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A+History
History · Hertford

Hertford dates to 1758, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns. What drives it

6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 422 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1850.

1758founded
6on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hertford’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hertford began

When was Hertford founded?

1758

Hertford dates its founding to 1758 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 369 in 18502020 census: 1,934268 years

How historic is Hertford?

A+

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1793.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Hertford’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hertford is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hertford’s overall grade.
Founding era1758, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194023.1% of homes (±7.9) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register6 listings, 426 historic buildings, 2,633 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 98%
NewerOlder

North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hertford’s 2,633 sits above most of its state (100% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 426 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.9 points). Two sources give 1758.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Hertford’s past

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

A historic districtThe Hertford Historic District takes in 219 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19063 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1982. Watch Hertford change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1758, 18 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

6 listings protect 426 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
426
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Newbold-White House
Newbold-White HousePerquimans County Courthouse, built 1825Church of the Holy Trinity, built 1850Hertford Historic DistrictHertford West Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival2
Georgian1
Federal1
Greek Revival1
Queen Anne1
Colonial Revival1
Newbold-White HouseBuilding
Perquimans County CourthouseGeorgian · Built 1825
Church of the Holy TrinityGothic Revival · Built 1850
All 6 listings
Samuel Nixon HouseBuilding · listed 1973Hertford Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1998Hertford West Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2025

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Hertford’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewHistoric American Buildings Survey, Tho…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Hertford on the map, 1906 to 1982

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

Hertford on the 1906 USGS mapHertford on the 1940 USGS mapHertford on the 1982 USGS map1906Hertford 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 Hertford.

The story

How Hertford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hertford.

Read it all →

Hertford was originally incorporated in 1758 as the county seat for Perquimans County, first inhabited by the Yeopim Indians. County records show that the Yeopim chief Kalcacenin sold land to George Durant at the river mouth in March 1662, adjacent to land he had already sold to Samuel Pricklove. The area was settled soon afterward, and a brick house on the site, the Newbold-White House, has been dated by dendrochronology to 1730; it is the oldest known brick structure in the state.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hertford, 1758 to 1906

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1758
    FoundingHertford is established
  3. 1793Post officeThe Hertford post office opens
  4. 19th century
  5. 1825BuiltPerquimans County Courthouse is built
  6. 1850BuiltChurch of the Holy Trinity is built
  7. 20th century
  8. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hertford, decade by decade

Date unknown4 to date
Historic American Buildings Survey, Thomas T. Waterman, Photographer July, 1940 DETAIL OF STAIR. - Davenport House, Sta…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey, Thomas T. Waterma…Pier atDate?Pier atStockton, State Route 1329Date?Stockton, State Route 1329Riverside, State Route 1301Date?Riverside, State Route 1301
Today13 recent
Shops in2020Shops inOld Perquimans County Courthouse2020Old Perquimans County CourthouseHertford, North Carolina 022020Hertford, North Carolina 02Hertford, North Carolina 012020Hertford, North Carolina 01The Perquimans County Courthouse2017The Perquimans County CourthouseWoodard's Pharmacy, an old-fashioned lunch counter and full-serve pharmacy in downtown Hertford, North Carolina2017Woodard's Pharmacy, an old-fashioned lunch counter an…An old "five and dime" store, now a dress shop2017An old "five and dime" store, now a dress shopThe 1851 Holy Trinity Episcopal Church2017The 1851 Holy Trinity Episcopal ChurchConfederate monument2017Confederate monumentPerquimans County Courthouse2012Perquimans County CourthouseLands End - Perquimans County, North Carolina - Home of Col. James Leigh2012Lands End - Perquimans County, North Carolina - Home …Perquimans River and the "S" Bridge2011Perquimans River and the "S" BridgeNCMap-doton-Hertford2004NCMap-doton-Hertford
Every building

Hertford, building by building, 1916–1923

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Hertford fire insurance map, 1916, sheet 11916Sheet 1 of 5
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Historic American Buildings Survey, Thomas T. Waterman, Photographer July, 1940 DETAIL OF STAIR. - Davenport House, Sta…
Retake this viewHistoric American Buildings Survey, Thomas T. Waterman, Photographer July, 1940 DETAIL OF STAIR. - Davenport House, Sta…

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hertford’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Hertford, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001850190019502000Peak: 2,143

Between 369 and 2,143 people in every census since 1850.

17 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hertford’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Hertford’s post office has been open since 1793.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Wynne Fork Housing Development
1cemetery inside Hertford
Cedarwood

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Winfall1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hertford’s history

What year was Hertford founded?

In 1758, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hertford’s post office opened in 1793, and the census of 1850 counted 369 people here.

How does Hertford rank for history?

Hertford is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Hertford?

6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Newbold-White House (listed 1971, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Hertford Historic District and the Hertford West Historic District, with 422 contributing buildings. 426 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Hertford?

23% of Hertford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1971.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (7), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.