The area that is now Tyrrell County has been affectionately referred to as "Heart's Delight" since the Scuppernong region was explored by 17th Century European explorers and populated with small farms, according to some sources. Other sources say that the nickname for Columbia, the county seat, can be traced to a farm house built in the early 1700s that was adorned with "an enormous 'bleeding heart' design. "It was known for miles as 'Heart's Delight' and soon the village that grew up on the site of what is now Columbia became known as 'Heart's Delight,'" according to an article in the April 2, 1937 edition of The Dare County Times.
