Pack your bags for a tour of N.C. Senate District 1

North Carolina Senator Norman W. Sanderson represents eight counties within Senate District 1, spreading along the coastal region – from Carteret County all the way north to Pasquotank County (almost touching the Virginia border). 

He’s a travelin’ man when he’s out visiting his constituency.

 

It might be fun to take a road trip through Sen. Sanderson’s district, beginning in his home county of Pamlico. He and his wife, Linda Sanderson, reside in the Minnesott Beach community and get their mail from the post office in Arapahoe. 

What would you like to know about Pamlico?

 

The first inhabitants were said to be members of the Pampticoe tribe of Native Americans. They named the land Pamlico or “TaTaku,” which means “where the land and the sea meet the sky.” 

This phrase has been preserved as the motto to promote Pamlico County tourism.

Sometimes, you will see it transposed to “where land and sky meet the water.” 

 

 

Either way, you get the idea that Pamlico thrives on its geographic features as a peninsula that is cradled by the Neuse and Pamlico rivers and the Pamlico Sound. Adding to the mystique are several other significant creeks and rivers that flow into these major bodies of water. 

The community of Oriental reigns as the “sailing capital of North Carolina.”

 

About 12,015 people live in Pamlico County, and they also embrace their commercial fishing upbringing and the overall agricultural heritage of the place. 

A major employer of Pamlico County residents is Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and its Fleet Readiness Center East in Havelock. The North Carolina Ferry Division “shuttles” commuters back and forth daily between Minnesott Beach and Cherry Branch.

 

Another great source of jobs in Pamlico County is the Pamlico Correctional Institution (PCI) in Bayboro, the county seat. A unit of North Carolina’s prison system, this “medium security level” facility for adult males can accommodate up to 552 occupants. The State of North Carolina employs some 240 people to operate PCI. 

The facility partners with Pamlico Community College (PCC) to offer a wide range of career and technical education courses for the inmates, with several associate degree programs included in the mix.

With an enrollment of about 350 students on its campus, PCC is the smallest of the 58 institutions within the North Carolina Community College System, but it ranks among the best in terms of “students’ educational outcomes.” One national rating service even selected PCC as the Number 2 community college in America. 

Six youth and family camps have facilities in Pamlico County along the Neuse River. Their investment is substantial, and the annual economic impact and statewide exposure that these camps bring to the county and the entire region is invaluable.

 

The major state highway serving Pamlico County is N.C. Route 55. Travelers can pass through four adjacent towns in about 8 minutes. With no space in between, they are (from east to west): Stonewall, Bayboro, Alliance and Grantsboro.

 Although they are linked almost as quadruplets, each community has its own distinctive character and flavor as well as its own U.S. post office and zip code. 

The towns do cooperate to some degree. But they enjoy their independence more. 

Stonewall is the smallest of the four linked towns with about 220 people. It was the original county seat when Pamlico County was carved out of Craven and Beaufort counties after the Civil War in 1872. The community takes its name from Confederate Gen. Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson. 

Bayboro, the county seat of Pamlico County, takes its name from the Bay River. Established in 1881, Bayboro became a hub of commerce for the region, with ships sailing in and out of the local harbor. Today, about 1,050 people live in Bayboro.

Alliance was settled in the 1890s and named for the Farmers Alliance Movement. About 675 people reside there now. 

Grantsboro was named for William Grant, a peddler from New York, who arrived around 1890, carrying “a pack upon his back.” He opened the first store in the community. Grantsboro’s current population is about 700. 

Here at Grantsboro is the “Crossroads of Pamlico County” (the intersection of N.C. Routes 55 and 306). We learn first-hand how “getting from here to there” can get a bit tricky in coastal North Carolina due to the sounds, rivers, creeks and marshes. 

 

It’s a ‘winding road’ connecting Pamlico and Hyde counties

Our next county on the Senate District 1 road trip itinerary is Hyde County, but you can’t drive there from Pamlico County without experiencing a wide swathe of Beaufort County. Here goes: From Grantsboro, take N.C. Route 306 north to Aurora and the North Carolina Ferry Division terminal. The free ferry ride across the Pamlico River to Bayview takes about 30 minutes. 

Turn right onto N.C. Route 99 and continue to Belhaven, a distance of about 16 miles. At Belhaven, bear right onto U.S. Route 264. Hyde County is straight ahead. 

There aren’t many people residing in Hyde County. Its present population is 4,223. (Only Tyrrell County has fewer folks – 2,897.) 

Hyde County’s geography is intriguing. Most of Hyde County is on the mainland, with Swan Quarter as the county seat. About 345 people live in Swan Quarter. The romantic version of the naming of the town in 1812 was a tribute to “the many swans that once frequented Swanquarter Bay.”

 

A great attraction nearby is Lake Mattamuskeet, which is North Carolina’s largest natural lake. It averages only two to three feet in depth but is 18 miles long and 7 miles wide. Its shape resembles an enormous pinto bean. Drive around the perimeter or take the long bridge to cross over. 

The Visit NC website says that Lake Mattamuskeet is a popular place for eco-tourists to enjoy “walking, biking, fishing and viewing various species of birds and waterfowl.”

 

The vast Pamlico Sound separates the southern section of Hyde County (Ocracoke Island on the Northern Outer Banks) from the mainland. It’s almost a three-hour trip on a North Carolina state ferry from Swan Quarter to Ocracoke (about 31 miles) and tolls apply. 

Ocracoke is also directly accessible from Carteret County by way of the Cedar Island-Ocracoke state ferry. This run takes about two-and-a-half hours and spans about 21 miles. Tolls also apply. 

A little-known fact is that Ocracoke was once part of Carteret County – from 1770 to 1845. The distance between Ocracoke and the historic village of Portsmouth is a tad more than 5 miles.

 

Sharing access to the Atlantic Ocean via Ocracoke Inlet, Ocracoke and Portsmouth have a kinship that dates back for centuries. The communities once combined to serve as North Carolina’s premier Outer Banks seaport. 

Ocracoke is a place where we need to idle awhile.

 

Ocracoke is a place where we need to idle awhile.