Haw River

… rises in NE Forsyth County and flows NE and SE through Guilford and Rockingham Counties and across Alamance and Chatham Counties to join Deep River on the Chatham-Lee county line to form Cape Fear River. It is approx. 130 mi. in length. In 1709 John Lawson called it the Hau River and said that it was named for the Sissipahau Indians, who lived along its banks. Appears as Saxapahaw River on the Moseley map, 1733, but the Collet map, 1770, uses its present name. The town of Haywood, at the junction of Deep and Haw Rivers, was one of six sites suggested in 1788 for the location of the state capital.