Property management and real estate in Edgecombe County

History

Edgecombe is one of North Carolina's older counties, formed in 1741 out of Bertie County — part of the original wave of colonial-era county formation in the state. It's named for Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe, a British Lord High Treasurer. Over the following decades, Edgecombe's original territory was carved down as new counties formed around it — Granville in 1746, Halifax in 1758, and a slice that became Nash County in 1777 — leaving the county roughly in the footprint it holds today. That long history is still visible in Tarboro, where one of the largest historic districts in the state preserves homes and buildings spanning from the late 1700s through the early 1900s.

Things to Do & Parks

The Tar River is the county's biggest outdoor asset, and the Tar River Trail links more than 55 miles of paddling water across the Tar River and Stony Creek with a string of canoe and kayak access points. In Tarboro, Riverfront Park sits right along the water next to downtown, and a little further out, Indian Lake Park & Sports Complex offers a stocked fishing pond, miles of hiking trails, camping, and ballfields.

Downtown Tarboro itself is worth a slow afternoon — the Tarboro Town Common anchors a historic district of roughly 45 blocks, with restored Antebellum and Victorian homes and a 1919 theater. The Tarborough Faire, a Renaissance-inspired festival on the Town Common, has started drawing crowds for a day of costumes, performances, and family activities.

Dining

Dining across Edgecombe County leans casual and locally rooted, with the kind of eastern North Carolina staples you'd expect this close to the coast — fried seafood, shrimp and grits, and chopped pork barbecue all show up on menus around the county. Downtown Tarboro is the standout for a sit-down meal, anchored by places like On the Square, set inside a restored 1871 building, and Tarboro Brewing Company for a pint in the taproom afterward.