Eastern North Carolina (sometimes abbreviated as ENC ) is the region encompassing the eastern tier of North Carolina , United States. It is known geographically as the state's Coastal Plain region. Primary subregions of Eastern North Carolina include the Sandhills , the Lower Cape Fear (Wilmington Area), the Crystal Coast , the Inner Banks and the Outer Banks . It is composed of the 41 most eastern counties in the state. Cities include Greenville , Jacksonville , Wilmington , Rocky Mount and North Carolina's first capital New Bern .
30-468: In 1993, the State Legislature established seven regional economic development organizations and three of these serve eastern North Carolina - Northeast North Carolina Commission (covering 16 counties), North Carolina East Alliance (representing 13 counties surrounding North Carolina's Global TransPark), and North Carolina's Southeast Commission (assisting 11 counties). New transitions are being made in
60-708: A more able workforce in Eastern North Carolina. The different economic clusters, including but not limited to advanced manufacturing (aerospace, automotive and industrial machinery), life sciences (Biopharma and medical device research, development and manufacturing), value-added agriculture (food processing, forest products, etc.) and marine products (boat building) have prompted Community Colleges to offer associate degrees in related fields (e.g. Airframe/power plant maintenance, composite technology, engineering technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturing technology, machining and welding). Eastern North Carolina
90-529: A private setting, they would be able to access different funds for additional economic projects or initiatives in the county." Located east of the Piedmont and west of the Atlantic Ocean , Eastern North Carolina contains very few major urban centers. Greenville is close to the region's geographic center. Fayetteville is the largest city in the region, followed by Wilmington and Greenville. Eastern North Carolina
120-562: Is a public community college in Washington, North Carolina . The college has classes and programs for business and industry services, healthcare programs, human resources development, public safety, and occupational extensions. In December 1967, the College was officially chartered as Beaufort County Technical Institute. The vocational and technical programs of the Institute were complemented by
150-947: Is also served by 23 community colleges. The two-year institutes are: Beaufort County Community College , Bladen Community College , Brunswick Community College , Cape Fear Community College , Carteret Community College , College of the Albemarle , Coastal Carolina Community College , Craven Community College , Edgecombe Community College , Fayetteville Technical Community College , James Sprunt Community College , Johnston Community College , Lenoir Community College , Roanoke-Chowan Community College , Martin Community College , Nash Community College , Pamlico Community College , Pitt Community College , Sampson Community College , Sandhills Community College , Southeastern Community College , Wayne Community College , and Wilson Community College . Many community colleges hold programs to create
180-667: Is approximately 80,000 square miles (210,000 km ). The French word Piedmont comes from the Italian : Piemonte , meaning " foothill ", ultimately from Latin "pedemontium", meaning "at the foot of the mountains", similar to the name of the Italian region of Piedmont ( Piemonte ), abutting the Alps . The surface relief of the Piedmont is characterized by relatively low, rolling hills with heights above sea level between 200 feet (50 m) and 800 feet to 1,000 feet (250 m to 300 m). Its geology
210-475: Is complex, with numerous rock formations of different materials and ages intermingled with one another. Essentially, the Piedmont is the remnant of several ancient mountain chains that have since been eroded. Geologists have identified at least five separate events which have led to sediment deposition, including the Grenville orogeny (the collision of continents that created the supercontinent Rodinia ) and
240-601: Is its southern boundary.) The fall line, where the land rises abruptly from the coastal plain, marks the limit of navigability on many major rivers, so inland ports sprang up along it. Within the Piedmont region itself, there are several areas of urban concentration, the largest being the Atlanta metropolitan area in Georgia. The Piedmont cuts Maryland in half, covering the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area . In Virginia ,
270-509: Is primarily used for farming. The Outer Banks and Inner Banks are comparable to the tidewater region of Virginia in terms of land. However, the barrier islands of the Outer Banks are highly rare. Eastern North Carolina generally consists of 41 counties, which when combined form a total regional area of roughly 9,700 square miles (25000 square km). The counties commonly included in the region are as follows: Eastern North Carolina communities in
300-576: Is roughly made up of the 44 easternmost counties in North Carolina. Generally, the region denotes all of the state's counties on and east of Interstate 95 (also known as East Coast USA Main Street stretching from northern Maine to the southern tip of Florida). If defined by geological formations, eastern North Carolina comprises the 44 counties of the Inner and Outer Coastal Plains. In terms of economic similarities,
330-505: Is served by two main interstate highways and a number of U.S. routes. Over 60 motor freight carriers provide service to all parts of the nation. FedEx , UPS , DHL and Emery have offices in all major communities. The transportation within the region allows for easy access to anywhere in the continental United States of America. I-40 and I-95 are capable of this with close proximity to I-85 as well. Manufacturers can move their goods efficiently and families can travel with ease. Much of
SECTION 10
#1732855560230360-612: The Appalachian orogeny during the formation of Pangaea . The last major event in the history of the Piedmont was the break-up of Pangaea, when North America and Africa began to separate. Large basins formed from the rifting and were filled by the sediments shed from the surrounding higher ground. The series of Mesozoic basins is almost entirely located inside the Piedmont region. Piedmont soils are generally clay -like ( Ultisols ) and moderately fertile. In some areas they have suffered from erosion and over-cropping, particularly in
390-972: The Greater Richmond metropolitan area is the largest urban concentration. In North Carolina, the Piedmont Crescent includes several metropolitan clusters such as Charlotte metropolitan area , the Piedmont Triad , and the Research Triangle . Other notable areas include the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area in South Carolina, and the Philadelphia metropolitan area in Pennsylvania. Beaufort County Community College Beaufort County Community College
420-560: The Albemarle Commission. Eastern North Carolina is by and large an impoverished area. Nearly 21 percent of people live in poverty in this region. Outsourcing of textile manufacturing jobs along with other manufacturing jobs has caused unemployment in the area to increase particularly in the northeastern area of the state. Many areas of Eastern North Carolina are experiencing little economic growth; however, areas such as Greenville and Winterville (Pitt County) are growing rapidly due to
450-533: The Eastern region of North Carolina: Greenville, Jacksonville and New Bern provide commuter service to Charlotte, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Philadelphia. The North Carolina Global TransPark (GTP) is a 2,500 acre, multi-modal industrial park. There are deep-water bulk, break-bulk cargo and container facilities in ENC at Morehead City , NC and Wilmington, NC. A third comprehensive deep-water (Panamx-ready) port exists just north of
480-416: The Eastern region. Wilmington International Airport is in Eastern North Carolina along with RDU within a short driving distance. Raleigh-Durham International can be reached via i-40 (with i-440 or 540 being additional options). There are several ways to access Wilmington International easily when in the region, using i-40 or US-17. There are also sixteen regional airports that serve general aviation in
510-828: The Piedmont Upland, and the Piedmont Lowlands sections. The Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line marks the Piedmont's eastern boundary with the Coastal Plain. To the west, it is mostly bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains , the easternmost range of the Appalachians. The width of the Piedmont varies, being quite narrow above the Delaware River but nearly 300 miles (475 km) wide in North Carolina . The Piedmont's area
540-539: The South where cotton was historically the chief crop. In the central Piedmont region of North Carolina and Virginia , tobacco is the main crop, while in the north region there is more diversity, including orchards , dairying , and general farming . The portion of the Piedmont region in the Southern United States is closely associated with the Piedmont blues , a style of blues music that originated there in
570-781: The Southeast, Inner Banks and the Outer Banks. The coast of North Carolina were dominated by Native Americans, primarily the Tuscarora people residing near modern Snow Hill. Eastern North Carolina is also home to the first attempted English settlement in the New World on Roanoke Island . During the colonial era of American History, the East was the dominant region of North Carolina in both government and commerce. Towns of early significance included Bath, Beaufort, Elizabeth City, Edenton, Kinston, New Bern, Tarboro, and Wilmington. North Carolina's early economy
600-603: The colonial capital. Around the end of the eighteenth century, however, such dominance shifted to the Piedmont center of the state. The growth in population of the western and piedmont regions of North Carolina after the American Revolution led to revisions of the Constitution of North Carolina in 1835. These amendments included electing the governor by popular vote. The region is dotted with universities. There are five public universities and seven private institutions in
630-475: The geography of the economic sectors. Economic Development Commissions are transforming, such as North Carolina's Eastern Region Commission's transition into North Carolina East Alliance. Different EDC's have different ways to increase prosperity in the area. NCEA's first focus is to improve the talent pipeline to create a more comprehensive local workforce. Shoop, the Commissioner for Washington's EDC stated "In
SECTION 20
#1732855560230660-635: The late 19th century. According to the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society, most Piedmont blues musicians came from Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. During the Great Migration , African Americans migrated to the Piedmont. With the Appalachian Mountains to the west, those who might otherwise have spread into rural areas stayed in cities and were thus exposed to a broader mixture of music than those in, for example,
690-457: The location of East Carolina University and its associated medical facilities. Fleet Readiness Center East on board Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point is the largest industrial employer east of Interstate-95, with an annual payroll of $ 277 Million. Eastern North Carolina is located in the coastal plain region of the eastern seaboard of the United States and has relatively flat land that
720-580: The region include: Piedmont (United States) The Piedmont / ˈ p iː d m ɒ n t / is a plateau region located in the Eastern United States . It is situated between the Atlantic Plain and the Blue Ridge Mountains , stretching from New York in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont Province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands physiographic division and consists of
750-413: The region includes 41 counties. The commonly accepted definition is all counties east of and crossed by Interstate 95, which is 41 counties. I-95 intersects with US64/264 at Wilson County and is in close proximity to I-40. This makes transportation throughout the region incredible along with easy access to the rest of the state and country. The region is further divisible into three geographic sections:
780-668: The region's main highways have been designated as the Historic Albemarle Tour , which connects many historic sites in Eastern North Carolina. CSX , Norfolk Southern Railway , and the North Carolina Railroad Company serve the industries within the region. The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Amtrak , is a train service for passengers. Amtrak passenger stations are located in Rocky Mount , Wilson , Selma , Fayetteville and throughout North Carolina and
810-620: The region. The largest is East Carolina University , a Doctoral University with Higher Research Activity on the Carnegie scale . The four other public universities are Elizabeth City State University , Fayetteville State University , University of North Carolina at Pembroke , and University of North Carolina at Wilmington . The seven private institutions are: Barton College , Campbell University , Chowan University , Methodist University , University of Mount Olive , North Carolina Wesleyan College , and Mid-Atlantic Christian University . The area
840-466: The rural Mississippi delta. Thus, Piedmont blues was influenced by many types of music, such as ragtime , country, and popular songs — styles that had comparatively less influence on blues music in other regions. Many major cities are located on the Atlantic Seaboard fall line , the eastern boundary of the Piedmont. (In Georgia and Alabama, where the Piedmont runs mostly east to west, the fall line
870-629: The state line in Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA. All three ports also have RoRo (roll-on, roll-off) facilities to handle autos and military equipment. The local government of Eastern North Carolina is served by seven of the 16 North Carolina Councils of Government. They include the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments, Mid-Carolina Council of Governments, Lumber River Council of Governments, Cape Fear Council of Governments, Eastern Carolina Council of Governments , Mid-East Commission, and
900-473: Was built upon cash crops, fisheries and turpentine industries. Early East Carolinians lived on settlements at the mouths of the various rivers. Settlers to the regions were of English, Scottish, Swiss and German descent. Eastern North Carolina was a haven for pirating and home to the infamous pirate Blackbeard. The city of New Bern was founded in 1710 by settlers from the Palantine region of Germany, and later became
#229770