Editing Halifax County, North Carolina (section)

==History==
Halifax County is located in North Carolina's Piedmont, Coastal Plain, and Atlantic Coast Flatwoods regions.<ref>USDA</ref> The geography and history of the county were shaped by the [[Roanoke River]], which forms its northern boundary. The county was formed from neighboring [[Edgecombe County, North Carolina|Edgecombe County]] in 1758.<ref name="Hello Halifax County"/> According to Preservation North Carolina, "Halifax County is one of the oldest counties in North Carolina with a rich history dating back to the earliest days of European settlement of North America. Over the years, Halifax County has provided North Carolina with more leaders – governors, congressmen, generals – than any other county in the state."

Originally the area was home to [[Tuscarora people|Tuscarora Indians]] and then it was settled in the early 18th century by English colonists migrating south from [[Virginia]] and also from [[New Jersey]]. The town of Halifax developed along the banks of the [[Roanoke River]] and established itself as the trading center for goods passing from settlement to settlement. The Roanoke River played a major role in the county's development, so much so that Halifax County was even considered as a potential capital of North Carolina. It remained a prosperous county until the railroads usurped the river as the major form of transportation. After Halifax County separated from [[Edgecombe County, North Carolina|Edgecombe County]], the town of Halifax became the [[county seat]] ([[Enfield, North Carolina|Enfield]] was the original county seat when Halifax was part of Edgecombe County). All territory within the boundaries of Edgecombe County north of Fishing Creek and Rainbow Banks on the Roanoke River (approximately 711 square miles) was officially designated as Halifax County on January 1, 1759. The current Halifax County towns include Enfield, [[Hobgood, North Carolina|Hobgood]], [[Littleton, North Carolina|Littleton]], [[Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina|Roanoke Rapids]], [[Scotland Neck, North Carolina|Scotland Neck]], and [[Weldon, North Carolina|Weldon]].

Besides having 40 sites on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], Halifax County is also historically significant because of two events preceding the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]]. [[John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville|John Lord Carteret]], the second [[Earl Granville]], inherited a one-eighth share of Carolina territory originally granted to [[George Carteret|Sir George Carteret]] by the British Crown. The second Earl Granville administered the district (an area between the present Virginia-North Carolina border and a line about 65 miles south) from across the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]], but there was little oversight and the land agents he put in charge of granting land, collecting rent and surveying for settlers – Edward Moseley, Francis Corbin and Thomas Child – were often accused of malfeasance by settlers and landowners.

On January 24, 1759, a group of men from Halifax and Edgecombe counties rode to Francis Corbin's house in Edenton and seized him during the night. The men were upset because Corbin had extorted money from them when collecting rents for Lord Granville who controlled the land on which they lived. Corbin was taken to Enfield, along with a co-conspirator Thomas Bodley – and the men were kept in jail for four days – until they agreed to acknowledge the corruption and set records straight. Enfield was the seat of the judicial district, including Northampton, Granville, and Edgecombe County, before Halifax became the county seat.

Although Corbin was eventually relieved of his duties by Lord Granville, a few months later a court accused the Halifax and Edgecombe men of kidnapping. The kidnappers were imprisoned in the Enfield jail and a second "riot" erupted on May 14, 1759, when a mob broke into the jail and freed the men who had kidnapped Corbin and Bodley. Distrust of the British Crown and the rule of royal governors continued to foment unrest in eastern North Carolina until the colony became the first of its peers to recommend American independence.

On April 12, 1776, the North Carolina Provincial Congress met in Halifax and passed a resolution known as the Halifax Resolves. The first resolution of its kind, the document instructed North Carolina's delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to vote for independence from Great Britain. The date of the Halifax Resolves is commemorated on the state's flag. Each year April 12 is celebrated as Halifax Day, with individuals in period costumes demonstrating colonial-era activities and craftsmanship.