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

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Place Description
Rackley Mill Pond

See McLamb Mill Pond.

Radder Creek

rises in NE Cherokee County and flows NE into Worm Creek.

Radford Crossroads

community in E Johnston County.

Radical

community in N Wilkes County between Chestnut and Herald Mountains.

Radio Island

land mass between Morehead City and Beaufort, S Carteret County. Takes name from commercial radio station formerly operating on the island.

Raeford

town and county seat, central Hoke County. Settled 1867; inc. 1901. Took its name from the last syllables of two of the town's founders, J. A. MacRae and A. A. Williford. Produces textiles, lumber, concrete, rubber; processes poultry, and cotton. Alt. 262.

Raeford Township

central Hoke County.

Raft Swamp

rises in S Hoke County and flows SE into central Robeson County, where it enters Lumber River. Much Tory activity during the Revolution was centered there, and the name is frequently mentioned in records of the time.

Raft Swamp Township

central Robeson County.

Rag Creek

rises in N McDowell County and flows approx. 2 mi. SE into Cox Creek.