History of Oak City and Goose Nest Township

The community that eventually became the present town of Oak City was first known as Goose Nest.

Its origin dates to the Civil War period about 1863. Union soldiers marching from a nearby skirmish, discovered a goose on its nest upon entering an abandoned building at a crossroads, where they intended to set up camp for the evening.

The community that grew steadily thereafter became known as Goose Nest.

In 1879, a joint meeting of the Martin County Commissioners and magistrates met to choose definite boundaries and names for nine townships for the purpose of tax collection, court matters and voting precincts. A tenth township was later created in 1880.

The boundaries set for Goose Nest Township were: “beginning at Taylor’s Ferry on the Roanoke River, thence running the present ferry road to the road leading from Hamilton to Palmyra, thence a straight line to the head of Rocky Swamp, thence down the run of said swamp to the run of Conoho Creek, thence down the run of said creek to the mouth of Salsbury’s Mill Race, thence up the run of said mill race to the mill, thence up the left hand prong of the Salsbury Mill pond to the head, thence a straight line to the Edgecombe County line, thence along said country line to the Halifax County line, thence along said county line to the mouth of Kehukee Run in the Roanoke River, thence down said run to the beginning.”

These boundaries supplied Goose Nest Township to be the largest in land area of all the townships in Martin County.

In 1888, a post office was set up in Goose Nest, with the appointment of John T. Hyman as postmaster.

The community began to gain prominence about 1890 when it became the principal rail shipping point and trading center for the upper part of Martin County following the completion of a railroad branch line from that point through Parmele to Greenville and Kinston.

This branch eventually extended northward to Weldon and became a part of the Atlantic Coastline system in 1900. Passenger trains quickly became a popular mode of transportation and continued to be until the automobile had an influence in the mid 1920’s. Passenger trains passed daily, making stops in the little village, which boosted businesses.

Incorporated as the town of Conoho in 1891, its name was derived from what the Native Americans had first called the headwaters of a creek nearby and in honor of a Primitive Baptist Church by the same name, located just north of town, which has been founded in 1794 and had long been prominent in the religious history of the area.

The town is literally “on the square” since metes and bounds set out in the acts of incorporation appointed a central point and provide for its boundaries to be exactly square by compass from there.

In 1905, after much confusion in mail deliveries between the towns of Conoho and Conetoe the name of the town was once again changed. This time it became known as Oak City.

A citizen of Conoho, while on a visit to the State’s capital city of Raleigh (known as the “City of Oaks”) saw a calendar advertisement of the Oak City Laundry, liked the sound of it and was influential in having the state legislature adopt an act changing the name of his hometown.

Since Oak City is in the center of an area of Martin County that was largely settled for its agricultural possibilities and was surrounded by large plantations throughout most of its early history. The Town was primarily set up as a trading center for the marketing and shipping of agricultural commodities. There have been some significant achievements in the field of agriculture credited to some of the community’s farmers.

Many of the town’s streets were once lined with large oak trees. However, due to disease, storms, removal for safety and prevention of damage to electrical power lines, lots of trees have been lost.

At a special ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of Oak City in 1991, a live Oak tree was planted on the town commons to serve as a reminder of the town’s past century and yet also be an inspiration of growth for the future. The town celebrated its centennial in April 1991 with a weekend full of events which drew the largest crowds of people in its history.

Governor James G. Martin issued a proclamation naming it “Oak City Centennial Weekend in North Carolina.” The U.S Postmaster General approved and issued a special postmark for mail going through the Oak City Post Office for that month, which depicted a goose on its nest in commemoration of the original name. A centennial book was published that compiled the town’s history and included early maps and pictures of historic buildings and events.

In recent years, the Goose Nest Festival has appeared as a popular annual event, celebrating the area’s heritage.

Although Oak City and Goose Nest Township are less populated than other places in the county, they have a rich heritage for which their citizens can indeed be proud.