[2][3] The old Chowan County Courthouse is located in downtown Edenton, at the northwest corner of East King and Court Streets.

It has a one-story semicircular apse at its center rear and features a two-stage wooden cupola with ogival roof surmounted by a tall-weathervane.

[3] Edenton was settled in 1658 and incorporated in 1712, and is counted as the first permanent European settlement in North Carolina.

This courthouse was commissioned to be built in 1766, and completed in 1767, and its design has been attributed to Gilbert Leigh, who was living in Edenton at the time of its construction.

It has also been attributed to John Hawks, who designed Tryon Palace in New Bern, was active in North Carolina at the time.