History

Pamlico County was established in 1872 after several years of laying off boundary lines with Craven and Beaufort Counties, however its history goes much further back with a wealth of heritage – our heritage of freedom, the traditions and culture passed on to us by the generations of three hundred years which has been unrecorded, unheralded and unsung. The first citizens of Pamlico County were the Indians who, as far as is known, belonged to a great linguistic family of Indians known as the Algonquins, who extended from Canada down the entire Atlantic seaboard as far south as the Pamlico-Neuse area of presentday North Carolina. These people were living in villages along the coast. Navigable streams served as their highways along which they paddled their dugout canoes. One may find relics such as arrow heads and pottery shards along the beaches and in the woods.

Today along our highways and country roads, travelers enjoy seeing neat farmhouses, lush with crops, extending away to the woodlots; and one can admire the new residential areas being built next to stately 2-story and wing manor houses of the past. The familiar scenery is ever-changing and never alike: cut-over timber lands lie alongside well forested stands of pines and small areas of forests. Every so often there is a bridge which covers a creek bordered with tidal marsh grasses. Communities seem to stretch out their arms to reach neighboring communities - green lawns, camellias, azaleas, flowering shrubs, summer flowers, and collards in the gardens, all are a part of “Pamlico” living. Within our community, we have two museums, the Pamlico County Heritage Center and the Oriental History Museum which share the tales and talents of our county ancestors. A historical landmark is the Holt Chapel Community Center which is undergoing restoration by many individuals and groups. The Holt Chapel Community Center had been a Rosenwald school, one of 5,000 schools built for black students in the South between 1912-1932. How they came to be built is the story of a partnership of African-American communities with Jewish philanthropist (and Sears Roebuck executive) Julius Rosenwald and educator Booker T. Washington, who wanted to improve educational opportunities for blacks.

Pamlico has remained a place for people to live and play among nature. In gathering her history, one can see where Pamlico has expanded with new communities, commercial and recreational areas illuminating the way for us to walk in the footsteps of great souls.

Magnolia House

Baird Creek Point