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
Picture Creek

rises in SW Granville County and flows SW into Knap of Reeds Creek.
Piedmont

or extends from the Fall Line, which see, on the E to the Blue Ridge Mountains on the w. In elevation, the area ranges from approx. 500 ft. above sea level on the E to 1,500 ft. on the w. Rolling hills and stiff clay soil are characteristic of the Piedmont. The Indians knew the region as Tar-ko-ee (Catawba Land; Under Hills).
Piedmont Crescent

is an extended area in the Piedmont section of the state from Wake County on the E through Durham, Orange, Alamance, Guilford, Randolph, Forsyth, Davidson, Rowan, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Gaston, and Lincoln Counties. It follows route of Interstate 85 and includes rapidly growing urban and industrial areas, most of which had their beginning along the route of the North Carolina Railroad.
Piedmont Lake

in SE Transylvania County near Panther Mountain, drains S into Little River. Covers 5 acres, with a max. depth of 12 ft.
Piedmont Springs

former resort in NW Burke County. Now abandoned.
Piedmont Triad

a term used for the Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem area.
Pierce Creek

rises in NW Macon County and flows NE into Nantahala River.
Pierces Crossroads

community in N Halifax County. Named for the Pierce family, which settled there in 1812.
Pierceville

See Pearceville.
Pig Basket Creek

rises in NW Nash County and flows SE into Stony Creek. Legend says that an early settler, going home with a basket of newborn pigs, dropped them into the water as he tried to cross the stream while it was swollen after a storm.