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

Alphabetical Glossary Filter

"
3
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Reset
Place Description
Guilford County

was formed in 1771 from Rowan and Orange Counties. Located in the N central section of the state, it is bounded by Alamance, Randolph, Davidson, Forsyth, and Rockingham Counties. It was named for Francis North, first Earl of Guilford (1704-90), member of Parliament and intimate personal friend of George III and Queen Charlotte. Area: 652 sq. mi. County seat: Greensboro, with an elevation of 838 ft. Townships are Bruce, Center Grove, Clay, Deep River, Fentress, Friendship, Gilmer, Greene, High Point, Jamestown, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Morehead, Oak Ridge, Rock Creek, Sumner, and Washington. Produces tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, sorghum, poultry, eggs, dairy products, livestock, hogs, horses, greenhouse products, flowers, textiles, paper boxes, strawberries, soybeans, fabricated metals, aircraft parts, cigarettes, electronics, appliances, pharmaceuticals, toys, lumber, chemicals, and corrugated boxes.
Guilford Courthouse

former county seat, central Guilford County. Est. 1774; chartered as Martinville, which see, 1785; abandoned 1808. Battle there on March 15, 1781, between American Gen. Nathanael Greene and British general Lord Charles Cornwallis; site now a National Military Park.
Guinea Mill Run

a stream, rises in N Currituck County and flows SE into Tull Creek. A part of Dismal Swamp drains into Guinea Mill Run.
Gul Island

See Great Island.
Gulden Creek

rises in SE Craven County and flows NW into Clubfoot Creek.
Gulf

town in S central Chatham County. Inc. 1913, but long inactive in municipal affairs. Early nineteenth-century center of trade and coal mining. Alt. 275. The geographic center of the state, which see, is nearby.
Gulf Branch

rises in NW Burke County and flows SW into Linville River.
Gulf Creek

rises in SE Chatham County and flows SW into Cape Fear River.
Gulf Prong

rises in NE Swain County and flows S to join Chasm Prong in forming Bradley Fork.
Gulf Stream

is a warm current in the Atlantic Ocean that flows out of the Gulf of Mexico along the E coast of the United States and E in the North Atlantic toward Europe. Along the coast of North Carolina, it approaches Cape Hatteras and gives that part of the state a milder winter than would otherwise be the case. Winter temperatures of the surface waters there are approx. 63°, while summer temperatures are about 80°. The Gulf Stream was first described by Benjamin Franklin, and it appears on a map prepared for him in 1770 by Timothy Folger.