North Carolina Gazetteers

Gazetteers list geographical names such as towns, settlements, villages, districts, rivers, and mountains. They identify these locations and sometimes, give historical and biographical information concerning early residents. The foremost gazetteers for North Carolina research are:

Powell, William Stevens. The North Carolina Gazetteer. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 1968. (Family History Library book 975.6 E5p.) This gazetteer lists the names of numerous cities and their geographical features and includes the names and locations of many cities that no longer exist.

Gioe, Joan Colbert. North Carolina, Her Counties, Her Townships, and Her Towns. Indianapolis, Indiana: The Researchers, 1981. (Family History Library book 975.6 E5g.) This gazetteer contains town and township maps and a place-name index.

To learn when a particular county was organized and from which county it was created, you may wish to consult:

Corbitt, David Leroy. The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663–1943. Raleigh, North Carolina: State Department of Archives and History, 1969. (Family History Library book 975.6 E2cd; film 844933 item2.)

Gazetteers can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

NORTH CAROLINA- GAZETTEERS

NORTH CAROLINA- NAMES, GEOGRAPHICAL