Beulaville is a town located in

Duplin County Duplin County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, United States. The population was 1,296 as of 2010, making it the fourth most populous town in the county. The community lies within Limestone Creek Township.

History

Native American Presence

The earliest Native Americans thought to have lived in the area were the

Joara Joara was a large Native American settlement, a regional chiefdom of the Mississippian culture, located in what is now Burke County, North Carolina, about 300 miles from the Atlantic coast in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Joara is n ...

(whose settlements date back to AD 1000), based out of present-day Burke County. The Joara were the chiefdom of the

Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern United States, Midwestern, Eastern United States, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from appr ...

. Immediately prior to European colonization in the early 18th century, the coastal plain of North Carolina was home to many distinct Native American tribes: the Coree, Coharie, several small

Neusiok The Neusiok were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Wooodlands in present-day North Carolina. They were also known as the Neuse Indians. Territory The Neusiok lived along the southern banks of the Neuse River, primarily in what are now ...

communities, and the

Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...

. This latter tribe gradually became the most dominant in the region as smaller tribes were either exterminated by Europeans or peacefully assimilated into the Tuscarora for collective security. By the time of permanent European settlement, the Tuscarora were utilizing the heavily forested areas of eastern Duplin County as a hunting ground. Native American burial mounds are numerous in Duplin County, in the rural areas surrounding Beulaville especially. There are four sizable mounds within a ten-mile radius of the town, the two largest being in the vicinity of Hallsville and Sarecta. Combined, these mounds contain roughly one hundred bodies."Notes on the Indian burial mounds of eastern North Carolina"
Retrieved November 19, 2013.

European Settlement

The arrival of the

Palatines Palatines (german: Pfälzer), also known as the Palatine Dutch, are the people and princes of Palatinates ( Holy Roman principalities) of the Holy Roman Empire. The Palatine diaspora includes the Pennsylvania Dutch and New York Dutch. In 1709 ...

New Bern New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

and the ensuing wave of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

settlers sparked a conflict known as the

Tuscarora War The Tuscarora War was fought in North Carolina from September 10, 1711 until February 11, 1715 between the Tuscarora people and their allies on one side and European American settlers, the Yamassee, and other allies on the other. This was cons ...

(1710–1715). With the elimination of the last

stronghold at

Fort Neoheroka Fort Neoheroka (or just Neoheroka, Neyuherú·kęʼRudes, B. ''Tuscarora English Dictionary'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999 in Tuscarora), or Nooherooka, is the name of a stronghold constructed in what is now Greene County, North Car ...

and subsequent exodus of the remainder of the tribe to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

(they became the sixth nation of the

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

), the interior of the coastal plain was made available for European settlement. Many of the original European settlers of what is now Beulaville arrived from

Jones Jones may refer to: People *Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname *List of people with surname Jones * Jones (singer), a British singer-songwriter Arts and entertainment * Jones (''Animal Farm''), a human character in George Orwell ...

, Onslow,

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...

, and Craven counties. In 1736, Duplin County (then upper

New Hanover County New Hanover County is one of 100 counties located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 225,702. Though the second-smallest NC county in land area, it is one of the most populous, as its county seat, Wilm ...

) was the destination of several hundred Ulster Scots (Scotch-Irish) and a handful of

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. They settled on a plot of land, between the

Northeast Cape Fear River Northeast Cape Fear River is a long 5th order tributary to the Cape Fear River in southeastern North Carolina. Variant names According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known historically as: * North East River * No ...

and Black River, obtained from the Crown by Henry McCulloh of London. Their first settlements were Soracta (Sarecta) on the Northeast Cape Fear, an area at the lower end of Goshen Swamp (then called Woodward's Chase), and the grove where the Duplin County Courthouse now stands. According to census records, several families of Sarecta and the settlement at the south end of Goshen Swamp had gravitated to the crossroads of what would become Beulaville by the middle of the nineteenth century. Beulaville proper was founded as "Snatchet" in 1873 out of necessity for a trading center for nearby farmers and those in the business of logging and

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially) turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Mainly used as a special ...

production. Also colloquially referred to as "Tearshirt" by locals, the town was once notorious for

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

and frequent street brawls. Indeed, the manufacture and distribution of corn liquor remained a steady source of income for many families well into the 20th century. Upon demolition of a prominent downtown building (which had formerly served as a soda shop in the 1950s) to make way for a McDonald's, a

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

still and several barrels of the drink were uncovered in the basement. The Kinston Carolina Railroad and Lumber Company constructed a railway from Kinston to Pink Hill around 1900. In response, residents of Limestone Creek Township spent $15,000 to lobby for the creation of the "Duplin County Railroad" in 1916, extending the Kinston line through Beulaville and Chinquapin. The rail, which ran alongside present-day Railroad Street, has since been destroyed.Report of the Corporation Commission for the Biennial Period ..., Issue 19 The post office of Snatchet was officially re-designated "Beulaville" in 1910, and the town was incorporated five years later. The town's name is derived from the Beulah Baptist Church (now the Beulaville Baptist Church). Beulaville is the most recent town to be incorporated in Duplin County.

Education

In 1839, the county passed a tax for the creation of a public school system. Several decades later (sometime around 1870) the first public school in what would become Beulaville was constructed. The facility - which was no more than a small wood cabin - employed only one teacher. By 1901, however, four teachers were working out of the schoolhouse."Beulaville, North Carolina: A History"
Retrieved November 19, 2013. In 1906, property was purchased for a new school. A new two-story wooden building was erected and first used in the school year of 1917–1918; the enrollment for that year was nearly 200. Three additions – the auditorium, gym, and band building – were added in 1923, and additional tracts of land were purchased for the school between 1933 and 1950. On November 6, 1945, the school's main building burned to the ground. Only the John Hargett Gymnasium and auditorium were spared. School continued in these buildings and the teacherage located next door until the fall of 1947, when the elementary school building was rebuilt and a new high school building had been constructed. Potter's Hill Elementary merged with Beulaville in 1960, and

integration Integration may refer to: Biology *Multisensory integration *Path integration * Pre-integration complex, viral genetic material used to insert a viral genome into a host genome *DNA integration, by means of site-specific recombinase technology, ...

was implemented shortly after. Beulaville is home to one elementary/middle school (Beulaville Elementary) and one secondary school (East Duplin High School). The mascot for both schools, as well as nearby B. F. Grady, is the panther, referring to the

eastern cougar The eastern cougar or eastern puma (''Puma concolor couguar'') is a subspecies designation proposed in 1946 for cougar populations in eastern North America. The subspecies as described in 1946 was declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife S ...

which once roamed the swamps and forests of eastern North Carolina. East Duplin High School was built in 1963 and consolidates the elementary schools of Beulaville, B. F. Grady, and Chinquapin.

Geography

Beulaville is located on the

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Coa ...

of North Carolina in Duplin County. It is situated at above sea level, with only minimal changes in topography. Limestone Creek, a small body of water that runs into the

at Hallsville, borders the western boundary of town. Beulaville is southeast of Raleigh and south of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The town's coordinates are (34.923533, -77.774053). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 1,116 people, 748 households, and 388 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 1,067 people, 442 households, and 274 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 501 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 73.48%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 20.81%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.19%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 3.94% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.31% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 5.81% of the population. There were 442 households, out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.89. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 76.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 69.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $32,059, and the median income for a family was $40,347. Males had a median income of $30,104 versus $24,583 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $19,571. About 15.4% of families and 18.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Recreation

Situated east of the meandering

, Beulaville offers much in the way of outdoor recreation. There are two boat landings on the Northeast Cape Fear River within a radius of town. The communal landing at Hallsville, which had, for centuries, been used by locals for activities ranging from baptisms to bonfires, has been closed off to the public. The other landing is located west of Beulaville, off Highway 24, half way to Kenansville. Several golf courses can also be found near Beulaville and in the greater Duplin area. Within the town limits there are three public parks providing a variety of recreational needs, to include the William Ray Humphrey Athletic Park, a ballpark converted from the former elementary school's recreational fields. The park, located behind the Beulaville Municipal Complex, boasts three baseball fields, two tennis courts, two outdoor basketball courts, and the John Hargett indoor gymnasium. north of Beulaville on Highway 111, the 167-acre Cabin Lake County Park attracts many locals and visitors for year-round camping, canoeing, and hiking. Additionally, the Tarkil Branch Farm Museum at Cedar Fork, southeast of Beulaville, features a genuine 1830s homestead complete with over 850 artifacts; the operation is situated on a 375-acre working farm.

Economy

The manufacture of

naval stores Naval stores are all liquid products derived from conifers. These materials include rosin, tall oil, pine oil, and terpentine. The term ''naval stores'' originally applied to the organic compounds used in building and maintaining wooden sailing ...

and lumbering were the first marketable enterprises for the families inhabiting what is now Limestone Creek Township. These commodities were ferried down the Northeast Cape Fear River (which, in the early nineteenth century, had been made navigable) to Wilmington. As demand for naval stores fell, however, the cultivation of corn and, most importantly,

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

moved to the forefront. As many of the small-scale tobacco growers dropped out of the market due to tobacco buyouts, an economic stimulus was needed; it came in the form of hogs. Agriculture is still the economic lifeline of Beulaville (Duplin now boasts the second highest hog-to-human ratio in the country), though service industries and manufacturing jobs are gradually supplanting this tradition.

Viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

has noticeably increased throughout the area over the past decade as well. The North Carolina Global TransPark, a multi-modal industrial air terminal, is located to the north in Kinston and is a perk for industry to locate to the area. Beulaville has also benefited from its proximity to

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States Armed Forces, United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for Amphibious warfare, amphibious assault training, and its ...

to the southeast in both traffic volume on NC 24 en route to

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

and in job opportunities for citizens.

Notable nearby employers

Churches

* Beulaville Baptist Church * Pathway Church * Beulaville Independent Church of God * Beulaville Presbyterian Church * Beulaville United Methodist Church * Bible Believers Fellowship * Cedar Fork Baptist Church * Church of Christ * Cross of Christ Community Church * Daisy Chapel Missionary Baptist Church * Faith Deliverance and Restoration Ministries * * * * Grace Covenant Church * Imprint Church (formerly located in Chinquapin, NC) * Macedonia Holiness Church * Maranatha Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church * Pathway Church (formerly known as "Beulaville Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church") * Pentecostal Church of God * Piney Grove Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church * Santa Teresa del Niño Jesús Catholic Mission

Main highways

* * * *

Notable people

* Charles W. Albertson (b. 1932), Democratic politician who represented the 5th and 10th districts in the North Carolina State Senate from 1993 to 2010. Albertson also served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1989 to 1992 and held the position of Democratic Caucus Secretary from 2005 to 2010. He has earned the nickname "The Singing Senator." * Grady Mercer (1906–1982). A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Mercer practiced law and farmed. Mercer became a county judge and, in 1959, a member of the North Carolina State Senate, representing the 9th District. Baptist. Member, Farm Bureau; Woodmen; Freemasons; Order of the Eastern Star; Shriners.

References

External links

Town of Beulaville official website

Superior Metal Structures & Concrete, LLC

Beulaville Elementary School

East Duplin High School

Cabin Lake County Park

Tarkil Branch Farm's Homestead Museum
{{authority control Towns in North Carolina Towns in Duplin County, North Carolina