Enfield is the oldest town in Halifax County. The area was settled prior to 1725; however, the town was not founded until 1740. According to one of many stories on how Enfield got its name, the original name was Huckleberry Swamp, probably due to the low swampland and the many huckleberry bushes which grew in the area. No one really knows how Enfield got its name though some stories say that it was named for Enfield, England, after the custom of the day to name colonial towns after villages back in England. Other stories say it was named for an inn which was located in a field on the stageline which passed north and south, thus the name "Inn-Field." Some say it was named for a tract of land known as the "Enfield Tract" on which the town was built. However, no one knows how the tract of land got its name. Another version was tthat two men were walking across a field and when they came to the end on man said, "We are at the end of the field." It was at this spot that the town grew up and the name Enfied was born.

The economu of Enfield stagnated until, in 1896, when the opening of the Enfield Tobacco Market brought a glimmer of prosperity to this small town of 700 people. As the tobacco market grew new businesses were established along with the Bank of Enfield, the oldest bank in Halifax County . Over the years the Enfield Tobacco Market gave way to markets in the Rocky Mount and other areas. Peanuts, however, soon becamse the leading agricultural market in Enfield. The Establishment of many buying and cleaning stations for peanuts soon made Enfield the world's largest raw peanut market. Today, this honor has been passed to another community.

Other citizens who have distinguished themselves in literary and performing arts arenas are Maxville B. Williams who wrote the book and outdoor drama. FOR FIRST FREEDOM; and Ira David Wood, who is the Director of Theater in the Park in Raleigh. Ovid Pierce, author of THE PLANTATION and many other books, though not a native of Enfield, maintained a home in the Enfield area for many years.

Another outstanding event which occured in Enfield and has fascinated its citizens for generations was the famous "Buzzard Town vs. Enfield" baseball game. This baseball was played between the two rival communities of Enfield and Buzzard Town and probably had the highest score ever recorded for any baseball game--147-32. As the story goes Enfield challenged Buzzard Town to a baseball game. On the day of the game, the two teams met and established the rules of play. It was agreed that if the ball was hit far enough, the batter could circle the bases until the ball was brought back into play. As it so happened the Enfield player hit the ball into some tall grass and was able to score 32 runs before the was was returned to the playing field. When the Buzzard Town team got up to bat, one of their batters hit the ball into a box car of a passing freight train (as Enfield was beside the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad). A quick thinking Enfield player jump on his horse and rode to the nearby railway station and telegraphed the station in Whitakers to flag down the train. He then rode the six miles to Whitakers, got the ball and returned to the playing field. By that timethe Buzzard Town player had scored 147 rns. Buzzard Town was declared the winner and Enfield would never play them again.

Some other interesting facts about Enfield are:
• it's the smallest town in the world to confer the eighteenth degree Mason. It was the home of R.C. Dunn who was Grand Master of Masons in North Carolina and Imperial Potentate of the Mystic Shrine of the U.S.
• Enfield had at one time five private schools -- three for boys and two for girls.

Though the history of Enfield's past has faded into the pages of history, the strength of the town comes from its people through which the courage, faith, determination and spirit of its pioneer builders have been handed down from generation to generation.