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.
"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
| Place | Description |
|---|---|
| Orange County |
was formed in 1752 from Johnston, Bladen, and Granville Counties. Located in the central section of the state, it is bounded by Durham, Chatham, Alamance, Caswell, and Person Counties. It has long been said that the county was named for William III (1650-1702) of the House of Orange, who ruled England from 1689 to 1702. However, in 1752, when the county was formed, the infant William V (1748-1806) of Orange was Stadtholder, and his mother, Anne, daughter of George II of England, controlled affairs of state. It seems reasonable to assume that Orange County was named in honor of William V of Orange (and perhaps also to flatter his grandfather, George II of England) instead of for William III, who had been dead for 50 years. Area: 398 sq. mi. County seat: Hillsborough, with an elevation of 543 ft. Townships are Bingham, Cedar Grove, Chapel Hill, Cheeks, Eno, Hillsborough, and Little River. Produces corn, tobacco, wheat, oats, dairy products, barley, poultry, livestock, hogs, textiles, furniture, pyrophyllite, and crushed stone. |
| Orange Factory |
community on Little River in N Durham County formerly known as Laura Cotton Mill. Once operated by Willard Manufacturing Company. |
| Orange Grove |
community in SW Orange County between Cane Creek and Bear Creek. |
| Orange Point |
E Tyrrell County, extends from the mainland into Alligator River S of the mouth of The Frying Pan. |
| Orapeake |
See Corapeake. |
| Orapeake Creek |
See Corapeake Swamp. |
| Orapeake Swamp |
See Corapeake Swamp. |
| Orbit |
community in S Bladen County served by post office, 1898-1911. |
| Orchard Branch |
rises in E Haywood County and flows SE into Fines Creek. |
| Orchard Creek |
rises in E Pamlico County and flows SE into Neuse River. Appears on the Moseley map, 1733. |
