Morehead City
| Morehead City, North Carolina | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 |
|
 Location of Morehead City, North Carolina |
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| Coordinates: 34°43′40″N 76°44′48″W / 34.72778°N 76.74667°WCoordinates: 34°43′40″N 76°44′48″W / 34.72778°N 76.74667°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | North Carolina |
| County | Carteret |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8.5 sq mi (22.1 km2) |
| • Land | 6.8 sq mi (17.7 km2) |
| • Water | 1.7 sq mi (4.3 km2) |
| Elevation | 16 ft (5 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 8,661 |
| • Density | 1,264/sq mi (488.1/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 28557 |
| Area code | 252 Exchanges: 222,240,247,726,727,808 |
| FIPS code | 37-44320 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1013689 |
| Website | moreheadcitync |
Morehead City is a port town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast.
By the early 1850s, a group of investors had been formed and incorporated a land development project known as the "Shepard Point Land Company" which purchased 600 acres (2.4 km2) of land on the eastern tip of the peninsula bordering the Newport River, known then as "Shepards Point", which is the present location of Morehead City. The Shepard Point Land Company's objective was to take advantage of the natural deep channel of Topsail Inlet, known today as the Beaufort Inlet, which splits Bogue Banks from Shackleford Banks and provides access to Morehead City, Beaufort, North Carolina, the Newport River and the Intracoastal Waterway. The Shepard Point Land Company was established to construct a deepwater port to allow another access point for North Carolina timber products to relieve pressure at the port located in Wilmington. To make the port accessible to the interior of North Carolina, the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad line between Goldsboro and New Bern was completed on April 29, 1858.
North Carolina Governor John Motley Morehead, for whom the city of Morehead City is named, was a principal member of the Shepard Point Land Company investment group. Fully operational rail service began in July 1858 connecting the town to points west, north and south.
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