Century Farms of Northeastern North Carolina

“Century Farms of Northeastern North Carolina” is a display of photographs of Century and Bicentennial Farms of northeastern North Carolina.

From the planting of grains by Indigenous Americans to the cultivation of tobacco and cotton, soybeans, lavender and sage, to the care of livestock—through times of hard labor, human toil, and encroaching development, to the introduction of primitive and now modern machinery—farming has been a mainstay for residents of northeastern North Carolina.

According to the State Agriculture Overview, in 2021 there were over 45,000 farms operating in North Carolina with 8.3 million acres being farmed. Soybeans dominated the harvest with over 1.65 million acres planted. As of December 2022, over 1,500 of these farms have been placed on North Carolina’s Century Farm registry, with 186 of these farms located here in the Albemarle region. Farms that have applied for inclusion must have been owned by the same family for over 100 years. Gates County has the largest number in our region with 48. Over 100 farms in the state have received their certificate as a Bicentennial Farm. Four are within the Albemarle region.