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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
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.
Orchard Ridge

N Madison County between Big Laurel Creek and Little Foster Creek.
Ore Hill

See Mount Vernon Springs.
Ore Knob

N Haywood County between Fall Branch and Hurricane Creek.
Oregon

See South Creek.
Oregon Hill

community in N Rockingham County served by post office, 1853-66 and 1868-1909. Located between the heads of Quaqua and Lovelace Creeks. It is said that a man stopped there early in the nineteenth century on his way to Oregon but never got any farther, so he called the site Oregonville and the name evolved. Nearby Guerrant Springs was a popular resort later in the century and into the early 1900s.