National Historic Landmark · county courthouse · Edenton, North Carolina

Chowan County Courthouse

Historic courthouse in North Carolina. Built 1767 by http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/db185732aab019215734de63c99d03c7. Added to the National Register in 1970, and a National Historic Landmark.

Open to visit National Historic Landmark Built 1767 Listed 1970 Georgian architecturehttp://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/db185732aab019215734de63c99d03c7

Photos via Wikimedia Commons · 6 in the Commons category

What it is

The Chowan County Courthouse is a historic courthouse in Edenton, the county seat of Chowan County, North Carolina. Built in 1767, it is one of the finest examples of public Georgian architecture in the American South. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

Property type	Building
Address	E. King St., Edenton, NC
County	Chowan County
Listed	Apr 15, 1970
Listed for	Architecture
Level of significance	National
Reference number	70000447
Built	1767 · more from the 1760s
Architect	http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/db185732aab019215734de63c99d03c7
Type of place	county courthouse
Style	Georgian architecture
Designations	National Historic Landmark
Contributing resources	1 building, 1 structure
Standing	Yes

The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗

Visiting

Address	E. King St., Edenton, NC
Coordinates	36.0603° N, 76.6080° W · Directions ↗
Also in Edenton	25 listed places in Edenton →
Nearest national park unit	Fort Raleigh National Historic Site · 51 miles · on Park Atlas

This one you can go inside. Hours and admission change with the season; the website above has the current schedule.

At a glance

State: North Carolina
County: Chowan County
Listed: 1970
Type: Building
Landmark: Yes
Architect: http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/db185732aab019215734de63c99d03c7
Built: 1767

Cell signal

Verizon: 5G (fast)
AT&T: 5G (fast)
T-Mobile: 5G (fast)

Outdoor coverage as modeled by carriers in FCC filings as of 2025-12-31. This product uses FCC APIs and/or Data but is not endorsed or certified by the FCC.

Official links

Sister site

Park Atlas

Every unit of the National Park System, with its fees, hours, alerts and campgrounds.

Open Park Atlas →

This record is built from National Park Service sources, re-read every Saturday, and Wikidata, re-read on the first Saturday of each month. Register Atlas is independent and is not affiliated with any agency, and a listing does not mean a place is open to visitors. How the data is built →

Explore

Drawings & photographs

Chowan County Courthouse, East King Street, Edenton, Chowan County, NC

0. Cover sheet

1. First floor plan and interior details

2. Second floor plan, section; interior details

Measured drawings and photographs from the Library of Congress. Public domain. All 4 records ↗

Map

Nearby in Chowan County

All listings in Chowan County →

Building · 0.1 km

Iredell, James, House

BuildingListed 1970

Building · 0.2 km

St. Paul's Episcopal Church and Churchyard

National Historic LandmarkListed 1970

Local history books for Edenton

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

Edenton and Chowan County North Carolina
Louis Van Camp, 2001
Find at Bookshop.org

Guidebooks to historic places in North Carolina

Tar Heel History On Foot Great Walks Through 400 Years Of North Carolinas Fascinating Past
Lynn Setzer, 2013
Find at Bookshop.org
Touring the western North Carolina backroads
Carolyn Sakowski, 2011
Find at Bookshop.org
Touring the Carolinas' Civil War sites
Clint Johnson, 2011
Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

When was Chowan County Courthouse listed on the National Register?

Apr 15, 1970. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.

Source: National Park Service

When was Chowan County Courthouse built?

1767, designed by http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/db185732aab019215734de63c99d03c7, in the Georgian architecture style.

Source: Wikidata

Can I visit Chowan County Courthouse?

Yes. Chowan County Courthouse is recorded as open to the public.

Source: Wikidata

Where is Chowan County Courthouse?

E. King St., Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina. The nearest national park unit is Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, 51 miles away.

Source: Fort Raleigh National Historic Site

What does the Chowan County Courthouse listing include?

The listing counts 2 contributing resources. Those are 1 building and 1 structure. A contributing resource is a part of the listed property that carries its historic significance.

Source: National Park Service

Are there historic photographs or drawings of Chowan County Courthouse?

Yes. The Historic American Buildings Survey at the Library of Congress has drawings or photographs of it.

Source: Library of Congress

Where is the nomination form for Chowan County Courthouse?

The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.

Source: National Archives

Is there cell service at Chowan County Courthouse?

FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G at the listed point. Coverage indoors and behind old masonry is another matter.

Source: FCC Broadband Map

Sources

Location, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Listing dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet where it carries the listing. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 70000447. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA. Drawings and photographs are Historic American Buildings Survey records at the Library of Congress, public domain.