| Southwood | community in S Bladen County in Carvers Creek Township. |
| Sowell Run | rises in S Greene County and flows NE into Rainbow Creek. Named for the Sowell family, which settled in the vicinity before the Revolution. |
| Sowell's Mill Creek | See Mill Creek. |
| Spaightville | a town inc. 1802 and authorized to be laid out on the "ne side of French Broad River … opposite, or a little above the upper Warm Springs" to accommodate visitors to the springs. It is not known whether the town ever existed, but it is reasonable to assume that the present Hot Springs, which see, in W Madison County is its "descendant." Spaightville was undoubtedly named for Governor Richard Dobbs Spaight (1758-1802), who died approx. 2 months before the act was passed. |
| Spain Branch | rises in S Buncombe County and flows SE into Avery Creek. |
| Spainhour Creek | rises in central Caldwell County and flows SW approx. 4 mi. into Lower Creek. |
| Spains Creek | rises in SE Onslow County and flows SW into Sulliers Bay. |
| Spangenberg Creek | See Silas Creek. |
| Spanish Oak Branch | rises in W central Transylvania County and flows S into Catheys Creek. |
| Spanish Oak Branch | rises in N Watauga County and flows S into Buffalo Branch. |