Pamlico County ( ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,276. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Bayboro. Pamlico County is part of the

New Bern New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The area eventually comprising Pamlico County was first settled by European colonists in the early 1700s. As its swampy land proved hostile to agriculture, population in the land grew slowly and early residents relied heavily on the

naval stores Naval stores refers to the industry that produces various chemicals collected from conifers. The term was originally applied to the compounds used in building and maintaining wooden sailing ships. Presently, the naval stores industry are used to ...

trade. The first communities coalesced in the early 1800s. The area experienced economic growth during the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

. Pamlico County was formed by white supremacists in the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

in 1872 from eastern portions of Beaufort and Craven counties to further their political interests. It was named for the

Pamlico Sound Pamlico Sound ( ) is a large estuarine lagoon in North Carolina. The largest lagoon along the North American East Coast, it extends long and wide. It is part of a large, interconnected network of similar lagoons that includes Albemarle Sou ...

, which adjoins it, which itself was named for a Native American tribe. According to David Leroy Corbitt, the county court convened at a store Vandemere until 1876, when the town of Bayboro was designated the county seat. Historian Joe Mobley states that the court's location varied until Bayboro was designated. Portions of Beaufort County were annexed by Pamlico in 1874, 1875, and 1891, while a portion of Craven was annexed in 1875. The county court met in rented facilities in Bayboro until the county's first purpose built courthouse was constructed in 1893. The present courthouse was built by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

in 1939. The completion of the Pamlico, Oriental & Western Railroad connecting

in Craven County and the Pamlico town of Oriental in 1906 facilitated growth. The county is anchored on the east by Oriental, a popular waystation for boaters traveling the

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...

, and by unincorporated Lowland.

across the county line in Craven County to the west, is the primary trade area for Pamlico County. The unincorporated community of Olympia is in the western portion of the county.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (40.08%) is water.

State and local protected areas

* Goose Creek Game Land (part) * Neuse River Game Land (part) * Light Ground Pocosin Game Land

Major water bodies

* Bay River * Goose Creek *

Neuse River The Neuse River ( , Tuscarora: Neyuherú·kęʔkì·nęʔ) is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in N ...

Pamlico River The Pamlico
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

< ...

Adjacent counties

* Beaufort County – north * Hyde County – northeast * Carteret County – southeast * Craven County – southwest

Major highways

* * * * *

Major infrastructure

* Cherry Branch–Minnesott Beach Ferry (to Craven County)

Demographics

Census reports show a marked drop of nearly 10 percent in county population from 1910 to 1920, the period of the Great Migration of African Americans from rural areas of the South to northern and midwestern industrial cities offering more economic and social opportunities. Workers were recruited by northern industries, including the Pennsylvania Railroad, which was rapidly expanding at the time.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 12,276 people, 5,416 households, and 3,589 families residing in the county.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 12,934 people, 5,178 households, and 3,717 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 6,781 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 73.17%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 24.57%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.53% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.59% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 1.32% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 5,178 households, out of which 25.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.81. In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.10% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 25.80% from 25 to 44, 28.00% from 45 to 64, and 18.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 101.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,084, and the median income for a family was $41,659. Males had a median income of $31,806 versus $21,344 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $18,005. About 11.80% of families and 15.30% 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 ...

, including 24.20% of those under age 18 and 13.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

The county is a member of the regional Eastern Carolina Council of Governments. Pamlico County is governed by an elected, seven-member Board of Commissioners.

Communities

Towns

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

* Arapahoe * Bayboro (county seat and largest community) * Grantsboro * Mesic * Minnesott Beach *

Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

* Stonewall * Vandemere

Census-designated place

* Hobucken

Unincorporated communities

* Florence * Janerio *

Lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

* Maribel * Merritt * Olympia * Reelsboro * Whortonsville

Townships

By the requirements of the North Carolina Constitution of 1868, the county was divided into 5 townships, which are only numbered: * Township 1 * Township 2 * Township 3 * Township 4 * Township 5

Notable people

* David B. Mintz, Methodist circuit rider minister for Pamlico in 1804

References

Works cited

* *

External links

* *
Pamlico County Chamber of Commerce

genealogy resources for the county
The County Compass
weekly newspaper serving Pamlico County
The Pamlico News
weekly newspaper serving Pamlico County {{Authority control 1872 establishments in North Carolina New Bern micropolitan area Populated places established in 1872