The first European settlers arrived in the New World in the late 1500's, and with them, the first European colony was established on nearby Roanoke Island, in what is now known as the northeastern corner of North Carolina. This eventually became known as the Lost Colony, as no one knows whatever happened to the colonists there, although archeological digs are revealing more to locate the truth. Jamestown was established in the Tidewater area of Virginia many years later, and the population began to expand in the area. Eventually, some settlers made it to what is now Northeastern North Carolina, then a part of the Virginia Colony, carving out a living in the woodlands and swamps. During the next hundred years, small communities were established there, one of these being Nixonton, the first town and county seat of Pasquotank County. Traffic flowed between Nixonton and the neighboring county seats, traffic which brought both goods and travelers through. The narrows of the Pasquotank River, where the current city stands, was a popular shipping port, goods inspection station and ferry crossing point. This activity brought people and businesses together, a formula for eventual growth. A small settlement was built around the tavern of Elizabeth and Adam Tooley; later fifty acres of land were purchased to build a proper city in that same location. Streets were paved and lots were quickly sold by a lottery method. Houses seemed to spring from the mud beneath them.
In the 1790's, the Dismal Swamp Canal was built, linking Norfolk and Elizabeth City. Surveyed by George Washington and built by thousands of slaves, the canal bolstered the economy of both communities greatly. With a direct line to the bustling markets of the Tidewater and the Northeast, Elizabeth City boomed. The Civil War came about in 1861. During the 1862-1863 Union invasion campaign of Eastern North Carolina, Elizabeth City was captured by the Union army in 1863, after the similar captures of other coastal towns, such as Hatteras, Manteo, New Bern and Plymouth. The Confederates attempted to stop the Union Navy in a battle several miles south of town on the Pasquotank River. They failed to halt the advance, and several buildings were torched by Confederate troops on the retreat, including some residences and the wooden county courthouse. Elizabeth City stayed under Union control for the duration of the war. After the Great War, the town began to rebuild its losses, and the population steadily rose again. The Elizabeth City and Norfolk Railroad was built in 1881, giving merchants a faster option to reach new markets for their goods. The city prospered even better than in its pre-war days. Numerous factories churning out everything from buggies to baskets; canned oysters to textiles opened up seemingly overnight. Housing spread quickly from block to new block. Elizabeth City boasted busy industrial and agricultural sectors. With that, commerce also boomed, bringing upscale shops and banking services. By the early part of the 20th century, Elizabeth City had a larger population and industries than the nearby towns of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. During this time, Elizabeth City even rivaled Baltimore as one of the main shipping ports on the East Coast!
In 1901, the famous Nell Cropsey murder occurred in the community. Nell Cropsey was a prominent 19 years old who was brutally murdered by her boyfriend. He dumped her body in the river, where it was found one month later. In 1914, the first "modern" hospital in the Albemarle Region was built on a point overlooking the river at the end of Riverside Avenue. It eventually became Albemarle Hospital, which moved to a new building north of town in the late 1950's, after which the old building was expanded and used as the first community college in the state, The College of the Albemarle. The college eventually moved next to the new hospital in the 1970's.
During World War II, Elizabeth City's shipyards and economy were given a great boost. The town's shipyards churned out small patrol boats for the Navy and two military facilities were built in the countryside south of town. First was the US Coast Guard Air Station, built during World War II. It is currently the second-largest Coast Guard base in the world. Also built during World War II was the Weeksville Naval Air Station. The Navy built the largest blimp hangars in the world on that site, itself strategically chosen for its halfway position on the Eastern Seaboard. The dirigibles stationed at Weeksville NAS served to spot German U-boats off the coast, cutting the high numbers of merchant vessel sinkings almost instantaneously. After the war, Weeksville NAS was decommissioned. The airfields were no longer used, and eventually over time, crumbled into powder, with few traces visible today. However, the blimp hangers were still used, leased to Westinghouse Corporation in the mid-1950s. Westinghouse continued to use the larger wooden hangar to manufacture blimps. The slightly smaller steel hangar was leased to Westinghouse's subsidary IXL, which manufactured cabinets. IXL eventually was sold off and became an independent company. In August 1996, the larger wooden hangar, which was the "largest free-standing wooden structure in the world" according to the Guiness Book of World Records, burned down, the result of a welding torch mishap. The only reminders of the building today are the four massive concrete support beams. The Coast Guard base is still operating today, encompassing training, repair, supply and administrative facilities, using its airfields and small patrol watercraft to carry out their missions.
The city prospered greatly until the end of World War II. During that time, most of the area's forests were already cleared, leaving lumber mills with nothing to process; many of the city's industries consolidated and moved to larger cities such as Norfolk or in the now-bustling metropolises in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, further west. The city declined for a time. In 1967, one of the first enclosed malls in eastern North Carolina and Tidewater Virginia was constructed. It became both a curse and a blessing for the city. First of all, it spurred business and growth in the southern and western quadrants in the city, where most major businesses are now located today. However, this had a negative effect on downtown, which had already lost its shipping and industrial industries to other parts of the state. Now, its commercial tenants were being pulled away as well.
The 1970s were a stagnant period in Elizabeth City's history and it wasn't until the 1980's and 1990's that a community renewal effort was organized in force. Thanks to the hard work of many people, the city cleaned up many of its areas, and brought in more modern businesses and companies. Downtown is also midway through a total revitalization, with the the first phase of NCDOT's Streetscape project and a future planned downtown hotel and conference center. The new Museum of the Albemarle and the recent openings of upscale restaurants on the waterfront has already spawned the relocation of specialty shops to the downtown area.
Today, Elizabeth City is a medium-sized community of around 19,500 people with a great potential. The city has retained its status through the years as the commercial, educational, cultural and industrial hub of the 17- county Albemarle Region, in the northeast corner of North Carolina. We are situated one hour south of the burgeoning metropolis of Hampton Roads, VA and one hour west of the resort barrier islands of the renowned Outer Banks. The newly completed US 17 Bypass west of Elizabeth City and the ongoing process by Virginia to four-lane its part of US 17 puts Elizabeth City along a potentially busy highway corridor, which in its self may accelerate growth exponentially, which many residents do not want to see. We do not want to become just another bedroom community for Norfolk and Virginia Beach. If Elizabeth City is to be engulfed by that metropolis, it should maintain a distinct and competitive character. My community has a potentially bright future. It will continue to grow and refine itself in this dynamic world. Sure, it has its own problems today, but it's still a great place to live!
Last updated: August 9, 2006
©2006 Andrew San Juan