Lake Waccamaw - History

History

Some believe Lake Waccamaw belongs to the Bladen Lake group, which may have been formed by meteorites. Dredges have brought up old charred tree stumps, and they support a theory that the lake is the basin left by a prehistoric peat fire.

Lake Waccamaw has several feeders, called First Little, Second Little and Third Little Creeks and then Big Creek as well as water from the Friar swamp. Underground springs feed the creeks.

Before the arrival of European settlers to Lake Waccamaw, it was inhabited by Native Americans. A place still called Indian Mounds is on the east shore and, on the site of one mound, it is said nothing will grow on it.

King Charles the Second originally granted this land to one of the Lord Proprietors who made individual grants to those willing to settle in this part of the new world. These large grants were divided among heirs and new settlers. By the mid-18th century, few of the early settlers or their descendants were left around the lake area. They were replaced by people such as John Powell, who brought cattle from Virginia to settle his grant of land.

There is a quote attributed to John Bartram stating, "This is the pleasantist place that I have ever seen". There is, however, no evidence of this quote in his writings. The origin of the quote is perhaps explained by The News Reporter which states, "N.C. State University researcher John A. McGeachy seems to have found it in his paper “Travel on the Cape Fear River in the Colonial Period. A group of at least 14 men traveled the area with Nathaniel Moore in 1733. The publication from that trip was called “A New Voyage to Georgia.” From old Brunswick they traveled 40 miles (64 km) up the Cape Fear River to Moore’s place, then to Lake Waccamaw, described by an unnamed author as “the pleasantest place that ever I saw in my life.”

John Powell's son, Absalom, after the American Revolutionary War, started buying large areas of land. A North Carolina Historical Marker was placed near his grave on August 22, 1933 at Lake Waccamaw. John Powell's son, Isaac, of Lake Waccamaw was appointed first major for Bladen County militia in 1804 and a Justice of the Peace in 1806. He was the largest landowner of his day in Columbus County, owning over 10,000 acres (40 km²) - most of his land in the area of Lake Waccamaw.

Lake Waccamaw is described in the "Voyage of the Paper Canoe" by Nathaniel H. Bishop - "A geographical journey of 2500 miles from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico, during the years 1874-5.". You can read the entire description here: http://www.eldritchpress.org/nhb/paperc/intro.html

More on Lake Waccamaw theories and history can be found at Waccamaw Siouan