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
Calabash

community in SW Brunswick County. Settled prior to 1880. Original name was Pea Landing. Changed to Calabash in 1880 for the gourds that hung outside wells in the vicinity. Noted for its seafood restaurants.
Calabash Creek

rises in SW Brunswick County and flows W into South Carolina, where it enters Little River.
Calahaln

community in W Davie County. Probably named for William Callahan (or his descendants), who was in the area as early as 1778. Post office est. there 1858.
Calahaln Mountain

W Davie County. Signs of excavations made on the mountain are said to be the result of Indians digging for gold.
Calahaln Township

W Davie County.
Caldwell

community in NE Orange County.
Caldwell Branch

rises in SW Madison County and flows W into Spring Creek.
Caldwell County

was formed in 1841 from Burke and Wilkes Counties. Located in the W central section of the state, it is bounded by Alexander, Catawba, Burke, Avery, Watauga, and Wilkes Counties. It was named for Joseph Caldwell (1773-1835), first president of the University of North Carolina. Area: 480 sq. mi. County seat: Lenoir, with an elevation of 1,182 ft. Townships are Globe, Judson, Johns River, King's Creek, Lenoir, Little River, Lovelady, Lower Creek, Mulberry, North Catawba, Patterson, Wilson Creek, and Yadkin Valley. Produces poultry, dairy products, hogs, furniture, apparel, textiles, hosiery, and gravel. Center of trucking industry.
Caldwell Creek

rises in SE Mecklenburg County and flows N into Cabarrus County and Reedy Creek. Named for family of David Caldwell (d. about 1780).
Caldwell Fork

rises in W Haywood County in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and flows NE to join Palmer Creek in forming Cataloochee Creek.