Hyde County, North Carolina: History and Information

Hyde County, North Carolina

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

County Seat: Swanquarter
Year Organized: 1705
Square Miles: 613

Court House:

PO Box 188
County Courthouse
Swanquarter, NC 27885-0188

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Hyde was first called Wickham, the name being changed about 1712. It was named in honor of Edward Hyde, Governor of North Carolina and a grandson of the Earl of Clarendon.

Demographics:

History

Hyde was first called Wickham, the name being changed about 1712. It was named in honor of Edward Hyde, Governor of North Carolina and a grandson of the Earl of Clarendon. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded by the Pamlico Sound and Beaufort, Washington, Tyrrell and Dare counties (and on the banks by the Atlantic Ocean and Dare and Carteret counties). The present land area is 612.80 square miles and the 2000 population was 5,826. The courts were held in the courthouse in Bath until 1729. In that year an act was passed separating the precincts of Beaufort and Hyde and authorizing a courthouse to be built on the land of William Webster. In 1738 a town by the name of Woodstock was laid out on Webster's land. The courthouse at Woodstock burned about 1789, and in 1790 an act was passed moving the courthouse to Bell's Bay or Jasper's Creek. The county seat was on Jasper's Creek during 1791-1792. A law was passed in 1791 establishing a town on the land belonging to Germain Bernard where the courthouse stands." This town was called German-town In 1820 the old courthouse was authorized to be sold and a new one erected at Lake Landing or within two miles of it. In 1836 commissioners were named to purchase land from Zacheriah Gibbs for a county seat, or within one-forth mile of the place called Swan Quarter, and erect a courthouse. Swan Quarter is the county seat.

Neighboring Counties:

Pamlico Sound

Beaufort

Washington

Tyrrell

Dare

On the banks by the Atlantic Ocean and Dare and Carteret counties

Cities and Towns:

- Swanquarter (County Seat)

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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