Bertie

Formed January 1, 1722 (8^th county)

Bertie County (17,934), Windsor (3,572)                

The towered white brick Classical Revival courthouse, built in 1887, was added on to in 1906, 1941 and 1974.  L. Thrower provided the building designs.  An Annex has been attached to the courthouse.  Bertie County was formed on January 1, 1722 from Chowan County as the 8^th county.  St. Johns (1722), Wolfender (1754), and Windsor (1766) have all served as the county seat.  The building sits on King Street at Dundee Street.  United States Highway 17 is King Street in this part of the town.  The courthouse features columns and a small tower.  Veteran memorials are across the street.  The county is named for James Bertie and Henry Bertie, Lords Proprietors.  The county seat is named for Windsor, England.  Bertie County was the birthplace for 2 North Carolina Governors, David Stone and Locke Craig. 

Bertie 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 Bertie, Beaufort, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, and Wilson counties, Five District Court Judges serve Bertie, Halifax, Hertford, and Northampton counties and a court clerk serves Bertie County (judicial.)  The county is in the northeast part of the state.  Raleigh, North Carolina is southwest and Norfolk, Virginia is northeast of the county.  The county center is 2.1 miles North-Northwest of Windsor.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Hertford, Chowan, Washington, Martin, Halifax, and Northampton counties. 

The area of the county is 741 square miles.  It is 18 out of 100 in the state.  It ranks 84 out of 100 in population in the state.  It has a density of 24.2 persons per square mile making it 95 out of 100 in the state.  Bertie County has 32.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 13 enters the county from Hertford County, north, and exits into Martin County, south.  United States Highway 17 comes from the east, Chowan County, and joins United States Highway 13 into Martin County.  The county looks like a bag of marbles leaning toward the southeast.  Windsor is located in the southern quarter of the county.  Windsor is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 19.9% of the county population.  The county is pronounced BUR-TEE.