans County, east, and exits into Bertie County, west. The county is shaped like a lazy capital letter L. Edenton is on the southern tip of the county. Edenton is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 32.5% of the county population.
Edenton
