INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT OF
CHOWAN COUNTY
Street scene in the business section of down-town Edenton.
By J. E. BUFFLAP
AN area of 105,600 acres covers
/V
a lot of territory, but when
/
\applicd to counties it repre¬
sents the size of Chowan County,
which is among the smallest coun¬
ties in the great State of North
Carolina. These 105,600 acres lie
along the broad Albemarle Sound
THE
ALBEMARLE
PEANUT
COMPANY
Incorporated
CLEANERS ond SHELLERS
of
PEANUTS
EDENTON, N. C.
and Chowan River and included in
them is some of the most fertile
and productive land in the State.
Chowan County was settled in
1658 and was named for the Chow-
anock Indians, who were friendly
to the white settlers who drifted
down the streams from Virginia
and effected a permanent settle¬
ment where Edenton, the county
seat, is now located. It was first
named Chuwan Precinct, but later
when the area was divided into
counties, Chowan was adopted as
the name for this particular county.
In 1715 "The Towne on Queen
Anne’s Creek" was incorporated,
and immediately became the center
of civilization in the Province. The
name of the town was later
changed to "Ye Towne on Matter-
commack" and "The Port of Roa¬
noke” until in 1722, when it was
named Edenton in honor of Gov¬
ernor Charles Eden.
"Here,” wrote an early historian,
"was a colony from civilized life,
scattered among the forests, rest¬
ing on the bosom of nature, with
absolute freedom of conscience and
where benevolent reason was the
simple rule of its conduct."
Chowan County, and especially
Edenton, has a very rich historic
background, many newspaper and
magazine articles, pamphlets and
even books having been printed
attesting to the important part
taken in the making of a great
commonwealth. However, this
article isn’t intended to elaborate
on the county’s history, of which
it is justly proud, but rather to
emphasize the economic life of a
people who think Chowan County
is one of the best places in the
world to live. In fact, some few
years ago this same magazine, The
State, published quite an elabo¬
rate story treating with historical
points of interest in the county.
With fine and loamy soil, the
county produces a variety of crops,
and because of the flat nature of
the land farmers have no erosion
problems, as is the case in the more
rolling and hilly counties. The
county is adapted to the growing of
most all crops and with the preva¬
lence of ideal climate conditions
there is a splendid opportunity for
raising livestock, one phase of farm
income which has not kept pace
with other crops.
Chowan farmers have long since
drifted away from taking chances
with the major money crops of
cotton, peanuts and tobacco, and
while these are still grown exten¬
sively, diversified farming has
gradually replaced the one-crop
system, so that substantial income
from farms are realized practically
the year around. Peanuts, of
course, is the largest crop, Eden¬
ton being the leading peanut mar¬
ket in North Carolina. Cotton takes
second place and the county has
the reputation of, on an average,
raising more cotton per acre than
in other sections of the south. To¬
bacco is also one of the leading
crops.
Corn is raised in great quanti¬
ties, and is easily grown as an
early crop, but in many instances
farmers prefer to follow truck
crops with late corn.
Watermelons and cantaloupes
are also an important crop. These
are grown in several sections of
the county, especially along Cho¬
wan River and the Rocky Hock and
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