Historic Murfreesboro is a very old town going back to the Meherrin, Chowanoke, and Notttaway tribes who populated the area. The Murfreesboro area was first visited by John White of Roanoke Island in the 16th Century and by an expedition from Jamestown, Virginia in the 17th Century. English settlers established homesteads here around 1707.
The first recorded land grant was to Henry Wheeler in 1714 along the Meherrin River. In 1746, Irish Immigrant William Murfree purchased a large tract of land. Eight years later Murfree’s Landing was designated to be a King’s Landing where goods arriving and departing by boat could be inspected by a representative of His Majesty’s government. Known as Murfree's Ferry by 1770, the village prospered as a port and agricultural center.
The town of Murfreesboro was chartered on January 6, 1787 by the North Carolina General Assembly as the town of Murfreesborough. 97 acres of land to form the town were donated by William Murfree. The town of Princeton, about 4 miles upriver from Murfreesboro, was chartered the same day; however within 15 years, Princeton was a virtual ghost town, primarily due to a less accessible location on the Meherrin River. In the 1800s, the town was known as a center for education and culture with the founding of the Hertford Academy, the Chowan Baptist Female Institute, and Wesleyan Female College. During the Civil War, Murfreesboro was spared the destruction that the county seat, Winton, endured which was burned by the Union troops.
Located on the banks of the Meherrin River, Historic Murfreesboro contains a 12-block National Register Historic District. The original riverport is still called Murfree’s Landing and is being redeveloped as a town park with picnic tables, parking, kayak and canoe launch, and a pier. Riverside Park on the east side of town is the home of local intramural football and baseball sports programs for children, and an annual Juneteenth Celebration.
Murfreesboro is the home of Chowan University, The North Carolina Watermelon Festival, an excellent volunteer fire department, the Brady C. Jefcoat of Americana, many wonderful restaurants and stores, a vibrant historical association, several churches, Riverview Elementary School, Hertford County Middle School, and an attractive and thriving Main Street. Our local radio station is 98.3 FM WDLZ – “The Earl” which features a weekly Sunday afternoon program of classic and new Carolina Beach Music. We are proud that our town is still known as a center of education and culture in North Eastern North Carolina.
