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The Inner Banks is a neologism made up by developers and tourism promoters to describe the inland coastal region of eastern North Carolina. Without historical precedent, the term "Inner Banks" is an early 21st-century construct that is part of an attempt to rebrand the mostly agrarian coastal plain east of I-95 as a more attractive region for visitors and retirees.
The current Inner Banks region was historically grouped with the Sandhills as the Carolinas and Georgia's Piney Woods. Around the time of the Civil War, people from the area were known as "Goobers". [1] [2] The regional name and demonym fell from use over time as the area was deforested.
The present term suggests relation to the historical area known as the Outer Banks, a string of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina that have long been a popular tourist attraction. The demand for waterfront property in eastern North Carolina as a site for second homes for the relatively wealthy has resulted in a tremendous disparity of prices in such locales. Frequently otherwise equivalent lots on opposite sides of a road will have broadly divergent tax and appraisal values. For example, on Rock Creek Road in Jones County, riverfront lots on the Trent River had a tax value of $201,286 per acre; lots immediately across the road had a tax value of $33,634 per acre, according to the Jones County GIS maps.[ citation needed ]
The developers and tourism promoters have broadly defined the Inner Banks as an area on the East Coast of North Carolina that is 22,227 square miles (57,568 km2). [3] The so-called Inner Banks comprises over 3,000 miles of inland coastline and is home to over 2.5 million residents. Marketing people include the Crystal Coast and Albemarle regions of the state in the Inner Banks. Having a moderate climate, the area is becoming a popular destination for retirees and small business entrepreneurs. [4] "Inner Banks" is sometimes abbreviated with the acronym IBX, another attempt at trendiness. [3]
The general definition states that the Inner Banks is a region between Interstate 95 to the west, the Outer Banks to the east, and extend from the Virginia border to the South Carolina border. Consisting of 41 counties, the region is three times the size of the state of New Jersey. Many areas farther from the sounds and tidal rivers have not embraced the Inner Banks brand and are seldom included in the definition. Traditionally dependent on agriculture and the textile industry, eastern North Carolina has worked to redefine the region's strengths to transition into the new global economy.
Six small towns in the Inner Banks have joined in what they call the Creative Communities Initiative. [5] They are working to foster an environment attractive to knowledge workers, artists, and other people working in the creative economy. These six towns are: Ayden, Edenton, Hertford, Murfreesboro, Plymouth, and Tarboro.
Northeastern North Carolina (or the Albemarle Region) consists of 16 counties[ which? ] in extreme northeast North Carolina that surround Albemarle Sound and its tributaries, such as the Chowan and the Roanoke rivers. It has numerous attractions in terms of its undeveloped beaches, rivers, and small towns. Historic sites within the Albemarle Region are identified along the Historic Albemarle Tour.
This waterway-rich region was inhabited for thousands of years by various cultures of indigenous peoples. By the historic period of European contact, the coastal area was occupied primarily by Algonquian-speaking tribes. The other two major language families of historic tribes in the state were Siouan languages and Iroquoian languages.
After European contact, the area which is now northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia was one of the first in North America to be settled by English and related northern Europeans. Virginia Dare was born on nearby Roanoke Island in 1587, in what is today part of North Carolina. She is recorded as the first English child born in North America. The Roanoke colony did not survive.
From the 17th century through the antebellum era, the cash crops were tobacco and cotton, both of which were labor-intensive in cultivation and processing. Major planters imported thousands of enslaved Africans for their work force through 1808, when the Atlantic trade was prohibited by Congress. They and their descendants were integral to the survival and success of the North Carolina colony and later state. Tobacco was especially labor-intensive and exhausted the soil. Some of the first tobacco planters shifted to mixed farming by the end of the 18th century to restore their soils.
Most of the region was relatively prosperous for white planters until the American Civil War. The productive farmland and shipping industries became a frequent target for Union invasions. Several towns in the region were burned to the ground by Union troops during this time, including Plymouth and Winton. Confederate forces at Plymouth made the first use of an ironclad warship, the CSS Albemarle .
After the war, the region was slow to change its economy. The area continued to rely on agriculture for its main economic base, which suffered a decline through the end of the 19th century.
The following is a list of counties usually considered a part of the Inner Banks (listed alphabetically):
Generally:
The following is a list of some of the towns and communities in the Inner Banks (listed alphabetically):
Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,003. Its county seat is Plymouth. The county was formed in 1799 from the western third of Tyrrell County. It was named for George Washington.
Tyrrell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,245, making it the least populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Columbia. The county was created in 1729 as Tyrrell Precinct and gained county status in 1739.
Northampton County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,471. Its county seat is Jackson.
Hertford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,552. Its county seat is Winton. It is classified within the region known in the 21st century as the Inner Banks.
Gates County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of North Carolina, on the border with Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,478, making it the fifth-least populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Gatesville. Gates County is included in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake, VA-NC Combined Statistical Area. It is part of the Albemarle Sound area of the Inner Banks.
Dare County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,915. Its county seat is Manteo.
Currituck County is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,100. Its county seat is Currituck. The county was formed in 1668 as a precinct of Albemarle County and later gained county status in 1739. The name is "traditionally said to be an indigenous word for wild geese; Coratank." Currituck County is included in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake, VA-NC Combined Statistical Area. It is in the northeastern section of the state and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Currituck Sound, Camden County, Dare County and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Currituck Court House, mentioned as early as 1755, was the name of the county seat. Today the words "Court House" have been dropped and only Currituck is used as the community name.
Bertie County is a county located in the northeast area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,934. Its county seat is Windsor. The county was created in 1722 as Bertie Precinct and gained county status in 1739.
Scouting in North Carolina has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Albemarle Sound is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan and Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Currituck Banks, a barrier peninsula upon which the town of Kitty Hawk is located, at the eastern edge of the sound, and part of the greater Outer Banks region. Roanoke Island is situated at the southeastern corner of the sound, where it connects to Pamlico Sound. Much of the water in the Albemarle Sound is brackish or fresh, as opposed to the saltwater of the ocean, as a result of river water pouring into the sound.
The Outer Banks are a 200 mi (320 km) string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating Currituck Sound, Albemarle Sound, and Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean. A major tourist destination, the Outer Banks are known for their wide expanse of open beachfront and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The seashore and surrounding ecosystem are important biodiversity zones, including beach grasses and shrubland that help maintain the form of the land.
College of The Albemarle (COA) is a public community college in the Albemarle region of northeastern North Carolina. The main campus is in Elizabeth City with satellite campuses in Barco, Manteo and Edenton. Established on December 16, 1960, College of The Albemarle became the first institution of the North Carolina Community College System as chartered by the Community College Act of 1957.
The Albemarle Settlements were the first permanent English settlements in what is now North Carolina, founded in the Albemarle Sound and Roanoke River regions, beginning about the middle of the 17th century. The settlers were mainly Virginians, migrating south.
North Carolina Highway 32 (NC 32) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina; it goes through several counties and small communities in the northeastern Inner Banks part of the state. It is 103 miles (166 km) in length, and crosses the Albemarle Sound south of Edenton, along with NC 37 and NC 94. The highway continues into Virginia as SR 32.
North Carolina Highway 37 (NC 37) is a primary state highway in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Traveling north–south, it serves as a connector route from U.S. Route 64 (US 64) to Hertford and from US 13 to Gatesville.
Eastern North Carolina is the region encompassing the eastern tier of North Carolina, United States. It is known geographically as the state's Coastal Plain region. Primary subregions of Eastern North Carolina include the Sandhills, the Lower Cape Fear, the Crystal Coast, the Inner Banks and the Outer Banks. It is composed of the 41 most eastern counties in the state. Cities include Greenville, Jacksonville, Wilmington, Rocky Mount and North Carolina's first capital New Bern.
U.S. Highway 17 (US 17) in the U.S. state of North Carolina is a north–south highway that is known as the Coastal Highway in the southeastern half of the state and the Ocean Highway in other areas. The route enters the state from South Carolina near Calabash and leaves in the vicinity of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. Between the US 64 freeway and the Virginia state line, US 17 is a four-lane divided highway with speed limits varying between 45 mph (72 km/h) and 70 mph (110 km/h).
In North Carolina, Down East refers to two areas of Eastern North Carolina. The first is the historical group of coastal communities east of Beaufort in Carteret County. The second is anywhere east of I-95 in North Carolina in the coastal plain region.
The Historic Albemarle Tour or Historic Albemarle Highway is a tour route located in northeastern North Carolina. The tour follows several U.S. and State highways in the seventeen county region, identifying historic sites and towns, marked with brown signs with the George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle coat of arms.
