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 |
|---|---|
| Wailes |
community in SW Mecklenburg County served by post office, 1892-1902. |
| Wainwright Island |
in Core Sound, NE Carteret County; approx. 2/3 mi. long. Probably named for James Winwright or Wainwright. |
| Wake County |
was formed in 1771 from Johnston, Cumberland, and Orange Counties. Located in the E central section of the state, it is bounded by Johnston, Harnett, Chatham, Durham, Granville, and Franklin Counties. It was named for Margaret Wake (1733-1819), wife of Governor William Tryon. Area: 867 sq. mi. County seat: Raleigh, with an elevation of 363 ft. Raleigh is also the state capital. Townships are Barton Creek, Buckhorn, Cary, Cedar Fork, Holly Springs, House Creek, Leesville, Little River, Marks Creek, Meredith, Middle Creek, Neuse River, New Light, Panther Branch, Raleigh, St. Marys, St. Matthews, Swift Creek, Wake Forest, and White Oak. Produces tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, cotton, poultry, dairy products, hogs, livestock, farm machinery, concrete products, baked goods, textiles, cottonseed oil, apparel, furniture, pharmaceuticals, packaged foods, software, nursery products, strawberries, pumpkins, crushed stone, and fabricated metals. |
| Wake Court House |
See Raleigh. |
| Wake Forest |
town in NE Wake County between Hatters Branch and Richland Creek. Settled 1823. Inc. 1880 as "town of Wake Forest College," but referred to after the turn of the century as Wake Forest. Named for large wooded areas of N Wake County. Home of Wake Forest College (1834-1956) until it was moved to Winston-Salem. Home of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary since 1951. Produces textiles. Alt. 400. |
| Wake Forest Township |
NE Wake County. |
| Wake Station |
community in N Wake County. |
| Wakefield |
community in E Wake County 1 mi. N of Zebulon. Inc. 1899; charter repealed 1913. Named for its location on a field in Wake County. The failure of local citizens to sell land for a right-of-way resulted in the location of a railroad a short distance s, where the town of Zebulon soon developed. Alt. 338. |
| Wakelon |
community in NE Bertie County. |
| Wakulla |
community in NW Robeson County. Alt. 208. Settled about 1860. Named by Col. Peter P. Smith for the Indian word meaning "clear water" because of numerous springs in the vicinity. |
