By Jay Barnes
- 1: Introduction
- 2: From Lizard Lick to Whynot
- 3: They Aren't Where They're Supposed To Be!
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They Aren’t Where They’re Supposed To Be
But then I noticed another oddity as I perused the pages of my atlas—many of North Carolina’s cities and towns aren’t where they’re supposed to be!
I knew that Washington was not in Washington County, but in Beaufort County. And Beaufort’s not in Beaufort County, its over in Carteret County. But as I looked around, I found a staggering number of misplaced cities located outside the bounds of the counties that share their names. It’s as if someone wanted to play a cruel joke on unsuspecting travelers and send them to all the wrong places.
So if you will, indulge me as we review the following cities and towns, none of which are located in the counties that bear their names:
Ash is in Brunswick County, Brunswick is in Columbus County, and Columbus is in Polk County. Craven is not in Craven County, but in Rowan County. Rowan isn’t in Rowan County, it’s in Sampson County.
Stanley is in Gaston County, Gaston is in Northampton County. Watauga is in Macon County, and Macon is in Warren County. Madison is over in Rockingham County, but Rockingham is in Richmond County.
But wait–there’s more!
Lenoir is in Caldwell County, but Caldwell isn’t. Caldwell is in both Mecklenburg and Orange counties. Jackson is not in Jackson County, but there’s one in Northampton County and Union County. Union can be found in Macon and Hertford counties, and the only Hertford is in Perquimans County.
So before you venture out to cruise the winding back roads that criss-cross the Tar Heel state in search of never-heard-of places, it might be a good idea to know where you’re heading before you leave– and take along your trusty atlas.
The author acknowledges the North Carolina State Road Atlas, © 1999, published by Alexandria Drafting Company, as the information source for this article.
Jay Barnes is the author of “North Carolina’s Hurricane History” and co-author with Richard Moore of “Faces from the Flood: Hurricane Floyd Remembered,” to be available in late February from the University of North Carolina Press. He lives in Salter Path.
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