Hertford County, located in North Carolina's Coastal Plain region and partially bordering the state of Virginia, was formed from Bertie, Chowan, and Northampton Counties in 1759. The county took its name from Francis Seymour Conway, earl and later marquis of Hertford. Communities in the county include the county seat of Winton (originally Wynntown [incorporated in 1766], which replaced Cotton's Ferry), Ahoskie, Murfreesboro, Harrellsville, Como, and Cofield.

Once inhabited by Chowanoac, Meherrin, and Tuscarora Indian tribes, the eastern area of Hertford County was explored by English settlers of the early Roanoke Island and Jamestown colonies and became a British possession known as the Parish of St. Barnabas. Settlers took full advantage of the area's rich farmland as well as the opportunities for fishing offered by the Chowan River. The town of Winton was the first North Carolina town to be burned during the Civil War (20 Feb. 1862).

Though the county later experienced some industrial development and had incorporated manufacturing into its economy by the 1950s, agriculture continued to dominate through the early 2000s, with staples such as tobacco, cotton, peanuts, corn, and soybeans among the leading crops. Chowan College, a Baptist school, was founded in Murfreesboro in 1848. The county also hosts the modern-day Meherrin Indian tribe, which has about 700 members. The overall population of Hertford County was estimated to be 23,700 in 2004.