Copyright Notice: This content is from the North Carolina Gazetteer, edited by William S. Powell and Michael Hill. Copyright © 2010 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

This content is from the North Carolina Gazetteer, edited by William S. Powell and Michael Hill. Copyright © 2010 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

Some place names included in The North Carolina Gazetteer contain terms that are considered offensive.

Preface to the 2nd edition
Preface to the 1st edition
Acknowledgments
Tips for Searching the Gazetteer

"The North Carolina Gazetteer is a geographical dictionary in which an attempt has been made to list all of the geographic features of the state in one alphabet. It is current, and it is historical as well. Many features and places that no longer exist are included; many towns and counties for which plans were made but which never materialized are also included. Some names appearing on old maps may have been imaginary, but many of them also appear in this gazetteer.

Each entry is located according to the county in which it is found. I have not felt obliged to keep entries uniform. The altitude of a place, the date of incorporation of a city or town, may appear in the beginning of one entry and at the end of another. Some entries may appear more complete than others. I have included whatever information I could find. If there is no comment on the origin or meaning of a name, it is because the information was not available. In some cases, however, resort to an unabridged dictionary may suggest the meaning of many names."

--From The North Carolina Gazetteer, 1st edition, preface by William S. Powell

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Place Description
Natural Wells

community in SW Duplin County served by post office, 1892-1903. Name for large limestone sinkholes in the area.
Nausegoc

a name appearing on the White map, 1590, in Pamlico Sound, E Dare County approx. between the present communities of Rodanthe and Salvo on Hatteras Island. The name is believed to have been an Algonquian Indian word for "take a breathing-spell," hence a resting place for those on a long canoe journey.
Navassa

community in NE Brunswick County on Cape Fear River. Historically African American, center for Gullah Geechee culture and traditions.
Navy Yard Lake

E Anson County SE of Lilesville. Covers approx. 10 acres; max. depth 15 ft. Formed early in the twentieth century when gravel was removed from the site.
Naylors Knob

central Caldwell County. Named for James Nailor, an early settler.
Nazareth

community in central Wake County S of Raleigh. Settled 1898. Named for the biblical town by Rev. Thomas Price, who est. a Roman Catholic orphanage there. Alt. 325.
Neal

community in W Bertie County.
Neal Branch

rises in SW Mecklenburg County and flows NW into Stowe Branch.
Neal Creek

short stream in N central Carteret County that flows NE into South River.
Neal Gut

a narrow, water-filled defile in central Franklin County that empties into Tar River.