The Settlement of the Coastal Plain Region of NC THIRD GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES UNIT 3

What is the North Carolina Coastal Plain?  The coastal plain stretches along the North Carolina coast between Virginia and South Carolina’s border.  It moves inland all the way to the western edge of Johnson County.  The coastal plain has three subregions: Albemarle, Middle Coastal Plain, and Cape Fear.  Each subregion has different geography and settlement history.

1650s to the 1770s European Settlers Arrive  Caused Native Americans to be pushed back.  Many African Americans were forced to come and settle there as slaves, mostly in the Cape Fear subregion. They worked on rice, indigo, and naval stores plantations.

The Albemarle Subregion  This was the first part of North Carolina to be settled in the mid 1600s by European Americans, who had moved down from Virginia.  It extends from Virginia’s border to the north shore of the Albemarle Sound (a body of water).  The land was granted by King Charles II

Why did it take so long to settle the Albemarle?  It was hard at first to get people to settle here due to lack of government, travel trouble of poor roads, and attacks by Native Americans.  In fact, the Albemarle region was called “The Great Dismal Swamp!”

The Middle Coastal Plain Subregion  In the late 1600s some settlers crossed the Albemarle Sound to settle the Middle Coastal Plain subregion.  They settled along the Pamlico River.  More settlers moved down the coast by 1714 to what is now Craven, Carteret, and Onslow counties.

Where were these Middle Coastal settlers from?  Some of these settlers were from New England colonies, Maryland, Virginia (that was running low on land due to high population), and the Albemarle subregion.  Other European settlers immigrated there: the Swiss fled religious persecution, the French to get more land, and Germans fled war and cold winters)

What area did these news settlers in the Middle Coastal Plain create?  Under the direction of Baron Christoph von Graffenried, this area became known as the town of New Bern in  This may have sparked the Tuscarora War in 1711!

The Cape Fear Subregion  In the 1720s, the first permanent settlers arrived in the Cape Fear subregion.  The planter Maurice Moore, who had come from SC to fight the Tuscarora Indians, and the governor of North Carolina, George Burrington, wanted to settle this land because South Carolinian settlers were fleeing a bad economy, high taxes, and political issues.

Where else did the Cape Fear settlers come from?  Some settlers moved to the Cape Fear area from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.  Others were from England, Scotland, and Ireland across the Atlantic Ocean! They were escaping heavy taxes, high rents, and famine (not enough food).

Why settle in Cape Fear subregion?  The Cape Fear River was the only deep river in the Coastal Plain that emptied into the ocean, so large ships could travel and take goods from/to market at the Brunswick and Wilmington ports.

Why is it important to study information about populations?  The study of information (or statistics) about a population is called demography.  This could include: births, deaths, races, ages, education, vehicle registrations, elementary school enrollment, and gender.  A census measures how many people are living in an area, as well as demographics about them.  Bill Tillman, North Carolina’s state demographer, has noticed growth in some areas (Raleigh Charlotte, Forsyth, Guilford, and Wilmington), while other areas are losing population.  Tillman says the Hispanic population is growing.