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
Columbus

town and county seat, S Polk County on the head of Whiteoak Creek. Inc. 1857. Named for Dr. Columbus Mills, state legislator who was instrumental in the formation of the county. Alt. 1,145.

Columbus County

was formed in 1808 from Brunswick and Bladen Counties. Located in the SE section of the state, it is bounded by the state of South Carolina and by Robeson, Bladen, Pender, and Brunswick Counties. It was named for Christopher Columbus. Area: 954 sq. mi. County seat: Whiteville, with an elevation of 59 ft. Townships are Bogue, Bolton, Bug Hill, Cerro Gordo, Chadbourn, Fair Bluff, Lees, Ransom, South Williams, Tatums, Waccamaw, Welch Creek, Western Prong, Whiteville, and Williams. Produces tobacco, corn, soybeans, oats, peanuts, pecans, cotton, cucumbers, cotton, poultry, livestock, hogs, fish, sweet potatoes, wood products, tires, air filters, chemicals, packaging, watermelons, fertilizer, paper, lumber, textiles, and catfish.

Columbus Township

S central Polk County.

Colvard Creek

rises in NE Cherokee County and flows NE and NW into Gumflats Creek.

Colvin Creek

rises in NE Madison County and flows SW into Spillcorn Creek.

Colvins Creek

rises in W Pender County and flows SE into Black River.

Combs Knob

N Wilkes County between Big Sandy Creek and Little Sandy Creek. Named for George Combs, a Revolutionary soldier who lived nearby.

Comet

community in N central Ashe County.

Comfort

community in S Jones County. A post office existed there as early as 1828.

Commissary Branch

rises in S Transylvania County and flows NW into Little River.