1916 Map of Kinston

About this map

Kinston serves as the primary hub of this eastern North Carolina landscape, where the Neuse River and a dense network of early 20th-century railroads converged. The Kinston Carolina, Norfolk Southern, and Atlantic Coast Line provide clear evidence of the region’s timber and agricultural logistics during the mid-1910s. North of the river, the landscape is defined by the winding Contentnea Creek and numerous wetlands such as Rices Pocoson and Beargarden Swamp. Numerous small rural schoolhouses and churches, including Grimsley Church and Jericho School, are scattered across the tobacco-growing hinterlands. Of particular historical interest is the presence of the State School for Feeble Minded on the western edge of Kinston, documenting the era's institutional history. The map also captures several rural crossroads and sidings like Suggs Siding and Mewborns Crossroads that once anchored these agrarian communities.