Gates County, North Carolina: History and Information

Gates County, North Carolina

Gates County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Gatesville
Year Organized: 1778
Square Miles: 341

Court House:

PO Box 148
County Courthouse
Gatesville, NC 27938-0148

Etymology - Origin of County Name

It was named in honor of General Horatio Gates, who commanded American Army at the Battle of Saratoga.

Demographics:

History

Gates was formed in 1779 from Chowan, Hertford, and Perquimans counties. It was named in honor of General Horatio Gates, who commanded American Army at the Battle of Saratoga. It is in the northeastern section of the State and is bounded by Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan and Hertford counties, and the state of Virginia. The present land area is 340.61 square miles and the population in 2000 was 10,516. The act establishing the county provided that commissioners be appointed to select a site centrally located for the erection of a courthouse, etc., and to have the building erected. In 1781, an act was passed to levy an additional tax for the completion of the public buildings. The Legislature of 1830-31 passed an act which said that the place now known as Gates Court House, in the county of Gates, shall in the future be known and described by the name of Gatesville. Gatesville is the county seat.

Neighboring Counties:

Camden

Pasquotank

Perquimans

Chowan

Hertford

State of Virginia.

Cities and Towns:

- Gatesville (County Seat)

town

Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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