Formed January 1, 1729 (11th county)
Tyrrell County (3,247), Columbia (608)
The 1903 red brick Federalist courthouse has a 2003 addition. The facility is at the corner of Main Street and Broad Street. United States Highway 64 passes one block to the south of the location. B. F. Smith is the architect. A County Administration Building supports the courthouse. Veteran memorials are on the courthouse grounds. Tyrrell County was formed on January 1, 1729 from parts of Bertie, Chowan, Pasquotank, and Currituck counties as the 11th county. Kendrick Creek and Columbia have both been the county seat. The county is named for Lord Proprietor John Tyrrell. The county seat is presumably named for explorer Christopher Columbus. He is also the namesake of Columbus County.
The area of the county is 597 square miles. It is 29 out of 100 in the state. It ranks 100 out of 100 in population in the state. It has a density of 5.4 persons per square mile making it 99 out of 100 in the state. Tyrrell County has 18.7% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 64 travels through the county from east to west from Dare County to Washington County. Tyrrell County is shaped like a square funnel. Columbia is located in the northwest quarter of the county. Columbia is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 18.7% of the county population.
Tyrrell 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 Tyrrell, Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Vance, Warren, Washington, and Wilson counties, Two District Court Judges serve Tyrrell, Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, and Washington counties and a court clerk serves Tyrrell County (judicial.) Tyrrell County is in the northeast part of the state. Norfolk, Virginia is north and Raleigh, North Carolina is west of the county. The center of the county is 6.5 miles Southeast of Columbia. The county is surrounded clockwise by Pasquotank, Camden, Dare, Hyde, Washington, and Perquimans counties. The county is pronounced TIE-REL.
Columbia
