Just as Morehead City was starting to experience rapid growth, the Civil War put a stop to development, as Union forces invaded early on and soon occupied the town. Unfortunately, this initial exceptional timing did not last for long. as the mayor, and the port, also known as Pier 1, became one of the largest ports in the region thanks to a natural location where the Newport River ran 18-20 ft. Morehead City was officially incorporated in 1861, with a local Arendell - Bridges Arendell, Jr. The timing was ideal, as just days after the railroad was officially completed, the lots were all sold in anticipation of the new town. The terminus of the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroads was constructed in 1857, and soon after the property was purchased, Morehead divvied up the region into 150 lots that were sold at a public auction. Impressed by the area – and recognizing that the newly developed North Carolina railroad would assist with the new town’s status as a major port – Morehead bought 600 acres from the prominent Arendells and formed the Shepard Point Land Company in 1857. Morehead’s ultimate goal was to create a major commercial port city, and he began visiting the site in 1853 to study the area and see if a large port community could indeed be accomplished. It was in this environment that former North Carolina Governor John Motely Morehead, (who was the state’s governor from 1841-1845), came up with the idea to create a port city on the intersections of Beaufort and the Newport River. All of these early roots are evident in the various names that are found throughout the town of Morehead City – like Arendell Street or Shepard Point – and these early residents would lay the groundwork for what was to come.īy the mid-1800s, neighboring Beaufort was already well established, as was the outlying whaling community of “Diamond City” on the present day Shackleford Banks. More area property was acquired just a few years later in 1723 by David Shepard, whose son eventually sold 600 acres to another new resident, William Fisher, in 1791.Įventually, Fisher’s youngest daughter Sarah and her husband, Bridges Arendell, Sr., would acquire the property and become an important local family in the area. In 1714, local prospector John Shackleford acquired the property that is now Morehead City in conjunction with a total of 1,400 acres that spanned the regional coastline. The Morehead City region has been occupied - or at least owned - since the early 1700s, when settlement began in present day Carteret County. Though not as old as some as its neighbors - like the adjacent and more than 300-year-old town of Beaufort – Morehead City nevertheless has a unique history that’s evident around every waterfront corner.Įnvisioned by a governor, and eventually inhabited by residents fleeing a hurricane, the town of Morehead City stands out for its deliberate creation, as well as its slow but steady rise to fame as a maritime-oriented vacation destination.
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