Havelock, North Carolina

Howdy from Havelock!  The City of Havelock started off as an area of small settlements, plantations, and mosquito infested swampland along the Neuse River downstream from New Bern. In the late 1850’s, the railroad finally came to Eastern North Carolina and a depot was built to serve the local tar and turpentine manufacturers of the area. The depot was named Havelock Station, in honor of General Henry Havelock, a British General whose bravery during the Indian Mutiny in 1857 inspired the local populace to name the depot after him. With the advent of the steamboat, wood ships began to disappear and with it the local economy of tar and turpentine manufacture. Several local families branched out into the moonshine business to make ends meet, and some of the finest sour mash whiskey in the South was produced on the farms and woods around Havelock Station.

Havelock was a sportsman’s paradise at the turn of the century, with some of the best hunting and fishing available on the East Coast located in and around Havelock. Babe Ruth, Christy Matheswon, and Theodore Roosevelt went hunting and fishing here, as long with other prominent sports figures of the time. Havelock is still a great place for hunting and fishing today, with the Neuse River and several small creeks such as Hadnot, Brice’s, Hunter’s, Holsten, and Cahookie providing water and cover for several game species. The Croatan National Forest is located around Havelock and boasts the largest collection of carnivorous plants of any National Forest. The swamp land around Havelock is also the northern range limit for the American Alligator, and is home to several varieties of reptiles such as the eastern diamondback rattler, pygmy rattler, water moccasin, and canebrake rattlesnake.

In 1941, the United States Government purchased 8 thousand acres of land to build Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station. The $14,990,000 allocated was to clear and drain the swamp land, to eradicate malaria in the area, and to build the airfield.  Construction began on November 20, 1941 just 17 days before Pearl Harbor and Cunningham Field was commissioned on May 20, 1942. From a census population of 100 in 1950, Havelock has grown to over 22,000 people dedicated to serving the needs of the Cherry Point Air Station community.

Havelock today is a thriving community of small manufacturing and service industries. As coastal property becomes more costly and scarce, more and more people are moving 20 minutes inland to the small communities along Highway 70. Havelock and Newport have both seen beach related growth since the 1980’s, and are gearing up for more of the same in the 21^st century. Havelock has an energetic young population and the city’s activities reflect the energy of its inhabitants. Locally, the Havelock Chili Festival is one of the areas prime attractions in the fall with hundreds of chili cooking experts and amateurs filling the air with the aroma of hot peppers, tomatoes and beans. Also, the Freedom Festival and July 4^th celebration is a prime midsummer attraction, with quite possibly the best fireworks display in North Carolina. Havelock is also a great place to get out of the beach traffic on Friday and Sunday with wonderful chain and local restaurants catering to the car weary. In Havelock, the roar of Marine fighter planes often fills the air with a defiant roar, and the locals smile when they hear it. After all, it is the”Sound of Freedom.”

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