Exploring Oriental and the Inner Banks of NC

At the mouth of the Neuse River on Pamlico Sound is the village of Oriental. Although Oriental is in the far east area of coastal North Carolina, its name has nothing to do with its location or relationship with the Orient. The town was named by the wife of Oriental's founder and first postmaster. She saw the name on the transom nameboard of a steamship that sank off Hatteras in 1862.

The nameboard washed ashore and was displayed in a residence in Manteo where she was visiting. She learned that the steamship, headed from New York to blockade the Wilmington harbor, was in the service of Union forces when it sank during the Civil War. Passengers and crew aboard were saved, but the steamship was never salvaged. Its legacy is preserved in the name of the village now known as the "Sailing Capital of North Carolina."

Back in the 1870s, Louis B. Midyette escaped a gale by anchoring his sailboat in the waters of Oriental. While there he went ashore, climbed a tree and fell in love with the beautiful landscape and waterfront. When he returned home to Dare County, Midyette persuaded others to join his family and move to the area. Since that time, sailors from across the globe have followed "Uncle Lou's" example and have made Oriental "The Sailing Capital of North Carolina." Today it is estimated that the town is home to 900 permanent residents and roughly 2,700 sailboats, sport fishing boats and commercial trawlers.

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