river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
that is approximately long, in northeast
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 ...
flowing generally southeast to an
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
of
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 ...
. The Tar River becomes the tidal
Pamlico River
The Pamlico , from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
once it underpasses the
U.S. Highway 17
U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Co ...
Bridge in
Washington, North Carolina
Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States, located on the northern bank of the Pamlico River. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. It is commonly known as "Original Wa ...
.
North Carolina was originally a naval stores colony—that is, the blanket of long leaf pines that covered the coastal plain was used by the British Navy for ships' masts and the pine pitch was used to manufacture
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...
caulking for vessels. The river derives its name from its historic use as a major route for tar-laden barges as they headed to the sea. The city of Tarboro is on the banks of the river. Recent research conducted by East Carolina University, Greenville and Pitt County historians has uncovered documentation noting that before the Civil War, the North Carolina Legislature had appropriated funds to construct dams and locks on the Tar River in an attempt to facilitate almost year-round navigation for the farm products and naval stores shipping plus passenger boats which were travelling between Tarboro, through Greenville to Washington.
Among the towns and cities along its course are Louisburg, Rocky Mount, Tarboro, and Greenville. The village of Old Sparta was formerly an important riverport on the Tar, but declined in the 20th century.
One account of the significance of the river's name comes from the Civil War.
It may have been inspired by an incident back in North Carolina. As the Confederates prepared to evacuate Washington, NC, in March 1862, they sent squads up and down the Tar River to destroy all the stocks of cotton and naval stores which had been prepared by the small farms along the river, to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Union soldiers. At Taft’s store they found over 1,000 barrels of
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 ...
and
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...
. The amount was too large to burn, as it would take several houses with it. So the barrels were rolled into the river, where the hoops were cut in two and the contents dumped into the river. Three months later, in June, four hundred Union prisoners of war were sent from Salisbury, NC to
Washington, NC
Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States, located on the northern bank of the Pamlico River. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. It is commonly known as "Original Wa ...
, to be exchanged for Confederate prisoners. Before coming into Washington, the soldiers asked permission to bathe in the river and clean themselves up. Guards were posted along the river banks, and the prisoners were allowed to strip then wade into the river to wash. Instead, they stirred up the river bottom so much that the tar smeared their bodies completely, each man coming out of the water with a stick to scour the tar off their bodies and legs. One Confederate yelled out, "Hello boys, what’s the matter?" The reply from the disgusted Yankee soldier was, "We have heard of Tar River all our lives but never believed that there really was any such place, but damned if we haven’t found it, the whole bed of it is tar!"
The river was strongly affected by
Hurricane Floyd
Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful Cape Verde hurricane which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd tr ...
in 1999 and caused much flooding in the area. The Tar River suffered the worst flooding from the hurricane, exceeding 500-year flood levels along its lower stretches; it crested 24 feet (7.3 m) above flood stage. In Greenville it crested at 29.74 ft. (9.1 m)
The river was again affected by
Hurricane Matthew
Hurricane Matthew was an extremely powerful Atlantic hurricane which caused catastrophic damage and a humanitarian crisis in Haiti, as well as widespread devastation in the southeastern United States. The deadliest Atlantic hurricane sinc ...
in 2016. It crested as much as above flood stage in some areas for up to 3 days.
An endangered species, the Tar River Spinymussel is found in limited areas of the Tar and Nuese River basins.