unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
and
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in
Hyde County, North Carolina
Hyde County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,589, making it the second-least populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Swan Quarter. The county was created in 17 ...
, United States. It is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Hyde County. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 324.
Geography
Swan Quarter is in western Hyde County at latitude 35.405 N and longitude 76.331 W. The elevation is above sea level. It is located on Swanquarter Bay, an inlet of
Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound ( ) is a large estuarine lagoon in North Carolina. The largest lagoon along the North American East Coast, it extends long and wide. It is part of a large, interconnected network of similar lagoons that includes Albemarle Sou ...
.
U.S. Route 264 runs along the northern edge of the community, leading east to Manteo and west to
Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, the Swan Quarter CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.10%, are water.
Climate
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 275 people, 164 households, and 153 families residing in the CDP.
2010 census
The population, at the time of the 2010 census, was 324.
History
In the 18th century, Samuel Swann settled along
Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound ( ) is a large estuarine lagoon in North Carolina. The largest lagoon along the North American East Coast, it extends long and wide. It is part of a large, interconnected network of similar lagoons that includes Albemarle Sou ...
near the head of Swan Bay. Swann's Quarter was the first name given to this settlement. Eventually shortened to Swan Quarter, it became the county seat in 1836.
The Hyde County Courthouse and
Lake Mattamuskeet Pump Station
Lake Mattamuskeet Pump Station, also known as Mattamuskeet Lodge, is a historic pumping station building located on Lake Mattamuskeet at the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge near Swan Quarter, Hyde County, North Carolina. It was built in ...
, also known as Mattamuskeet Lodge, are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
Transportation
A 50-car ferry connects Swan Quarter in Hyde County on the mainland with
Ocracoke Island
Ocracoke ( ) , from the North Carolina Collection website at the
, crossing Pamlico Sound in two and a half hours.
Wildlife and preservation
Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge
The Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge is a federally protected wildlife refuge located within Hyde County, North Carolina, United States. North Carolina's largest natural lake, Lake Mattamuskeet, is located entirely within the National Wil ...
is located east of Swan Quarter by U.S. Route 264 and North Carolina Highway 94 in Hyde County. It provides habitat for migratory waterfowl and other birds, for endangered species such as bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and American alligators. It also provides wildlife-related recreation and environmental education for the public on its of land.
Education
The local school is Mattamuskeet School of Hyde County Schools.
In the de jure segregation era, the grade school for black students was, by the 1960s, O. A. Peay School, a consolidation of earlier such schools, near Swan Quarter. The high school for black students was Hyde County Training School in Sladesville. The high school for white students was West Hyde School.
Peay's and Hyde County Training School's students held school reunions, though these diminished by 2017.