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History · Cape Colony

Half of Cape Colony’s homes were built after 1987

Most of Cape Colony was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1904 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Cape Colony’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Cape Colony are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19043 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1981. Watch Cape Colony change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cape Colony’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cape Colony’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Cape Colony on the map, 1904 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cape Colony. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cape Colony on the 1904 USGS mapCape Colony on the 1942 USGS mapCape Colony on the 1981 USGS map1904Edenton sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cape Colony.

The story so far

Cape Colony, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cape Colony yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Cape Colony is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Chowan County, North Carolina, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 691. The community is in southern Chowan County, on the northeast bank of the tidal Chowan River. It is bordered to the east by North Carolina State Highway 94, with Northeastern Regional Airport across the highway. Cape Colony is 5 miles (8 km) by road south of the center of Edenton, the county seat.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Cape Colony

Nobody well known was born in Cape Colony itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Edward SnowdenAmerican whistleblower and former NSA contractor · b. 1983
Harriet JacobsAmerican slave, writer, and abolitionist · b. 1815
J. B. SmooveAmerican actor · b. 1965
Little EvaAmerican singer · b. 1943
William BlountAmerican statesman and land speculator who sign… · b. 1749
William AllenAmerican politician, 31st Governor of Ohio · b. 1803
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Edenton18 historic placesA+

Questions about Cape Colony’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.