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For assistance in many phases of the compilation of this gazetteer, my greatest indebtedness is to George Stevenson Jr. and to my wife, Virginia Waldrop Powell. With tireless devotion to the project, they have compiled long lists of entries from assorted sources. My special thanks go to George Stevenson for his careful work in comparing numerous historic maps with contemporary maps and preparing notes on early locations of geographic features and the changes in name that can best be discovered by this process. From published lists of altitudes, post offices, streams, and many shorter lists of various kinds, my wife prepared and interfiled hundreds of cards.
Two grants from the University Research Council made it possible for me to have the services at various times of four student assistants: George M. Beasley III, James A. Chesnutt III, William H. Salling Jr., and George Stevenson Jr. I am grateful to the University Research Council for its generosity and to these young men for the personal interest they took in their work. Without them, the Gazetteer would have been delayed many years.
Individuals throughout the state willingly answered my questions about specific places; others, hearing of the Gazetteer, voluntarily contributed information. My indebtedness to them is great and my regret is sincere that I cannot acknowledge their contributions by name simply because they were so numerous.
Those on whom I called frequently for specific help include: C. Ritchie Bell, for botanical information; Sanford Boswell; Richard Bryson, especially for the preparation of the county maps; Myra Champion; Fred Coker; D. L. Corbitt; Christopher Crittenden; L. Polk Denmark; Louise McG. Hall; U. T. Holmes, for translations of foreign words, particularly Gaelic; Thomas Hyatt; Roy Johnson; J. O. Kilmartin, for information from the files of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names; Mrs. Pattie B. McIntyre; Elizabeth McPherson; Mrs. Elizabeth Merritt; Thomas C. Parramore; Mrs. Mary J. Rogers; Bill Sharpe; Frederick Symmes: Gary Trawick; Mae Tucker; and Mrs. Elizabeth Wilborn. They responded with enthusiasm to all of my pleas for assistance.
Hardly a state or municipal agency escaped my persistent search for facts, and many private business concerns fared little better. County agricultural agents, registrars of deeds, mayors, city and town clerks, as well as postmasters displayed admirable civic spirit in their attempts to furnish me with the information I sought. The office of the secretary of state, the State Highway Commission, the Department of Conservation and Development, and especially the staffs of the State Department of Archives and History and of the State Library were generous with the time they devoted in replying to my letters and telephone calls. Chambers of commerce throughout the state and the North Carolina League of Municipalities in Raleigh willingly supplied data and showed not the least sign of annoyance at my repeated requests for their services. To many members of the staff of the Institute of Government in Chapel Hill I am deeply indebted for information and advice, but especially to the director, John Sanders, and to Marion Benfield, a former staff member. At my request, they asked a team of researchers working through all of the Session Laws of North Carolina for another purpose to record also the date of incorporation of municipalities. This information, I feel, is a valuable part of the Gazetteer. Officials of the Carolina Power & Light Company, Duke Power Company, and the Virginia Electric and Power Company proved to be generous sources for geographical facts, as did officials of the railroads operating in the state. Attorneys and surveyors in many counties came forward with information they had gleaned from years of experience in working with local records. Editors of every newspaper in the state came to my aid. They published many “letters to the editor” in my desperate attempts to find persons with specific information.
At a critical stage in the preparation of The North Carolina Gazetteer, I sent the file of county entries to one or more knowledgeable persons in each county. To these people my debt is great. They added much new information and saved me from many errors. Those errors that remain, however, should in no wise be considered the fault of anyone but me. In all fairness, it must be pointed out that for various reasons based on editorial policy I could not always accept the advice offered me.
Without the help of the following North Carolinians, this work would be less complete and less accurate:
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Alamance County |
Howard White |
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Alexander County |
Charles E. Echerd, Homer M. Keever, J. P. Lentz |
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Alleghany County |
J. K. Doughton |
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Anson County |
Mary Louise Medley |
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Ashe County |
Colonel A. L. Fletcher, Mrs. Jesse A. Reeves |
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Avery County |
Horton Cooper |
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Beaufort County |
Mrs. Pauline Worthy |
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Bertie County |
Dr. W. P. Jacock |
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Bladen County |
Mrs. Carl C. Campbell |
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Brunswick County |
Cornelius Thomas |
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Buncombe County |
D. Hiden Ramsey, Colonel Paul A. Rockwell |
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Burke County |
Dr. Edward W. Phifer |
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Cabarrus County |
Eugenia Lore, Harold Nash |
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Caldwell County |
James B. Dula, Allan L. Poe |
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Camden County |
Jesse F. Pug |
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Carteret County |
Tucker Littleton, F. C. Salisbury |
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Caswell County |
H. G. Jones |
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Catawba County |
Mrs. J. M. Ballard, Dr. J. E. Hodges |
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Chatham County |
Wade Barber, John H. London, Lawrence F. London |
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Cherokee County |
John C. Christie |
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Chowan County |
Elizabeth Vann Moore |
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Clay County |
Mrs. J. Walter Moore |
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Cleveland County |
Mrs. O. Max Gardner |
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Columbus County |
Jim High |
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Craven County |
Rose B. Carraway, Elizabeth Moore |
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Cumberland County |
Frank H. Jeter |
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Currituck County |
Dudley W. Bagley |
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Dare County |
David Stick |
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Davidson County |
Wade H. Phillips, M. Jewell Sink |
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Davie County |
Flossie Martin |
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Duplin County |
Mrs. Fred D. Hamrick Jr., Mrs. Christine W. Williams |
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Durham County |
A. B. Markham |
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Edgecombe County |
Mabrey Bass Jr. |
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Forsyth County |
Mary C. Wiley |
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Franklin County |
Hamilton H. Hobgood, Phil R. Inscoe |
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Gaston County |
Brice T. Dickson |
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Gates County |
William T. Cross, Mrs. O. C. Turner |
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Graham County |
W. M. Sherrill |
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Granville County |
Claude A. Renn |
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Greene County |
Charles R. Holloman |
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Guilford County |
James G. W. MacLamroc |
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Halifax County |
Mrs. Quentin Gregory |
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Harnett County |
Malcolm Fowler |
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Haywood County |
Hiram C. Wilburn |
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Henderson County |
Mrs. Sadie S. Patton |
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Hertford County |
Mrs. W. D. Boone |
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Hoke County |
Mrs. Kate B. Covington, Admiral A. M. Patterson |
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Hyde County |
Tommie Gaylord |
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Iredell County |
Homer M. Keever, Mrs. W. B. Knox |
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Jackson County |
J. R. Buchanan |
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Johnston County |
Mrs. W. B. Beasley, T. J. Lassiter |
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Jones County |
John D. Larkins Jr., Tucker Littleton |
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Lee County |
Paul J. Barringer |
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Lenoir County |
Charles R. Holloman |
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Lincoln County |
Mrs. Joseph Graham |
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Macon County |
Thomas A. Henson, Weimar Jones, Lake V. Shope |
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Madison County |
Mrs. J. B. Tweed |
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Martin County |
R. H. Goodmon |
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McDowell County |
Ruth M. Greenlee |
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Mecklenburg County |
Charles R. Brockmann |
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Mitchell County |
Jason B. Deyton |
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Montgomery County |
Colonel Jeffery F. Stanback |
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Moore County |
R. E. Wicker |
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Nash County |
L. S. Inscoe |
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New Hanover County |
Louis T. Moore |
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Northampton County |
Mrs. Nancy Froelich |
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Onslow County |
Parsons Brown, Tucker Littleton |
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Orange County |
L. J. Phipps |
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Pamlico County |
Dallas Mallison |
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Pasquotank County |
L. S. Blades Jr. |
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Pender County |
Clifton L. Moore |
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Perquimans County |
Mrs. J. Emmett Winslow |
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Person County |
R. B. Griffin |
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Pitt County |
D. L. Corbitt |
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Polk County |
Alan T. Calhoun, Mrs. Sadie S. Patton |
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Randolph County |
Cleveland Thayer |
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Richmond County |
Isaac S. London |
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Robeson County |
Penn Gray |
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Rockingham County |
Mrs. Bettie Sue Gardner, Mrs. S. R. Prince |
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Rowan County |
William D. Kizzah |
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Rutherford County |
Mrs. Fred D. Hamrick Jr. |
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Sampson County |
Mrs. Taft Bass |
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Scotland County |
A. B. Gibson |
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Stanly County |
Fred T. Morgan |
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Stokes County |
Mrs. Grace T. Rodenbough, L. H. van Noppen |
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Surry County |
J. S. Gentry |
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Swain County |
Kelly E. Bennett |
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Transylvania County |
O. H. Orr |
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Tyrrell County |
Sara L. Taft |
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Union County |
S. Glen Hawfield, W. S. Tarlton |
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Vance County |
S. T. Peace |
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Wake County |
Christopher Crittenden, Mrs. Mary J. Rogers, Mrs. Louis Woodward |
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Warren County |
J. Edward Allen |
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Washington County |
Mrs. Tom Grier, Mrs. L. E. Hassell |
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Watauga County |
D. J. Whitener |
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Wayne County |
Mrs. E. Charles Powell, Mrs. S. R. Prince |
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Wilkes County |
Johnson J. Hayes, Allan L. Poe, T. E. Story |
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Wilson County |
Hugh B. Johnston Jr. |
|
Yadkin County |
William Rutledge |
|
Yancey County |
H. Grady Bailey |
For help with the tremendous task of alphabetizing some 20,000 cards, I am grateful to Mrs. Elizabeth Merritt; George Stevenson Jr.; Mrs. Pattie B. McIntyre; Mrs. Archibald Henderson; Miss Florence Blakely; Miss Mary L. Thornton; Mrs. Jane C. Bahnsen; my mother-in-law, Mrs. John B. Hill; my sons, John and Charles; and my wife, Virginia.
It is with a real sense of loss that I must say that a number of people with whom I have worked on The North Carolina Gazetteer have died. I miss their friendship, and their knowledge of local history is also a loss to the state and to their home communities.
Finally, it remains my pleasure to acknowledge sincere appreciation to the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation of Winston-Salem and to the University Research Council for generous grants to the University of North Carolina Press, which made possible the publication of this book.