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

Alphabetical Glossary Filter

"
3
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Reset
Place Description
Cheoah Township

S Graham County. See also Qualla Boundary.
Cheoah Valley

See Robbinsville.
Chepanuu

two Indian villages of the Weapemeoc tribe shown on the De Bry map, 1590, in what is now SW Pasquotank County on the Little River estuary.
Cheraw

community in central Caldwell County, named for the Cheraw (or Saura) Indians that formerly roamed the area.
Cherokee

town in E Swain County on Oconaluftee River that is the governmental and spiritual center of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Alt. 1,955. The name probably is from the Muskogee Indian word tciloki, meaning "people of a different speech." The outdoor drama Unto These Hills, written by Kermit Hunter, has been produced there each summer since 1950; the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and the Oconaluftee Indian Village Living History Museum are also there.
Cherokee County

was formed in 1839 from Macon County. Located in the W section of the state, it is bounded by the states of Georgia and Tennessee and by Graham, Swain, Macon, and Clay Counties. It was named for the Cherokee Indians, some of whom still live in the region. Area: 467 sq. mi. County seat: Murphy, with an elevation of 1,535 ft. Townships are Beaverdam, Hot House, Murphy, Notla, Shoal Creek, and Valley Town. Produces corn, poultry, dairy products, livestock, hogs, hay, textiles, apparel, tools, lumber, marble, talc, and crushed stone.
Cherokee Creek

rises in SE Rutherford County and flows N into Second Broad River.
Cherokee Gap

on Jackson-Swain county line near Oconaluftee River.
Cherokee Indian Reservation

See Qualla Boundary.
Cherry

community in E Wayne County between Nahunta Swamp and The Slough, settled prior to 1833. Name is a corruption of the former name, Sherard, by which it appears on the MacRae map, 1833, or Sherards Crossroads, as it was known as recently as 1915. Named for a local family that settled in the area in the eighteenth century.