Eastern North Carolina

Eastern North Carolina (sometimes abbreviated as ENC) is the region encompassing the eastern tier of North Carolina. It is known geographically as the state's Coastal Plain region. Primary subregions of Eastern North Carolina include the Sandhills, the Lower Cape Fear (Wilmington Area), the Crystal Coast, the Inner Banks and the Outer Banks. It is composed of the 41 most eastern counties in the state. Large cities include Greenville, Jacksonville, and Wilmington.

In 1993, the State Legislature established seven regional economic development organizations and three of these serve eastern North Carolina - Northeast North Carolina Commission (covering 16 counties), North Carolina East Alliance (representing 13 counties surrounding North Carolina's Global TransPark), and North Carolina's Southeast Commission (assisting 11 counties).

New transitions are being made in the geography of the economic sectors. Economic Development Commissions are transforming, such as North Carolina's Eastern Region Commission's transition into North Carolina East Alliance. Different EDC's have different ways to increase prosperity in the area. NCEA's first focus is to improve the talent pipeline to create a more comprehensive local workforce. Shoop, the Commissioner for Washington's EDC stated "In a private setting, they would be able to access different funds for additional economic projects or initiatives in the county."

Located east of the Piedmont and west of the Atlantic Ocean, Eastern North Carolina contains very few major urban centers. Greenville is close to the region's geographic center. Fayetteville is the largest city in the region, followed by Wilmington and Greenville.

Geography

Eastern North Carolina is roughly made up of the 44 easternmost counties in North Carolina. Generally, the region denotes all of the state's counties on and east of Interstate 95 (also known as East Coast USA Main Street stretching from northern Maine to the southern tip of Florida). If defined by geological formations, eastern North Carolina comprises the 44 counties of the Inner and Outer Coastal Plains. In terms of economic similarities, the region includes 41 counties. The commonly accepted definition is all counties east of and crossed by Interstate 95, which is 41 counties. I-95 intersects with US64/264 at Wilson County and is in close proximity to I-40. This makes transportation throughout the region incredible along with easy access to the rest of the state and country. The region is further divisible into three geographic sections: the Southeast, Inner Banks and the Outer Banks.

History

The coast of North Carolina were dominated by Native Americans, primarily the Tuscarora people residing near modern Snow Hill. Eastern North Carolina is also home to the first attempted English settlement in the New World on Roanoke Island.

During the colonial era of American History, the East was the dominant region of North Carolina in both government and commerce. Towns of early significance included Bath, Beaufort, Elizabeth City, Edenton, Kinston, New Bern, Tarboro, and Wilmington. North Carolina's early economy was built upon cash crops, fisheries and turpentine industries. Early East Carolinians lived on settlements at the mouths of the various rivers. Settlers to the regions were of English, Scottish, Swiss and German descent. Eastern North Carolina was a haven for pirating and home to the infamous pirate Blackbeard. The city of New Bern was founded in 1710 by settlers from the Palantine region of Germany, and later became the colonial capital. Around the end of the eighteenth century, however, such dominance shifted to the Piedmont center of the state.

The growth in population of the western and piedmont regions of North Carolina after the American Revolution led to revisions of the Constitution of North Carolina in 1835. These amendments included electing the governor by popular vote.

Education

Four-year institutions

The region is dotted with universities. There are five public universities and seven private institutions in the region. The largest is East Carolina University, a Doctoral University with Higher Research Activity on the Carnegie scale. The four other public universities are Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The seven private institutions are: Barton College, Campbell University, Chowan University