Formed December 3, 1705 (7th county)
Hyde County (4,587), Swan Quarter* (275), Ocracoke* (797)
The Modern red brick building was constructed in 2007 to replace an 1855 courthouse. The courthouse is on Oyster Creek Road at Main Landing. Oyster Creek Road is North Carolina State Highway 45. Brennan and Associates are the architects. A bell sits outside of the courthouse. Hyde County was established on December 3, 1705 as the 7th county. Bath (1705), Woodstock (1729), Jasper’s Creek (1790), Germantown (1792), Lake Landing (1820), and Swan Quarter (1836) have all served as the county seat. The county is named for Governor Edward Hyde. The county seat is named for settler William F. Swann.
Hyde 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 Hyde, Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Halifax, Hertford, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, and Wilson counties, Six District Court Judges serve Hyde, Beaufort, Martin, Tyrrell, and Washington counties and a court clerk serves Hyde County (judicial.) Hyde County is on the northeast coast of North Carolina. Raleigh, North Carolina is west and Norfolk, Virginia is north of the county. The county center is 19.1 miles East of Swan Quarter nearer New Holland. The county is surrounded clockwise by Dare County and the Atlantic Ocean and Carteret, Pamlico, Beaufort, Washington, and Tyrrell counties.
The area of the county is 1459 square miles. It is 2 out of 100 in the state. It ranks 99 out of 100 in population in the state. It has a density of 3.1 persons per square mile making it 100 out of 100 in the state. Hyde County has 0.0% of its population in its incorporated areas since there are no incorporated cities. United States Highway 264 crosses the county east to west from Dare County to Beaufort County. The county looks like a backwards Y. Swan Quarter is in the southwest quarter of the county. Ocracoke is on the southwest end of the outer bank island chain. Swan Quarter is the county seat and Ocracoke is the largest populated area. Swan Quarter is 6.0% of the county population while Ocracoke is 17.4% of the county population.
Swan Quarter (unincorporated)
