The Oriental post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Smiths Creek (1878), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 880140 years
Founding year: the first Oriental post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Oriental’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area was settled by Native Americans, who fished and farmed in the creeks and river long before Europeans arrived. Land records date grants from the King of England to colonial farmers, although the King didn't actually own the land, and several current residents of the area can trace their family's genealogy to these times. The area was the haunt of pirates in the early days of European dominance. The famous pirate Edward Teach, or Blackbeard made his home in Bath, to the north of Oriental. The Midgettes (also Midyettes) and other old families who still have descendants in the town came much later, in the late 19th century.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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