North Carolina Maps

North Carolina Settlement in 1729

A few of the maps are available for viewing:
A General Map of Carolina. Describing its Sea Coast and Rivers (Positive photostat) (1672)
A New Description of Carolina By Order of the Lords Proprietors (Positive photostat) (ca. 1671)
A New Description of Carolina. Sold by Tho: Basset in Fleet Street. and Ric: Chiswell in St. Pauls Churchyard (1676)
A New Map of Carolina (Positive photostat) (1687)
A New Mapp of Carolina (1698)
A Map of Carolana and of the River Meschacebe (Positive photostat) (1722)
Carolina (Photograph) (1729)

1. Chowan County, Currituck County, Pasquotank County, and Perquimans County were all formed in 1672 and named after Native American tribes that existed at the time.
2. Northeastern part of North Carolina, where European settlement initially began, was known as "The Albemarle," or Albemarle County, after George Monck, the Duke of Albemarle.
3. Between 1664 and 1667, the Cape Fear River was called Clarendon River, and the land around the mouth of the river was called Clarendon County. Both were named for Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon.
4. Craven County was named for William Craven, Earl of Craven, while Sir George Carteret gave his name to Carteret Precinct, which existed between 1671 and 1684, as well as to Carteret County, founded in 1722.
5. Shaftesbury Precinct (1671–1684), which later became Chowan County, was named for Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury.
6. John Berkeley, Baron Berkeley of Stratton, and his brother, Sir William Berkeley, both had areas named after them—the Berkeley Precinct (1671–1684), which became Perquimans County, and Berkeley County, an area that lies in present-day South Carolina.      The final original Proprietor, Sir George Colleton, gave his name to an island, "heretofore called Carlyle Island now Colleton Island," which the king had granted him. The land, now known as Colington Island, lies in the Roanoke Sound, west of Kill Devil Hills in present-day Dare County.
7. As the original Proprietors died or sold their shares, new men took their positions and also lent their names to North Carolina places. From 1705 until 1712, the area that became Craven County was known as the Archdale Precinct, after John Archdale, who served briefly as governor and was one of the few Proprietors to ever visit the colony. The communities of Archdale in present-day Cleveland and Randolph counties were also named in his honor. In addition, for a short period, the area that became Hyde County was known as Wickham Precinct, for Archdale's home in England—Temple Wycombe.
8. In 1712 the Pamptecough Precinct (present-day Beaufort County) was renamed in honor of Henry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort, who had inherited the Duke of Albemarle's original share of the colony. The town of Beaufort, in present-day Carteret County, was also named for Somerset. Bertie County was named for brothers James and Henry Bertie, who received portions of the shares initially owned by the Earl of Clarendon and Sir William Berkeley. Granville County, created in 1746, was named for John Carteret, Earl Granville, son of original Proprietor Sir George Carteret. Tyrrell County, founded in 1729, was named for Sir John Tyrrell, who in 1725 acquired the share originally owned by the Earl of Shaftesbury.
9. The town of Edenton, in present-day Chowan County, was initially called Queen Anne's Creek but was renamed in 1722 in memory of Governor Charles Eden, who held office from 1714 to 1722.
10. Orange County was named after William III, king of England from 1688 to 1702, who was also called the Prince of Orange. The town of Brunswick, in present-day Brunswick County, honored King George I, a native of Brunswick, Germany. New Hanover County also owes its name to George I's family, known as the House of Hanover. Cumberland County was named for William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, son of King George II. Charlotte and Mecklenburg County both honored Queen Charlotte, of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of King George III.  Kinston, in present-day Lenoir County, is a shortened version of the town's original name, Kingston, which was given to honor King George III.
11. Halifax County was named for George Montagu, Earl of Halifax. Wilmington, in present-day New Hanover County, was named for Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, while Northampton County honored his father, James Compton, Earl of Northampton. Both Edgecombe and Guilford counties were named for men who held the post of lord of the British treasury, while Onslow County was named after the Speaker of the British House of Commons. Three places—Chatham County, Pitt County, and Pittsboro—were named to honor William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, an English statesman who defended the rights of the American colonies in Parliament.
12. In 1764 the town known as Old Fords of the Tar in present-day Franklin County was renamed Louisburg, to honor the capture of the French fortress of Louisburg, Nova Scotia, during the Seven Years' War. Two years later, Moravian settlers in present-day Forsyth County took a different approach when they named their town Salem, after the Hebrew word for "peace."