The Town of Trenton is nestled between the banks of the Trent River and Brock millpond and retains a lifestyle of country calmness as depicted in a poem written for it. It was settled about 1713-14 chiefly by German Palatines, French Huguenots, and Swiss pioneers who migrated up the river. It became the county seat of Jones County in 1779 and a small brick courthouse was built which was burned during the Civil War by northern troops.

It was replaced with a wooden courthouse in 1868 which was again lost by fire and rebuilt being completed in 1939 (as a WPA project) and is still used by the court system and many county offices. Trenton was originally known as Trent Town until 1784 when a bill was passed by the General Assembly and Trenton was established. It was later incorporated in 1874. Its early history until the 1920's was that of a riverport town which shipped farm commodities, lumber, and naval stores (tar, pitch, and resin) by steamboats as they plied their way up and down the Trent River to New Bern.

There were mile markers along the way numbering 38. During colonial America and until the 1850's a direct stagecoach line went through Trenton to Wilmington from New Bern and one from Trenton to Kinston northward. A cemetery was started in 1811. A corner of the cemetery is where the first town hall and "free" house was located which is where town and community meetings and church services were held. Many churches were built in Trenton at the turn of the century, and many of these exist today. A dam was built prior to the American Revolution and it powered a sawmill and cotton gin during the earlier years and beginning in 1917, it provided the town with electric power. The present gristmill was built in 1944. It ceased operation in 1964. The Bank of Jones was built in 1908. A jail was built in 1867. A public library was built in 1974. Trenton was nominated as a Historic District in 1974 and subsequently placed in the National Register of Historic Places.