Hyde County Courthouse in Swan Quarter, North Carolina

Jun 7, 2018 Thu0

Laurie and I like riding our Gold Wing motorcycle. But it is easy to get into a rut and just ride the same roads. So to force ourselves to ride to places we would not normally visit we made a goal to visit and photograph all 100 North Carolina courthouses within 1 year.

As usual, we got a little behind. We started in July 2015 and finished 99 out of 100 by June 2018. The last courthouse was in our home county of Wake and it took us until Feb 2021 to get that final one. But we made it! This blog is about one of those visits.

Many NC courthouses were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The nomination form has some interesting facts about the various courthouse styles over the years.






Courthouse Information


Wikipedia says the following about the courthouse:

The Hyde County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located at Swan Quarter, Hyde County, North Carolina. It was built in 1854-1855, and is a two-story, "T"-shaped stuccoed brick building. It has a Victorian style corbelled mousetooth cornice and ornately turned brackets. The courthouse was remodeled in 1878 and 1909 and drastically renovated in 1964.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.






County Information


The North Carolina History Project lists the following information for this county:

Sparsely populated but frequently visited, Hyde County might be North Carolina's least known yet most historically important county. Carved out of the large Bath County in 1705, Hyde County was initially named Wickham Precinct, named for then Governor John Archdale's ancestral home near Buckinghamshire, England. In 1712, the county received its first name change, becoming Hyde Precinct, in honor of the current governor and lord proprietor of North Carolina, Edward Hyde. When Bath County was abolished in 1739, the precinct's name was permanently changed to Hyde County.

Since its establishment, no county in North Carolina has experienced more boundary shifts than Hyde County. In 1819, a portion of Hyde County, west of the Pungo River, was annexed to Beaufort County. In 1823, Hatteras Island fell under Hyde County's jurisdiction. Similarly, 1845 witnessed the transfer of Ocracoke Island from Carteret County to Hyde County, elongating the length of the county's boundary to the southeast. By 1870, the county's boundaries were reduced to present day dimensions when its northeastern part was amalgamated with portions of Currituck and Tyrell Counties to form the newly established Dare County.

The county contains nine townships and cities, with its county seat located at Swan Quarter. The eight other townships or cities are Engelhard, Fairfield, Germantown, Last Chance, Nebraska, Ocracoke, Scranton, and Stumpy Point. Though the populations of these townships are rather miniscule (Swan Quarter's population according to the 2000 Census was 958), they are frequently visited by North Carolinians and out of state tourists. Ocracoke draws the largest number of visitors in the county due to its pristine location on the Outer Banks, its famous lighthouse, Fort Ocracoke (a Confederate fort during the Civil War), and for being known as the reputed location of the notorious pirate's, Blackbeard, death.

Hyde County's is also known for its preservation of national deemed wildlife refuges. There are four refuges located in Hyde County (Alligator River, Mattamuskeet, Pocosin Lakes, and Swan Quarter), while part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore is contained within the county's boundaries. Moreover, the county's shoreline boundaries give access to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound provide great spots for fishing, boating, and other recreational activities that blend with nature.






Our Experience


This is a very quiet small town. We spent the night in a local bed and breakfast. A newer building is directly behind the historic courthouse.

Jun 7, 2018 Thu 7:06:26 AM EDT Altitude: -4 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Hyde County Courthouse in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 7:08:10 AM EDT Altitude: 10 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Hyde County Courthouse in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 7:08:51 AM EDT Altitude: 10 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Hyde County Courthouse in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 7:09:17 AM EDT Altitude: 10 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Hyde County Courthouse in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 7:09:59 AM EDT Altitude: 7 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Hyde County Courthouse in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 7:11:31 AM EDTDisplay on Google Map
Hyde County Courthouse in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 7:16:18 AM EDT Altitude: -6 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Hyde County Courthouse in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Jun 7, 2018 Thu 7:17:25 AM EDT Altitude: -6 ft Camera: X100FDisplay on Google Map
Hyde County Courthouse in Swan Quarter, North Carolina



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Camden County Courthouse in Camden, North Carolina




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