Formed November 2, 1779 (40th county)
Gates County (10,475), Gatesville (265)
1976 was the construction year for the Modern red brick structure. An 1834 courthouse preceded this one in Gatesville, the only county seat. The county was formed on November 2, 1779 from Chowan, Hertford, and Perquimans counties as the 40th county. The courthouse is on Court Street at Church Street. North Carolina State Highway 137 is Court Street. W. D. Boone, Jr., provided the designs featuring a marble front. An Administrative 1957 Building augments the courthouse. Gates County and Gatesville are named for Revolutionary War hero General Horatio Gates.
Gates County government consists of a manager, a register, a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) Sixteen Superior Court Judges serve Gates, Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, and Wilson counties, Five District Court Judges serve Gates, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Pasquotank, and Perquimans counties and a court clerk serves Gates County (judicial.) Gates County is in the northeast part of the state on the border with Virginia. Norfolk, Virginia is northeast and Raleigh, North Carolina is southwest of the county. The county center is 5 miles Northeast of Gatesville. The county is surrounded clockwise by Virginia and Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan, and Hertford counties.
The area of the county is 346 square miles. It is 78 out of 100 in the state. It ranks 95 out of 100 in population in the state. It has a density of 30.3 persons per square mile making it 91 out of 100 in the state. Gates County has 2.5% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 13 travels through the county north to southwest from Virginia to Hertford County. United States Highway 158 enters from the east, Pasquotank County, and joins United States Highway 13 into Hertford County. The county looks like a mushroom. The town of Gatesville is in the southwest quarter of the county. Gatesville is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 2.5% of the county population.
Gatesville
