Formed in 1741 out of Bertie County, the county is named after Richard Edgecombe, a member of Parliament and a lord of treasury, who became the First Baron Edgecombe in 1742. Historically, the county is home to the Tuscarora Indians (click here for a link to the Tuscarora War). Despite the Tuscarora’s mass exodus from the region in the eighteenth century, descendants of the Tuscarora still inhabit Edgecombe County.

 

Like many other North Carolina counties, Edgecombe’s boundaries have changed a few times until it reached its current edges. In 1746, part of the county became Granville County; in 1758, another part was used to create Halifax County; and in 1777, yet another small portion was used to establish Nash County. Wilson County, formed in 1855, is a combination of Edgecombe, Johnston, Nash, and Wayne County.

 

Edgecombe County has a rich history.  As North Carolina’s ninth oldest incorporated town, Tarboro served the county and the state as a thriving inland port and merchants and farmers used the Tar River largely for trade and transportation until the Civil War. Tarboro, the county seat, is home to many famous sites and people. The Grove, a colonial-era plantation and residence of Representative Thomas Blount, is open daily and attracts many tourists. Several eighteenth-century houses are located in the Tarboro Historic District, and the gateway to this district is the historic Town Common, a large park with scattered oak trees and war memorials.