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500 million years ago: Grifton area was
under the ocean.
40 million years ago: Ocean shoreline was along ridge where Country
Club, Forest Acres and “The Hill” are today.
Early 1700s: Major Tuscarora Indian village, Catechna, was located
in or near Grifton.
Sept. 1711: John Lawson, English Surveyor-General, was executed at
Catechna; Baron de Graffenreid, founder of New Bern, escaped.
1755: First settlement, Peter’s Ferry; renamed Blount’s Ford (1764)
and Bell’s Ferry (1850).
June 3, 1875: First Post Office opened.
Feb. 28, 1883: Town incorporated as Bells’ Ferry. Population 75.
March 9, 1889: Name changed to Grifton in honor of C. M. A. Griffin,
an important landowner and merchant.
Mid-1800s: Wooden bridge built across creek; ferries were
discontinued.
1890: Atlantic Coastline Railroad came to Grifton.
1895: Iron bridge replaced wooden one.
1923: Highway bridge built with concrete counterweight to enable
bridge to be raised for boat and barge traffic. Population 375.
1951: Du Pont began construction of world’s first polyester plant 3
miles south of town. Plant opened in 1953, bringing people from
other parts of the U.S.A. and foreign countries with a major
economic and cultural impact on the area. Population 510.
1960: Grifton is the “fastest growing town in the state”. Population
1816.
1971: First Shad Festival.
1974: “Eat Mo’ Shad” graffiti appeared on counterweight; the
landmark bridge torn down and a new, wider highway bridge was opened
in 1975.
1999: The “Flood of the Century”. Population before: 2554,
population after: 2073.
2006: 36th Annual Shad Festival. Population 2476. |
