Editing Gates County, North Carolina (section)

==History==
===Early history===
As in other areas along the waterways, Indigenous peoples of the Americas lived in this region for thousands of years, with different groups leaving and new ones migrating to settle again. They created settlements, increasingly permanent, along the [[Chowan River]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The History of Gates County |url=https://gatescountync.gov/index.asp?SEC=9FA438DA-A6A9-48BA-B015-DBA6C392FF0D |access-date=June 1, 2022 |website=gatescountync.gov |language=en}}</ref>

At the time of European contact, the [[Chowanoke]] were the largest tribe in North Carolina of the many in the [[Algonquin language|Algonquian language]] family and it occupied most of the territory along the river. After suffering dramatic population decreases by the early 17th century due to [[infectious diseases]] from Europe, which they had no immunity to, most of the survivors were pushed out by encroaching [[Tuscarora people|Tuscarora]], an [[Iroquoian]]-speaking tribe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Tribe {{!}} Chowanoke Indian Nation |url=https://www.chowanokenation.com/ |access-date=June 1, 2022 |website=thechowanokenation |language=en}}</ref>

In 1585, the [[Ralph Lane]] Colony explored the Chowan River at least as far up as present-day [[Winton, North Carolina|Winton]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 9, 2016 |title=Lane Expedition Sails to America |url=https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2016/04/09/lane-expedition-sails-america |access-date=September 16, 2023 |website=www.dncr.nc.gov |language=en}}</ref> In 1622, the [[John Pory]] Colony led an expedition from Virginia to the Chowan River.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Powell |first=William S. |year=1994 |title=Pory, John |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/pory-john |access-date=June 1, 2022 |website=NCpedia |publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}</ref> (Pory was secretary of the Province of Virginia.) In 1629, [[Robert Heath|Sir Robert Heath]] was granted a [[Land patent|patent]] to settle Carolina. This patent embraced Gates County.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Powell |first=William S. |year=1988 |title=Heath, Robert |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/heath-robert |access-date=June 1, 2022 |website=NCpedia |publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}</ref>

The Chowanoke waged war against the encroaching colonists in 1644 but they ultimately lost.<ref name="land"/> During the 1650s, colonists from Virginia began to move increasingly into the [[Albemarle Sound]] region. Colonel Drew and Roger Green led an expedition into the Albemarle area. In 1654, Francis Speight was granted a patent for {{convert|300|acre|km2}} of land near Raynor Swamp. The first English settlement in Gates County was established near Corapeake in 1660. In 1670, Colonel Henry Baker of [[Nansemond County, Virginia|Nansemond County]] obtained a grant of land for {{convert|2400|acre|km2}} near [[Buckland, North Carolina|Buckland]].

The Chowanoke renewed their effort to expel the colonists, warring from 1675 to 1677. Following the English defeat of these forces, in 1677 they created a [[Chowanoke]] Indian Reservation, the first within the present-day United States. The 11,360-acre reservation was established at the Chowanoke settlement between Bennett's Creek and Catherine Creek in Gates.<ref name="land">[http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/08/10/chowanoke-descendants-reclaim-ancestral-land-envision-cultural-center-165361 Justin Petrone, "Chowanoke Descendants Reclaim Ancestral Land, Envision Cultural Center"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812120054/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/08/10/chowanoke-descendants-reclaim-ancestral-land-envision-cultural-center-165361 |date=August 12, 2016 }}, ''Indian Country Today,'' August 10, 2016; accessed August 10, 2016</ref>

From 1684 to 1722 Gates County was a part of the Chowan precinct. In 1711, the Society for the [[USPG|Propagation of the Gospel]] established an [[Anglican]] school for Chowanoke and other local Indians at Sarum, with a Mr. Mashburn as the teacher.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Estes |first=Roberta |date=January 30, 2014 |title=Sarum School – Chowan Indians – Thomas Hoyle |url=https://nativeheritageproject.com/2014/01/30/sarum-school-chowan-indians-thomas-hoyle/ |access-date=September 26, 2023 |website=Native Heritage Project |language=en}}</ref> During the 18th century, the Chowanoke lost most of their land, selling off portions to help the tribe survive. Men's names were recorded in tribal conveyances, and many descendants can trace their ancestry to these families. Some members began to intermarry with other tribes, such as the nearby [[Meherrin people]], as well as Englishmen and Africans.<ref name="land"/>

In 1738, local settlers created a mail route from [[Suffolk, Virginia]] to [[Corapeake, North Carolina]] and [[Edenton, North Carolina]]. The stagecoach route crossed the Chowan River at [[Barfield, North Carolina|Barfield]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=First Post Road Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=2783 |access-date=June 1, 2022 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref>

Gates County was organized in 1779 from parts of [[Chowan County, North Carolina|Chowan]], [[Hertford County, North Carolina|Hertford]], and [[Perquimans County, North Carolina|Perquimans]] counties. It was named for General [[Horatio Gates]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n134 135]}}</ref> who had commanded the victorious American colonial forces at the [[Battle of Saratoga]] in 1777.

===1800s===
In 1806, white settlers established Middle Swamp Baptist Church as the first [[Baptist]] church in Gates County. This accompanied the [[Second Great Awakening]] revival in [[Southern United States|the South]] after the American Revolution, which was led by Baptist and [[Methodist]] preachers. In 1811, Savages United Methodist Church was established, the oldest Methodist Church in Gates County. Both denominations preached both to [[slavery|enslaved]] blacks as well as white residents, and they accepted slaves and free blacks as members and sometimes even as preachers.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

The Chowanoke Indians lost their last 30-acre plot of communal land in 1821. Although Gates County residents were mostly yeomen farmers who owned few slaves, the South overall still had a slave society which classified people as either black or white. However, the Native Americans managed to maintain their culture and absorbed people of other races in their [[matrilineal]] [[kinship system]]s. The Chowanoke were increasingly classified as [[free people of color]], as where [[Free Negro|free blacks]] and [[mulatto]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Milteer Jr. |first=Warren E. |date=January 2016 |title=From Indians to Colored People: The Problem of Racial Categories and the Persistence of the Chowans in North Carolina |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44113316 |journal=The North Carolina Historical Review |volume=93 |issue=1 |pages=28–57 }}</ref> In the antebellum, Gates County—like several other North Carolina border counties—also became to home to a substantial number of free blacks who sought better treatment in North Carolina than in other states, with 361 recorded in the [[1860 United States census|1860 census]].<ref name= medlin>{{cite web| url = https://coastalreview.org/2022/02/for-centuries-rural-character-has-defined-gates-county/| title = Rural character has defined Gates County for centuries| last = Medlin| first = Eric| date = February 28, 2022| website = Coastal Review| publisher = North Carolina Coastal Federation| access-date = September 16, 2023}}</ref>

In 1825, the [[Marquis de Lafayette]] travelled through Gates County and was entertained at Pipkin's Inn.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Isaac S. |first=Harrell |url=https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/13570 |title=Gates County to 1860 |publisher=East Carolina University Digital Collections |year=1916 |isbn= |location=[[Greenville, North Carolina]] |pages=60–61 |language=en-US}}</ref> The town of Gatesville was incorporated in 1830.<ref name= medlin/> The [[Gates County Courthouse|old courthouse]] was built in 1836. Its oldest remaining component is its Federal-style bell, which the town had purchased in 1781.

According to the [[1850 United States census|1850 census]], only 15 of the county's 717 farms produced cotton. In 1851, the Reynoldson Academy was established. [[Free people of color]], who were often of mixed race, organized New Hope Baptist Church in 1859.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

===Port of Hamburg===
County residents worked to develop better connections to major ports. From 1805 to 1822, they excavated the White Oak Marsh Canal or Hamburg Ditch (now known as Cross Canal), about {{convert|3|mi|km|spell=in}} south of the Virginia line. It was Gates County's water route to the major port of [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], running straight east for {{convert|10|mi|km|spell=in}} through the [[Great Dismal Swamp|Dismal Swamp]], from a landing on Daniels Road in Gates County to the [[Dismal Swamp Canal]]<ref name="trout">{{citation|last=Trout|first=W.E.|title=The Great Dismal Atlas|pages=39–41}}</ref> that led to Norfolk.

The Cross Canal is no longer a through route, as it was blocked by hurricanes that toppled trees and blocked access. Until the late 20th century, sportsmen in small boats used the Gates County end, at the site of the town of Hamburg, to enter the swamp.<ref name="trout"/>

===Civil War and Reconstruction===
Prior to the [[American Civil War]], most of Gates County was covered with virgin timber. In 1861, A. J. Walton was chosen as Gates County's representative to the North Carolina secession convention. After North Carolina voted to secede, the "Gates Guard" [[company (military)|company]] was formed raised to protect its borders. It was soon joined by a second company, the "Gates Minutemen". However, Gates County's greatest contribution was in supplying food to the [[Confederate States Army]]. General [[William Paul Roberts|William P. Roberts]] would become the youngest general.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Branch, Jr. |first=Paul |year=1994 |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=William S. |title=Roberts, William Paul |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/roberts-william-paul |access-date=September 16, 2023 |website=NCpedia |publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}</ref> Brigadier General [[Laurence S. Baker]], another Gates County native, lost his right arm in the war.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Branch, Jr. |first=Paul |year=1979 |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=William S. |title=Baker, Laurence Simmons |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/baker-laurence-simmons |access-date=September 16, 2023 |website=NCpedia |publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}</ref><ref name= medlin/>

Jack Fairless of Gates County was dishonorably discharged from the Confederate army for stealing. He returned home and formed an outlaw band known as the "Buffaloes". Made up of draft dodgers, Confederate deserters, and renegades from both armies, Fairless's Buffaloes terrorized the old men, women, children who were trying to keep their farms going. Fairless was finally killed by his own men when they turned on him.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

[[Fort Dillard]] was a Confederate post in Gates County, though the county was sometimes subject to Union raids. The story of the "Ellis Girls" is told even today. While fishing in the Chowan River, the sisters saw a [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] gunboat on its way upriver to attack [[Winton, North Carolina|Winton]]. Union soldiers from the gunboat seized the girls and kept them prisoner on until they had finished burning down the town.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In 1878, Jethro Goodman introduced peanuts into Gates County. [[Thad Eure]], a Secretary of State, was born here in 1899.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

===1900s===
On May 9, 1925, the first bridge opened across the Chowan River between Gates and Hertford counties. In 1925, [[U.S. Route 158]] opened between Gates and [[Pasquotank County, North Carolina|Pasquotank]] counties, constructed through the [[Great Dismal Swamp]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Funk |first=Megan |date=May 2021 |title=Historic Structures Survey Report Replace Bridge No. 5 On SR 1103 (Esclip Rd) Over Chapel Creek Pasquotank County, North Carolina |url=https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/historic-preservation-office/PDFs/ER_21-1421.pdf |access-date=September 16, 2023 |website=files.nc.gov |page=8}}</ref>

In the 1930s Gates County still had no paved roads and few people owned automobiles. Most families grew their own produce and some raised livestock. In 1935 during the [[Great Depression]], the Sunbury Ruritan Club was established, the first and oldest Ruritan chapter in the state. The civic organization of men was active in improving the town: "in its first three months..., the Sunbury Ruritan Club sponsored a Community Agriculture Fair; contacted NC DOT to place a stop signal at the Edenton-to-Suffolk Road; purchased school books for needy children; paid one-half the cost of new shades for the school; had the school piano tuned; and later made a contribution to the school's basketball team and sponsored a move to hire a police officer to serve the community."<ref>[http://www.roanoke-chowannewsherald.com/2015/08/23/sunbury-salute/ Cal Bryant, "Sunbury Salute"], ''Roanoke-Chowan News Herald'', August 23, 2015; accessed August 11, 2016</ref>

Beckford Junction was a train switch in the city that enabled trains to go to Suffolk, Elizabeth City, or Edenton. Beckford Junction was abandoned in 1940. The last passenger train serving Gates County ended service in 1954. That year the Gates County Historical Society was established.<ref>{{cite news|author=William T. Cross |date= 24 June 1954|title= Cross Says Gates Rich In History|url= https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn93064799/1954-06-24/ed-1/seq-1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250101063512/https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn93064799/1954-06-24/ed-1/seq-1.pdf|archive-date=1 Jan 2025|work= Gates County Index|location= Gates County, North Carolina|access-date=1 Jan 2025}}</ref>

In 1973 A.B. Coleman donated {{convert|925|acre|km2}} of land in the Millpond to the state. This was the basis of the [[Merchants Millpond State Park]].{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In 1984 a [[tornado]] struck Gates County, killing two people and causing an estimated $500,000 to $5,000,000 worth of damage. [[Hurricane Floyd]] hit Gates County in 1999.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

===2000s===
In September 2007 Gates County was chosen as a potential site for a [[US Navy]] [[Proposed Outlying Landing Field|landing field]] in the northeastern part of the state.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In 2014 Delois Chavis, a [[Chowanoke]] descendant, worked with other Chowanoke to buy 146 acres of the tribe's former reservation land near Bennett's Creek. She had grown up knowing of her Native American identity from her parents and grandparents, and is among those who want to revive the tribe. They have organized as the Chowanoke Indian Tribe, and plan to build a cultural center on the land to help their efforts.<ref name="land"/>