NC Gazetteer

Oriental

Also known as: Smith's Creek
A town in Pamlico County
… town in S Pamlico County on Neuse River at the mouth of Smith Creek. First settled about 1870 by "Uncle Lou" Midgett and known as Smith's Creek. Later renamed for the Federal transport Oriental, which sank in 1862 near Bodie Island. The ship's nameplate had been found by Rebecca Midgett, wife of the town's first settler.