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Surrounding the sound, this area is the cradle of North Carolina's civilization.
Our gracious and faithful soul was born here.
The stately towns of Windsor, Hamilton, Murfreesboro, Edenton, Hertford and Elizabeth City rose during the heady days when trade flourished between Virginia and the waterways to the ocean, and plantations spread over the lyrically named river plains: Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan, Roanoke.
Respect for their heritage led Albemarle communities to maintain some of the finest examples of 18th and 19th century civilization in the state. A tour of the region is rewarded with an abundance of preserved and pretty places. Learn about inspired politics: the Halifax Resolves, the Edenton Tea Party, John Harvey's vision, David Stone's leadership, the magnificence of Somerset Plantation, and the steadfast honor portrayed at Plymouth and Fort Branch.
From the north, the dominant Great Dismal Swamp is the wellspring of the region's culture and enterprise. Today its Intracoastal Waterway brings boaters to the Albemarle.
And in between is a countryside of enduring peacefulness planted by Quakers who blessed its early years and nurtured now by communities who tend carefully their churches, yards and fields. Beauty, peace and quiet rise virtually everywhere, as though they define real civilization after all.