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

"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
Rufe

former town in W Greene County near the head of Fort Run. Inc. 1887 and name changed from Shine. Shine family prominent in the vicinity as early as 1750. A public school near the site operated as Shine School.
Ruffin

community in E Rockingham County. Settled prior to 1860 and known first as Stubblefield for a local family. Name changed to honor Thomas Ruffin (1787-1870), chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court. Inc. 1887; new charter issued 1891; charter repealed 1897. Alt. 712.
Ruffin Township

NE Rockingham County.
Ruffin's Bridge

See Peacock's Bridge.
Rufus

community in NW Caldwell County on Mulberry Creek in Pisgah National Forest. Formerly known as Risden; the present name honors W. Rufus Coffey, a nineteenth-century merchant there.
Rugby

community in N Henderson County on Mill Pond Creek served by post office, 1892-1905.
Ruggles

community in E Halifax County.
Ruin Creek

rises in W Vance County and flows S into Tabbs Creek. Appears on the Collet map, 1770.
Rumbling Bald Mountain

NW Rutherford County on a ridge extending SE from Shumont Mountain. Alt. approx. 3,020. There are numerous caves in the mountain, and boulders sometimes fall in them, making a rumbling noise. Known by the Cherokee Indians as Sokassa A series of earthquakes occurred there from February 10 until April 17, 1874. There were between 50 and 75 shocks. See also The Caves.
Rumley Bay

a small bay in SE Cedar Island, NE Carteret County. Named for the Rumley family.