Ten things you should know about Havelock history

Havelock gets charter on Aug. 24, 1959

After a six-year fight for incorporation, Havelock received its official charter on Aug. 24, 1959.

A delegation, including first Mayor George Griffin, drove to Raleigh for the official presentation of the town charter from N.C. Secretary of State Thad Eure.

Havelock's first Board of Commissioners meeting was held in a small block building across from where the current Harrier display is. The structure later served as a small engine repair shop and office for an eye doctor.

The board took office in the summer of 1959 and included Jesse Lewis, Norwood Sanders, Reuel Lee, Clay Wynne and Irv Beck.

The first action by the board was to direct Griffin to write a letter to the state highway commission to widen U.S. 70 through town.

The first town clerk, Ernie Marquez, worked part-time and for no pay.

Neusiok Indians were first residents

The Havelock area's first residents were Native Americans called the Neusioks, after whom the Neuse River is named. All of what is today Havelock and Cherry Point was once home for the Neusioks, who farmed the land and fished in the rivers and creeks.

They were eventually driven from the area after a three-year war with settlers in the early 1700s. 

Five presidents have visited

Five U.S. presidents have visited Cherry Point - Harry S. Truman in 1948, John F. Kennedy in 1962, Ronald Reagan in 1983, George H.W. Bush in 1991 and 2003, and George W. Bush in 2003.

Among the other notable visitors to the area are Babe Ruth, who spent time in the area hunting and fishing, astronaut John Glenn and seven-time NASCAR series champion Richard Petty.

City named for British general from the 1800s

The city is named after Sir Henry Havelock, a British general whose military exploits in India earned him worldwide acclaim.

Newspapers around the world followed Havelock's every battle, including successfully leading 1,000 British soldiers against a 5,000-strong band of dissidents in the bloody Sepoy Mutiny.

Though it is not known by whom, a portion of the newly completed rail line at a crossroads was named Havelock Station in 1858 a few months after Sir Havelock's death on Nov. 24, 1857.

Years later the community became known simply as Havelock. Havelock's postmaster in 1942, W.J. Wynne, operated out of a two-room post office on the corner of Lake Road and Miller Boulevard. It had a crude, hand carved sign over a single window that read "P.O. HAVELOCK." Sacks of mail were delivered by mail to Harlowe, Bachelor and Cherry Point.

Cherry Point opens in 1942

Construction was already taking place at Cherry Point when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. However, the completion of the base, then named after Alfred A. Cunningham, was put on the fast track.

The government relocated 42 families from the area to make room for the base, with about 8,000 workers constructing the facilities and runways.

The base's first planes arrived on March 18, 1942.

Cherry Point becomes part of Havelock

Cherry Point officially became part of Havelock on Dec. 28, 1979, when it was annexed by the city. The annexation added about 8,000 acres and 14,000 people to the city, which at the time had 4,510 residents. The additions made Havelock the largest city in Craven County, surpassing New Bern's population of 16,150.

Today, Havelock's population is about 22,500, but New Bern has regained the title as the county's most populous city with about 24,000 people.

Havelock becomes stop along the ‘Old Mullet Line'

The last section of track in the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad linking Goldsboro, Kinston, New Bern, Havelock and Morehead City was laid in the late spring of 1858. Havelock Station became a stop along the line.

The railroad became known as the "Old Mullet Road" or "Old Mullet Line" because of the fish and seafood brought inland from Morehead City.

Union occupies area during Civil War

About 15,000 Union troops under the command of Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside landed on the beaches of Slocum Creek on March 13, 1862, setting the stage for Union occupation of the area for the rest of the Civil War. Union forces fought the battle of New Bern and controlled the railroad line, setting up a small fort where the line crossed Slocum Creek.

Havelock's first ‘doctor'

Mattie Armstrong became the Havelock area's "doctor" around 1900. She delivered most of the community's babies and treated injuries or illnesses with folk medicines like sugar, turpentine, kerosene, and herbs.

She died of a heart attack on Aug. 9, 1954, and is buried at First United Methodist Church along with many of the community's first citizens.

Area becomes famous for ‘Craven County Corn'

Havelock and the nearby Harlowe community have a long history in the production of corn liquor going back to colonial days.

Moonshine was well into production here by the Civil War and reached a peak during Prohibition from 1920 to 1933.

"Craven County Corn," as the whiskey was called, became well known, and the area was once said to be the corn liquor capital of the state.

Even as late as 1990, lawmen destroyed a still near Clubfoot Creek.

Facts, figures and information were compiled from past editions of the Havelock News, the Havelock Progress, and the book "In This Small Place" by Eddie Ellis, Havelock's official historian.