Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
Morehead City
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Read Next
Close up of a hand placing a ballot in a ballot box. Election vote voter voting
Have Any U.S. Presidents Decided Not to Run For a Second Term?
Washington, D.C. locator map.
What State Is Washington, D.C. In?
The United States Supreme Court building, Washington, D.C.
14 Questions About Government in the United States Answered
Bar graph of the United States Death Toll during major events. Infogram chart.
U.S. Death Toll During Major Events
The Battle of New Orleans, by E. Percy Moran, c. 1910. Andrew Jackson, War of 1812.
26 Decade-Defining Events in U.S. History
Discover
Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 9th Mechanized Division learning to operate and maintain M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks at Besmaya Combat Training Center, Baghdad, Iraq, 2011. Military training. Iraq war. U.S. Army
8 Deadliest Wars of the 21st Century
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.
10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci
New York NY/ USA- November 23, 2018 Hordes of shoppers throng the Macy's Herald Square flagship store in New York looking for bargains on the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday.
Why Is It Called Black Friday?
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1855), founder of the house of Rothschild; lithograph by Friedrich Lieder, c. 1830.
Where Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?
Thanksgiving Celebration Traditional Dinner Setting Food Concept
Why Is Thanksgiving in the U.S. Celebrated on a Thursday?
A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England
Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution
Thanksgiving Turkey with all the sides
Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?

Morehead City

North Carolina, United States
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/place/Morehead-City
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History

Morehead City, town, seaport resort, Carteret county, eastern North Carolina, U.S. It lies on Bogue Sound (there receiving the Newport River) and on the Intracoastal Waterway opposite Beaufort, to which it is bridged. In 1853 John Motley Morehead, governor of North Carolina (1841–45), purchased land on the site (then called Shepherd’s Point) of the projected eastern terminus of the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad, which he believed had great potential for an Atlantic seaport. The railroad arrived in 1858, and the town was incorporated in 1861; it was captured by Union troops the next year and held by them until the end of the American Civil War.

Morehead City is now the state’s only deepwater port north of Wilmington, with facilities for oceangoing, sportfishing, and commercial fishing craft. It has become a popular resort with a large summer cottage population. Light manufacturing supplements the tourist economy. Neighbouring Beaufort is a colonial fishing village, and Atlantic Beach, Fort Macon State Park, and Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area are on Bogue Banks offshore. Croatan National Forest is just to the northwest. Carteret Community College (1963) is in the city. Pop. (2000) 7,691; (2010) 8,661.