Stumpy Point is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Dare County,

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 community is located at the intersection of

US 264 U.S. Route 264 (US 264) is an east–west United States Highway located completely within the U.S. state of North Carolina, running for . Its western terminus is located at Interstate 87 (I-87), I-440, and US 64 in Raleigh. US&nbs ...

and Bayview Drive; along the north side of Stumpy Point Bay. It is surrounded by the

Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in eastern North Carolina along the Atlantic Coast. It was established on March 14, 1984, to preserve and protect a unique wetland habitat type—the pocosin—a ...

. A post office called Stumpy Point that had been in operation since 1876 closed in 2018 due to lack of PO box holders The community takes its name from Stumpy Point Bay. The North Carolina Ferry System maintains an emergency ferry terminal at Stumpy Point, used when a hurricane or tropical storm closes

North Carolina Highway 12 North Carolina Highway 12 (NC 12) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina, linking the peninsulas and islands of the northern Outer Banks. Most sections of NC 12 are two lanes wide, and there are also two ...

on the

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...

. The town is mentioned in the sci-fi novel

Ender's Game ''Ender's Game'' is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species they dub ...

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...

, in which the little town is razed sometime in the future to build a

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport'', and even more so ''cosmodrome'', has traditionally been used for sites capable ...

Pamlico Sound Pamlico Sound ( ) is a lagoon in North Carolina which is the largest lagoon along the North American East Coast, extending long and 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km) wide. It is part of a large, interconnected network of lagoon estuaries that in ...

, and the spaceport is unofficially named after Stumpy Point.

Education

Residents are zoned to

Dare County Schools Dare County Schools (DCS) is a school district for Dare County, North Carolina. Its headquarters are in Nags Head, North Carolina, Nags Head. In 2008 the district began serving salads in the cafeterias. The cafeteria manager of First Flight High S ...

. Zoned schools include Manteo Elementary School, Manteo Middle School, and

Manteo High School Manteo High School is one of ten schools located in Dare County, North Carolina. The high school was named after the Native American chief Manteo, who assisted the Roanoke Colony. Renovations to the school were completed in 2007. In addition ...

References

Unincorporated communities in Dare County, North Carolina Unincorporated communities in North Carolina {{DareCountyNC-geo-stub