Hertford & Perquimans County North Carolina

Hertford and Perquimans County have attracted many people with its scenic, recreational waterways, its history, and great fishing & hunting.

Hertford is the quintessential sleepy river town steeped in history. Beautiful Victorian and Georgian homes line a winding narrow road that follows the riverbank. Cypress trees draped in Spanish moss stand tall in the brown waters. And life has a decidedly relaxed pace. Perhaps age that has something to do with it -this is the heart of the ancient Albemarle region.

Hertford is one of the earliest permanent settlements in North Carolina, dating back to the late 1600s, and the countryside around the town pulses with history. The nearby Newbold White House is thought to be the oldest existing structure in the state. George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends preached around these parts in 1672. Across the river in the Durant's Neck area, Leigh's Plantation still draws exclamations of surprise when visitors round the bend and catch a glimpse of its huge brick facade. Constructed by slaves, it houses a third-story ballroom, dozens of rooms and parlors, and a double-framed porch with six columns.

Perquimans, meaning "land of beautiful women," was named by its earliest inhabitants, the Yeopim Indians, a branch of the family of Algonquians. Perquimans included the land between the Yeopim River and Little River; at its greatest extent, it reached from the Virginia border to the Alligator River. Today, its people occupy 261 square miles of low land between the Albermarle Sound and the Dismal Swamp.