Shaftesbury Precinct, North Carolina

About 1680 the Lord Proprietors of North Carolina renamed Chowan Precinct the Shaftesbury Precinct. However, the new name was not accepted or used outside of official circles by the precinct residents. By the mid-1680s the name was changed back to Chowan. The name has remained Chowan ever since.

Records of the renamed Shaftesbury Precinct can be found in repositories of Chowan County, or at the North Carolina State Archives.