Pamlico County was named for Pamlico Sound, which in turn was named for an Indian tribe that once inhabited the northern fringes of the county. Perhaps four to five hundred Indians occupied the area during the time of exploration and early settlement. Belonging mainly to the Algonquians, the tribes were the Pamlico, Neuse, Bay River, Coree and possibly the Tuscarora and Woccon. Until the smallpox hit them around 1686, the Pamlico were the most numerous.

At Nottingham Point near Arapahoe, the earliest known gravestone in the county is dated 1745. But historians know the area was settled long before that. In fact, some have theorized that the ships of Sir Walter Raleigh’s first expedition may have touched Pamlico's shores in 1584 or 1585. In any case, scores of settlers were living at the mouths of rivers and creeks and along the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers (in what is now Pamlico County) by the time the Tuscarora Indian War broke out in 1711. After it ended in 1713, all Indians soon left the area.

Pamlico County: .6943 per $100 assessed value of property

NC State Sales Tax: 6%

State Income Tax: Graduated with a 7.75% maximum

Settled in 1890s and named for the Farmers Alliance Movement.

Arapahoe was first known as "Cross Roads". The name was later changed to "Arapahoe" -- some say it was named after the Indians and others after a racehorse of the same name. The Corsa Indians lived at Core Point near the mouth of the Pamlico River and blazed the trail that became the first road to Wilkerson’s Point. This community was settled early in the 18^th century, not long after New Bern (which settled in 1710). Arapahoe’s post office was established in 1886. The town was incorporated in 1920.

Bayboro was named for the Bay River and settled long before it was incorporated in 1881. It’s the oldest incorporated town in the county and was the first to have town water. It became the county seat in 1876. The following year, the courthouse was relocated here from Stonewall. Although narrow, the Bay River is navigable all the way to the town.

"Goose Creek Island" was formerly part of Beaufort County. In 1874, Hobucken and Lowland citizens voted to become part of Pamlico County. Around 1900, a post office was established for the area. The island is a magnet for fishermen and duck hunters and is home to a unit of the U.S. Coast Guard, which is located on the Intracoastal Waterway.

Developed as resort area on Neuse River by the Hardison family after World War 1, the town’s name is derived from an Indian word said to mean, "land of sky and blue water". Older visitors remember it as a resort community that flourished on the shores of the Neuse in the 1920's. Today, younger visitors come to one of several summer camps established along the river.

Oriental is nestled amid five creeks along the Neuse River and connected to the Intracoastal Waterway via a 10-foot deep channel. Settled in 1870, residents wanted to establish a post office when they found the town first needed an official name. One resident recalled seeing the nameplate from the steamship "Oriental" at a friend’s house in Manteo; the steamer had wrecked off the coast of Cape Hatteras in 1862 while under the commission of the Union army. The Town of Oriental was officially incorporated in 1899. Today, with more power and sailboats in residence than people, it has earned its reputation as being "The Sailing Capitol of North Carolina."

No one seems to know how Reeslboro got its name, but it seems likely that it was named for the Reel families. Reelsboro is situated in a very sandy area. Before the hard surfaced roads were built, cars had to wind (or perhaps "reel") around to keep from getting stuck in it! When the railroad came to Pamlico County, one of the stops was named "Reelsboro". Its post office was established in 1891.

Stonewall was incorporated in 1870 when it was still part of Craven County. Citizens first wished to name the town "Jackson" for the owner of a local mill. But since there was already a town with that name in North Carolina, "Stonewall" was selected -- presumably in honor of General T. J. "Stonewall" Jackson. It was home to Pamlico County’s first post office, which was established after the Civil War, and the original site of the county courthouse before it was moved to Bayboro.

At one time, the Indian village of "Secotan" was located here. Later, it was renamed by the wife of a former Union Army surgeon who settled here in the 1870s. Its new name was derived from the words "van" (the German word for "village") and De Mere" (French for "by the sea"). Vandemere is situated on a point where Vandemere Creek flows into the Bay River. It was incorporated in 1874 and was the county seat from 1872 (when Pamlico County was formed) to 1876.