Princeville lies just across the Tar River from Tarboro in Edgecombe County. The community was founded as Freedom Hill by newly freed African Americans in 1865. In 1885, it became the first town incorporated by African Americans in the United States.

Princeville was built on low-lying ground that floods easily, despite the construction of a dike that offers some protection. At one time, the town had more than 50 businesses. Today the community is mostly residential, with a population of about 2,000.

The roots of Seven Springs can be traced back to Colonial times. Explorer John Lawson noted settlers in the area in 1710. The town was known as Whitehall in the mid-19th century, when when visitors came to take the healing waters of the springs.

Seven Springs sits on the banks of the Neuse River in Wayne County. The population currently numbers about 111.

Fair Bluff, on the Lumber River in Columbus County, once thrived as an agricultural and commercial center. But it suffered like so many other small towns as the state’s economy evolved over the past 30 years.

Until Hurricane Matthew in 2016, flood waters were rare and barely covered the downtown sidewalks. But that flood, followed by another in 2018, forever changed the town’s prospects.