Anecdotes & Incidents
About Pamlico County
Al Lowland, rom water collected from tool*.
Into citterns formerly wot uted lor drinking. Now
most people utc shallow wells
age in cultivation, and ho envisioned
profits for those who would drain and
farm the cheap land. In 1886, the prin¬
cipal crops were cotton, corn, oats, rice
and potatoes. "The pine forests are
comparatively untouched." he con¬
tinued. And said there were immense
supplies of oak, cypress, holly and
gum.
The mention of rice is interesting.
The booklet reveals that New Bern
had a rice mill with a capacity of 400
bushels of rice per day. and it pro¬
vided planters with "remunerative
prices."
STATIC POPULATION
Since 1910, Pamlico has managed
to offset heavy migration by natural
This enormous holly tree ncor Olympia is soid
lo be Ihe largest in the United Stotes.
This old house locing the Ncuso ot Dowson's Creek is one of scvcrol homes in Pamlico doting bock
150 or more years ogo.
Pamlico has three large rivers —
one at top. one at bottom, and one in
the middle. The Pamlico (Tar until it
reaches Washington) drains a rela¬
tively small area. It rises in Person
County traveling 179 miles before
reaching sea level at Washington. It
has a channel 12 feet deep all the way
to Washington, and is navigable for
small boats up to Rocky Mount. It is
non tidal, though subject to wind tides.
As the Pamlico sweeps by Pamlico
County, it is a majestic stream, with
many important and well-used tribu¬
taries.
The Ncuse is one of America’s great
streams, and when it reaches Pamlico
County widens to seven miles at the
mouth. It drains an area of 5,490
miles, and a channel of 10.7 feet is
maintained from the mouth to New
Bern, with sufficient depth for small
boats 23 miles above New Bern. It
has navigable tributaries, too — the
Pamlico woi Ihe first county in the U. S. to give
every resident a tubercular test.
Trent River and Contentnea and Swift
creeks, in addition to its tributaries in
Pamlico County. It has little ocean tide,
but a wind tide of two or more feet.
Bay River, hidden away in little
known Pamlico, would surprise you.
It is a short, swamp-fed stream, and,
like the New. is all contained in one
county. Narrow at Bayboro. it gathers
in volume and width as it nears its
mouth, where it becomes a sizable
estuary of the sound. The waterway
passes across its mouth, giving traffic
on the Bay River handy connections
for travel north or south. Someday, its
shores may sprout communities of boat
fans.
AN 1886 ESTIMATE
“Nearly the entire Pamlico Sound
is one vast oyster bed." wrote Jonathan
Havens in a pamphlet of 1886. He
was boosting the opportunities of the
section to prospective settlers. He said
the oysters were of unsurpassed flavor
and gratifying size, and predicted a
prosperous industry would come from
them.
Mr. Havens was a bit optimistic, but
Pamlico County oystermen still work
the beds in the brackish waters of the
sounds and creeks, as they have for
centuries. And in one ihing Mr.
Havens was right — they arc mighty
flavorsome food.
In that year, according to the writer,
Pamlico had only one-tenth of its acre¬
