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
Sapphire Country

a descriptive name applied to the area around Fairfield, Sapphire, and Toxaway Lakes in S Jackson and W Transylvania Counties. It probably came into use in commercial promotion for Mountain Lodge, Fairfield Inn, and Sapphire Inn about 1898. Name derived from the blue of the mountains as well as sapphire gems found in the area.
Sapphire Lake

S Jackson County on Horsepasture River and Nix Creek. Formed by 1916; covers 50 acres, with a max. depth of 20 ft. Part of "Sapphire Country," which see. Used for fishing, swimming, and boating; not open to the public. See also Lake Sapphire.
Sapsucker Branch

rises in central Clay County and flows NW into Peckerwood Branch.
Saratoga

town in SE Wilson County between White Oak Swamp and Goss Swamp. Settled prior to 1839; inc. 1874.
Saratoga Township

SE Wilson County.
Sardis

community in S Mecklenburg County. Sardis Presbyterian Church was organized there in 1790.
Sarecta

area in central Duplin County on Northeast Cape Fear River. Settled about 1736 under the direction of Henry McCulloch of London. Est. 1787 as Sarecto; long inactive in municipal affairs. Alt. 67. Named for Soracte Mountain in Italy, near Rome, on which a temple to Apollo stood in ancient times. Often referred to as Soracte in colonial records. Served by post office, 1830-1903.
Sarem

community in W central Gates County; named for the ancient name for Salisbury, England. Alt. 34. A school for Indians was in operation there in 1712, and it was a preaching station for Rev. Clement Hall of Edenton in the 1750s.
Sarem Creek

rises in S Gates County and flows SE into Chowan River. Appears on the Collet map, 1770, where the modern Cole Creek is shown with the same name.
Sarvis Gap

NE Mitchell County between Wiles Creek and Lyddies Creek.