Small, exquisite ante-bellum southern towns are an endangered species - even more so if they are located within an hour's commute from large cities. Ease of traveling from crowded urban centers threatens the pristine history and unhurried style of living to be found in such towns, like Warrenton.

On July 22, 1779 the town of Warrenton was laid out by William Christmas, in the same year that King George III was on the throne and the American Revolution was in full swing. That year, John Paul Jones defeated the British ship, Serapis, and the British burned New Haven, Fairfield and Norwalk, Connecticut. In 1765, the county had been formed from Granville County and named Bute in honor of John Stuart, 3rd Earle of Bute, former Prime Minister and Lord of the Treasury, who was as detested in Great Britain as he came to be in the colonies. On January 20, 1779 a committee of Bute County patriots petitioned the North Carolina Assembly to divide the county in half naming the northern part Warren, after Dr. Joseph Warren, who had been killed at Bunker Hill, and the southern part Franklin, in honor of the great American, Benjamin Franklin.

The year before virtually every man in Bute County, numbering more than 600, had committed treason by swearing an oath of allegiance to the State of North Carolina, and against George III. Many served in the county militia and saw a lot of action. Direct descendants of those Revolutionaries still live in the town and county. The petition to divide was granted by the legislature, and the history of Warrenton began. With the victory of true liberty, prosperity grew. Like Jamestown in its beginnings, tobacco provided Warren County with a large financial flush. In later years, cotton would compete for the title of "King." Two physicians were in practice, the first courthouse was built, churches flourished, especially Hebron Methodist, founded in 1771, and located in the country.

One can tell much about the inhabitants of a town by their social priorities. In Warrenton, education was the primary choice, followed by fine architecture, music, dancing, art, and horse racing. In 1786, the Warren Academy was founded by the Macon brothers, one of whom Nathaniel, would become one of the greatest speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives. Theater began with the appointment of Marcus George, actor and scholar, as principal of the Academy. He taught Greek, Latin and education. More fine schools followed. There was a dancing master, John Liddell. Beautiful houses were built as centerpieces to the large plantations, and in time, town houses became the jewels that were erected.

By 1860, Warren County would become the richest in North Carolina. Warrenton would even own its own railroad. Warrenton became an axis for two important mail routes. The cotton gin created more prosperity. By 1800, the town's population was 238. By the 1850 Federal Census, there were approximately 700 people. By 1922, the number was 813 and currently the population stands at about 900, remaining remarkably stable during more than 200 years. It is proof of how wonderful it is to live in Warrenton. With its feet planted firmly in the eighteenth century, its magnificent Jocob Holt town houses of the nineteenth century built before the Civil War, its beautiful gardens and incredible trees, its brick sidewalks, its weekly newspaper, The Warren Record, and its wonderful shops, restoration projects, convenient shopping and some of the politest, nicest people on earth, Warrenton is civilized living still attainable in the 21st century.