The Eno River, named for the Eno Native Americans who once lived along its banks, is the initial

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Neuse River The Neuse River ( , Tuscarora: Neyuherú·kęʔkì·nęʔ) is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in N ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Descendants of European immigrants settled along the Eno River in the latter 1740s and early 1750s, including many

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

from Pennsylvania. Several years after the 1752 creation of Orange County, the Orange County Court of Common Pleas & Quarter Sessions selected a site along the Eno River near the homes of James Watson and William Reed as the county seat, originally naming it ''Corbin Town'', or ''Corbinton,'' after Francis Corbin, agent and attorney to John, Earl Granville. The Court met at James Watson's home along the Eno River from 1754 through 1756, when the courthouse at Corbinton was completed. In 1759, officials changed the county seat's name from ''Corbinton'' to ''Childsburg,'' after another of Earl Granville's agents, Thomas Child. Finally, in 1766, officials changed the name to '' Hillsborough.'' The Eno rises in Orange County. The river's watershed occupies most of Orange and Durham counties. The Eno converges with the Flat and Little Rivers to form the Neuse at Falls Lake, which straddles Durham and Wake counties. The Eno is notable for its beauty and

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

, which has been preserved through aggressive citizen efforts. Though barely more than forty miles from its source to its convergence at the Neuse, the Eno features significant stretches of natural preservation. Through the combined efforts of the North Carolina State Parks System, local government, and private non-profit preservation groups, over of land have been protected in the Eno Basin, including Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, Eno River State Park, West Point on the Eno (a Durham City Park), and Penny's Bend State Nature Preserve (managed by the North Carolina Botanical Garden). The river is paralleled in the town of Hillsborough by several miles of the paved Riverwalk Trail, a segment of the North Carolina

Mountains-to-Sea Trail The Mountains-to-Sea State Trail (MST) is a long-distance trail in the US for hiking and backpacking, that traverses North Carolina from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks. Its western endpoint is at Kuwohi, where it connects to the Ap ...

. Permitted recreational activities include swimming, hiking, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and backcountry camping. Individual and group campsites are available. Photographer Holden Richards captured the natural beauty of the Eno River in his 2021 book ''Riverwalk: A Decade Along the Eno.'' Eno River in Northwestern Durham

References

External links

Eno River AssociationEno River State ParkOcconeechee Mountain State Natural AreaPenny's Bend State Nature Preserve
{{authority control Rivers of Durham County, North Carolina Rivers of Orange County, North Carolina Rivers of North Carolina Research Triangle Tributaries of Pamlico Sound

See also

References

External links