Camden County, North Carolina

I recently took a day trip to Camden County, a rural county in northeastern North Carolina, one county west of the Outer Banks. According to the 2010 Census, Camden County is the fourth least populated county in North Carolina. One of the reasons I wanted to visit Camden County is because the southern end of the Great Dismal Swamp is in northern Camden County.

I started out in Camden, the county seat, where I located the county courthouse and the old jail, which is now a museum. The courthouse has a veterans monument in front of it. Camden County was formed in 1777, and this courthouse was built in 1847. (The previous courthouse was built in 1782, and burned down in 1845.)

Another highlight was the visiting the southern tip of the Great Dismal Swamp. South Mills, in northern Camden County, is home to the Dismal Swamp State Park, as well as the Dismal Swamp Canal Visitor Center. This is a peaceful, beautiful area, and I'd

highly recommend a visit.

Toward the end of my day in Camden County, I visited the Shiloh community, where I found Shiloh Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist Church in North Carolina.

I really enjoyed my time in Camden County, and definitely recommend a visit! My photos are here.

Wayne County, North Carolina

Last Saturday, April 28, I visited Wayne County. I've visited Wayne County many times over the years, since my mom was born and raised in Goldsboro, the county seat. I enjoyed returning to the area, and I got to see some parts of Wayne County that I haven't been to before. It was a fun day!

My first stop was Mount Olive, home of the annual North Carolina Pickle Festival, which took place on Saturday! The Pickle Festival has been going on since 1986, but this was my first time there. Mount Olive is also home to the Mount Olive Pickle Company,  as well as the University of Mount Olive. I really enjoy the Pickle Festival! There were a lot of vendors, as well as several stages for live performances (music and dancing). There was also a car show and a tractor show going on. Mount Olive Pickle had a big tent, where they were passing out free pickles! I bought a cute 2018 Pickle Festival t-shirt, to boot.

Next, I headed to Goldsboro, where I took a photo of the Wayne County

Courthouse. From there, I went to my visit my uncle, Marion, at his store in downtown Goldsboro. It was fun, as usual, to visit with him!


After exploring downtown Goldsboro a little more, I headed toward Nahunta, and the Nahunta Pork Center. I was curious to check this pork place out, but it was closed by the time I got there. So I headed back to Goldsboro for some eastern-style barbecue,  then headed for home.

I looked for nearby geocaches throughout the day, and found nine Wayne County geocaches in all--a good geocaching day, too! One geocache I found was at the Wayne County Museum, a nice place that I visited another time but didn't go inside on Saturday.

I had a great day in Wayne County! I just wish I could've shared the day with more of my family! The rest of my photos of this fun day are here.

Martin County, North Carolina

On March 31, I visited Martin County in eastern North Carolina.

Jamesville Water Tower

My first stop was Jamesville, home of the North Carolina Herring Festival, held every Easter weekend. I got there just in time for the parade! I enjoyed my parade watching spot on a curb near downtown, where I saw the parade from beginning to end. There were EMS vehicles and firetrucks, old cars, shiny truck cabs, some floats, and even some golf carts decorated like Easter bunnies. Miss North Carolina 2017 rode by, waving to the crowds, and the Dunn Sudan Clowns came by a couple of times. The crowds in my area enjoyed the parade!

Dunn Sudan Clowns in Parade

After the parade, the Herring Festival continued in downtown Jamesville, and included vendors (both food and non-food merchandise), live music, and some rides. It was a beautiful day for the festival, and people seemed to enjoy milling around and stopping to chat with each other and the vendors. Somehow, I missed the herring at the festival, but there must have been some around!

After spending time in Jamesville, I drove to Williamston, the county seat. Like Jamesville,  Williamston is a charming little town. Horses are big in Williamston. Every September the town is host to the popular Carolina County Stampede. The Bob Martin Eastern Agricultural Center hosts horse shows, among other things. I made a stop at the Martin County Courthouse, which is so charming. It's on the National Register of Historic Places.

All of my Martin County photos are in an album on Flickr, and can be found here.

Montgomery County, North Carolina

George and I spent a cloudy Saturday in Montgomery County, and we really enjoyed it!

The drive through the North Carolina countryside en route to Troy was very pretty and relaxing. On the way, we drove through Carthage, county seat of Moore County, a county I've already visited. I made several stops in Moore County on my official visit there, but didn't make it to Carthage. It's a pretty town, and I'm sorry I didn't include it in my Moore County post.

Montgomery County Courthouse

Our first stop in Montgomery County was the county courthouse in the county seat of Troy. It's an old looking building, but very pretty, I think! It was built in 1921, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. In an era where a number of old courthouses have been replaces by more modern gray buildings, this one is a charmer.

Star Library

From there, we went to Star, which is the geographic center of North Carolina. It's a charming little town, with a downtown area that includes the Star Branch Library. The Star Municipal Building has a model train in front, near a plaque with the coordinates for the center of the state.

While in Montgomery County, I found geocaches in both Troy and Star--always fun!

What would I do differently if I were to visit Montgomery County again? I'd made sure to visit the unincorporated community of Blank Ankle, which in addition to the interesting name, sounds like a close knit community. Plus, the Blackankle Bog Preserve and Blackankle Fort sound like interesting places to visit while in Black Ankle.

Photos of our trip to Montgomery County are posted in an album on Flickr, which can be found here.

Iredell County, NC

On July 5, 2017, I visited Iredell County. I've been looking forward to revisiting Iredell County, since I moved to Iredell County just after college. I got a late start, unfortunately, so I didn't get to explore as much as I'd planned, but I still enjoyed my time there.

I took more rural route into the county, and landed first in Union Grove, where I found my first geocache in Iredell County. It turns out that Union Grove used to be home to a Fiddler's Convention, organized to raise funds for the local school, very interesting! The Wilson Special Collections Library at UNC-Chapel Hill has some materials on the Union Grove fiddler's convention, which had several names through the years. The collection is described here.

Love Valley, NC

My next stop in Iredell County was Love Valley. I vaguely remembered a visit to Love Valley from my time in Statesville, so I was interested in returning for this blog. Love Valley is an interesting little place with a western theme. There's a big sign of Love Valley town rules on the way into town. Cars can drive through the residential parts of Love Valley, but once you hit "downtown," no cars are allowed. You can walk in, or you can ride your horse in a hitch it to a post.No kidding! (This is a big horse area!) I wish I'd taken more pictures, but it really is something to see in person, if you ever get the chance. It's like stepping back in time.

Speaking of stepping back in time, I had a surprise when I decided to leave Love Valley and head for Statesville, the county seat. I plugged "Statesville" into Google Maps on my phone, and got the message, "No route found." I closed and reopened the app, same message. Next, I turned my phone off and back on, still no route found! I was worried only briefly, then I remembered that Statesviille is south of Love Valley, and I have a compass on my rear view mirror. So, I headed southward, and eventually got a Google Maps route into downtown Statesville.

First Presbyterian Church, Statesville

I enjoyed my drive around Statesville. Some things looked familiar, but other things were different, since I left in 1988, and haven't been back since. I stopped and took a photo of First Presbyterian, the church I joined while I lived there. (I remember feeling like such an adult, joining my first church away from my hometown in Alabama.) This was my only stop, unfortunately, since the day was getting on, and I still had a drive to get back home. I did drive by my first post-college workplace, Barium Springs Home for Children, in southern Iredell County. Things have changed there (both in name and in buildings), but the campus looked nice.

All in all, it was a nice visit back to my old stomping grounds! My photos of Iredell County are here.

Edgecombe County, North Carolina

On June 30, I enjoyed visiting Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Edgecombe County was formed in 1741, from neighboring Bertie County, so it's one of the older counties in North Carolina.

Edgecombe County Courthouse

I started in Tarboro, the county seat of Edgecombe County. Although Tarboro isn't the largest city in Edgecombe County (that distinction belongs to Rocky Mount, which straddles Edgecombe and Nash counties),  it's a charming place. I stopped at the Edgecombe County Courthouse, then walked and drove around Tarboro a bit. It's easy to tell there's a lot of history there.

Next, I visited the Edgecombe County town of Pinetops. Even though it has a population of less than 2,000, I was impressed by little Pinetops, and would like to explore around there some more. I did stop at a local park, where I tried to find a geocache, but found a VFW memorial instead. I also stopped by the Pinetops Branch Public Library for a quick photo.

Speaking of photos, my pictures from this adventure have been uploaded on Flickr, and can be found here.

Halifax County, North Carolina

Last May 28 (2016), George and I took a day trip to Halifax County, North Carolina. What a pretty and interesting area! Halifax County's website says Weldon, located in Halifax County, is the Rockfish Capital of the World--who knew?!

Halifax County Courthouse

The county seat of Halifax County is the town of Halifax, which had a population of less than 250 residents in the 2010 census. The Halifax County Courthouse is located there, and it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I really like the cupola on top of the courthouse!

As we explored, George and I stopped to visit Historic Halifax, a North Carolina Historic Site. There's a small museum there, which offers information on the history of the town, as well as maps to get to nearby historic buildings of interest. This was a very helpful stop, since we didn't know much about the area before. Admission is free, though donations are welcome.

Halifax Resolves Mural, Halifax

One of the surprising things we learned about this area was that the Halifax Resolves, a resolution that helped pave the way for the presentation of the  Declaration of Independence, was signed in Halifax. This permitted the North Carolina delegates to later vote in favor of independence. I was happy to find this nice mural honoring the Halifax Resolves in downtown Halifax.

We also enjoyed driving through Medoc Mountain State Park, located in Hollister, and the Roanoke Canal Museum and Trail in Roanoke Rapids. The museum was closed by the time we got there, but we enjoyed walking around the trail. We didn't see much of Roanoke Rapids, so I'd like to go back for a more thorough visit sometime.

More photos from our visit to Halifax County can be found on Flickr, accessible here.