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.
"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
| Place | Description |
|---|---|
| Smith River |
rises in W Virginia and flows NE to a point approx. 3 mi. N of the North Carolina-Virginia state line, where it turns S and flows SE into N Rockingham County. It enters Dan River at Eden. Called Irvin River by William Byrd in 1728 and appears as Irvine River on the Moseley map, 1733. Named for Alexander Irvine, professor of mathematics at the College of William and Mary and a member of Byrd's survey party of the North Carolina-Virginia line. Over time came to be known as Smith River for hunters Gideon and Daniel Smith, who settled on the upper waters of the river. Appears as Smith River on the Price map, 1808. |
| Smith Township |
E central Duplin County. |
| Smith Walker Mountain |
SW Wilkes County between Warrior and Beaver Creeks. Named for a nineteenth-century resident of the area. |
| Smith's Corner |
community in S central Camden County. Named for a physician who practiced there about 1840-70. Alt. 10. |
| Smith's Creek |
See Oriental. |
| Smith's Ferry |
See Hinton's Quarter. |
| Smith's Point |
See Mauls Point. |
| Smith's Store |
See Albemarle. |
| Smitheys Creek |
rises in W Wilkes County and flows S into W. Kerr Scott Reservoir. Prior to 1962 the spelling was Smithies Creek. |
| Smithfield |
town and county seat, central Johnston County on Neuse River. County court first held at the site in August 1771, when it became the county seat. Known as Johnston Court House until 1777, when it was est. as Smithfield. Named for John Smith, owner of land on which the town developed. The legislature met there in 1779. Produces textiles, apparel, lumber, electronic components, and processed meat. Alt. 155. See also Hinton's Quarter. Home of Ava Gardner Museum. |
