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
Highlands

town in SE Macon County. The highest town in the state, alt. 3,838. Laid out as a summer resort in 1875 by Samuel T. Kelsey and Charles Hutchinson of Kansas. They chose the location from a map when they discovered that a line drawn on it from Chicago to Savannah crossed another line at the site drawn from Baltimore to New Orleans. Inc. 1879. Named for its high elevation. Highlands has an average yearly precipitation of 79 in. Highlands Biological Station est. there 1927 as a nonprofit research and field training center for the study of plants and animals. See also Horse Cove.
Highlands Township

SE Macon County.
Highpeak

mountain on the Henderson-Transylvania county line.
Highs Crossroads

community in S Nash County near Bissett Mill Pond. It is now known also as Green Pond community.
Highsmith

community in S Pender County on Mill Creek. Named for the Highsmith family, which operated a large farm and sawmill at the site.
Hightop

N Henderson County between Baldwin Gap and Terry Gap. Alt. 3,482.
Hightower Gap

S Swain County between Licklog Creek and Wiggins Creek.
Hightower Township

SE Caswell County.
Hightowers

community in SE Caswell County. Named for Daniel Hightower, who moved there from Virginia about 1795. A post office operated there approx. 1830-1930.
Hightsville

community in W New Hanover County N of Wilmington on Smiths Creek.