Murfreesborough, Hertford county, North Carolina
Murfreesboro is a town in Hertford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,835 at the 2010 census. A former influential shipping port, the town is home to Chowan University.
Contents
Geography
Murfreesboro is located in northwestern Hertford county in North Carolina on high ground south of the Meherrin River. U.S. Route 258 runs through the east end of the town, and US-258 leads southwest Template:Convert to Tarboro and northeast Template:Convert to Franklin, Virginia, while US-158 leads east Template:Convert to Winton, the Hertford county seat, and west Template:Convert to Roanoke Rapids.
History
Before European settlement
The first recorded inhabitants of the area were Native Americans from the Nottoway, Meherrin and Chowanoke tribes. [Stephenson, Frank E. Jr. Murfreesboro, North Carolina: 200 Years on the Meherrin River, Town of Murfreesboro, 1986].
The first European known to visit the area was John White of the Roanoke Colony in the 16th century. It was also visited by an expedition from Jamestown, Virginia, in the 17th century.<ref name=stephenson/>
The last native inhabitants, the Chowanoke, were expelled after warring with the English in 1675 and 1676. After that, they were moved to a reservation east of the Chowan River in what is now Gates County.<ref name=parramore69.11></ref>
Colonial era to the American Revolution
The first known deed to property in the area is a land grant dated November 5, 1714, made to Henry Wheeler for a tract on the Meherrin River which included what is now Murfreesboro. Several other transactions quickly followed, and in 1735 Joseph Parker founded the Meherrin Church. It is the second-oldest Baptist church in North Carolina<ref name=stephenson/> (now known as Meherrin Baptist Church).
On May 27, 1746, James Jordon Scott sold Template:Convert on the Meherrin River (part of Wheeler's original grant) to an Irish immigrant, William Murfree from Nansemond County, Virginia. On December 12, 1754, the General Assembly designated Murfree's Landing as a King's Landing, where imports and exports would be inspected by a representative of the King.<ref name=stephenson/>
Revolution to the American Civil War
On July 17, 1781, British forces led by Banastre Tarleton and Tarleton's Raiders attacked Maney's Neck near Murfree's Landing. William Murfree's son, Hardy Murfree, led a local militia that repulsed the attack at Skinner's Bridge.<ref name=stephenson/>
William Murfree contributed Template:Convert of land surrounding Murfree's Landing in 1787 to the growing settlement to form a town. The town was chartered by the General Assembly and renamed Murfreesboro on January 6, 1787.<ref name=stephenson/><ref name=republic></ref> This act also provided for the establishment of a public dock, as the town was located at the northernmost point of navigation on the Meherrin River.<ref name=stephenson/>
Murfreesboro was designated by the US Congress in 1790 as an official port of entry, and the customs records indicate a profitable three-cornered trade with New England and the West Indies.Template:Citation needed
In 1809, the Hertford Academy was established in Murfreesboro, opening in 1811 for male students. In 1814, Harriet Sketchly and Martha Sketchly arrived and expanded the female department of the academy considerably. By 1849, it was renamed as the Chowan Baptist Female Institute, the forerunner of Chowan University.<ref name=Parramore69.52>{{cite book
| last = Dr. Thomas C. | first = Parramore | authorlink = Thomas C. Parramore | title = The Ancient Maritime Village of Murfreesborough: 1787-1825 | publisher = Johnson Publishing Company | year = 1969 | location = Murfreesboro, North Carolina
Commerce
Murfreesboro is no longer an active port. The last commercial vessel to operate on a regular basis was a Texaco Oil barge; it ceased service to the town in October 1966.<ref name=stephenson/>
