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Chocowinity, North Carolina
Location of Chocowinity, North Carolina
Location of Chocowinity, North Carolina
Country United States
State North Carolina
County Beaufort
Area
 • Total 1.01 sq mi (2.61 km2)
 • Land 1.01 sq mi (2.61 km2)
 • Water 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
39 ft (12 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total 820
 • Estimate 
(2019)
788
 • Density 782.52/sq mi (302.09/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
27817
Area code(s) 252
FIPS code 37-12580
GNIS feature ID 1019670

Chocowinity is a town in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 820 at the 2010 Census. The town is a part of the Washington Area located in North Carolina's Coastal Plains region.

History

The meaning of the name Chocowinity appears to be derived from the Tuscarora word, chackauene, meaning "otter" or "little otters."

In the early 20th century, Chocowinity became the railroad hub of the regional system known as the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1910. The town is sometimes called Marsden as a result of a railroad communications problem. Around 1917, the railway started calling the pivotal location "Marsden", which was easier to spell on a telegraph than "Chocowinity". The source of the new name was apparently taken in honor of one of its financial backers, Marsden J. Perry of New York, who eventually served as president of the railroad.

The regional Norfolk Southern (one of the predecessors of the modern system which adopted the same name) had lines between Norfolk, Virginia and Charlotte and served many locations in southeastern Virginia (including branches to Virginia Beach and Suffolk) and most of eastern and central North Carolina, including Elizabeth City, New Bern, Morehead City, Goldsboro, Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville, North Carolina and Asheville. The regional carrier was acquired by the Southern Railway, and lent its historic name to the merger with the Norfolk and Western in the early 1980s to form the current large Norfolk Southern Railway System. The railroad resumed using "Chocowinity" to designate the location in 1970, after railway telegraphs were replaced with voice communications via 2-way radios. [1]

The Trinity Episcopal Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

Geography

Chocowinity is located at 35°30′57″N 77°6′2″W / 35.51583°N 77.10056°W / 35.51583; -77.10056 (35.515788, -77.100528).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1960 580
1970 566 −2.4%
1980 644 13.8%
1990 624 −3.1%
2000 733 17.5%
2010 820 11.9%
2019 (est.) 788 −3.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

Chocowinity racial composition
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 359 49.72%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 292 40.44%
Native American 1 0.14%
Asian 4 0.55%
Other/Mixed 22 3.05%
Hispanic or Latino 44 6.09%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 722 people, 498 households, and 243 families residing in the town.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Chocowinity (Carolina del Norte) para niños

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