Major General James G. Blunt

Coharie is the name for the Great Coharie Creek[1] and its tributary the Little Coharie Creek, both in Sampson County, North Carolina.[2] The Great Coharie Creek is a tributary of the Black River that joins the Cape Fear River that flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

Coharie also refers to the Coharie Formation, named for the creeks, a terrace, and shoreline at about 215 feet above sea level on the mid- to southern East Coast.[3]

The name Coharie was adopted by the Coharie Intra-tribal Council, Inc., a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The tribe claims "descent from certain tribes of Indians originally inhabiting the coastal regions of North Carolina."[4] In 1910, residents of Herrings Township along the Coharie creeks identified as being of Croatan descent.[5]

Etymology

Coharie could be an Iroquoian, perhaps Tuscarora language, word that translates as driftwood.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Great Coharie Creek at SR 1214 near Butler Crossroads (21NCMONITORING-B8604000) site data in the Water Quality Portal". National Water Quality Monitoring Council. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  2. ^ "LITTLE COHARIE CREEK NEAR ROSEBORO, NC (USGS-02106000) site data in the Water Quality Portal". National Water Quality Monitoring Council. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Geologic Unit: Coharie". National Geologic Map Database. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Chapter 71A. Indians". NC General Assembly. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  5. ^ Butler, George Edwin (1916). The Croatan Indians of Sampson County, North Carolina: Their Origin and Racial Status. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library. ISBN 978-1-4696-4181-2.
  6. ^ Fullam, Brandon (2020). Manteo and the Algonquians of the Roanoke Voyages. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. p. 72. ISBN 9781476638249.