By Miles Layton
When I saw these words — see below — posted to social media, it made me think.
Not sure of the author’s name, but Sgk Finds wrote about how development is killing our cultural identity.
While the author is talking about Brunswick County, that writer might as well have been talking about Northeastern NC. Read the post and then I’ll share my thoughts.
Don’t let this be our county next
We’re not just losing land, we’re losing who we are.
Brunswick County didn’t just grow.
It traded away the systems that made it Brunswick County.
For generations, this place was defined by:
farms that worked because land around them stayed rural
seafood that existed because upstream waters stayed clean
hunting and fishing that depended on connected woods, swamps, and rivers
space, not emptiness, but working land and living ecosystems
Those weren’t hobbies.
They were economies, cultures, and ways of life.
What’s happening now isn’t random
When land is fragmented:
farms get boxed in and taxed out
wildlife can’t move or reproduce
water picks up runoff instead of filtering it
fisheries collapse downstream
access gets replaced by “views” and amenities
You don’t lose everything at once.
You lose function first, then tradition, then memory.
By the time people say “remember when…”, it’s already gone.
This hurts so much
Because what’s replacing it isn’t neutral.
It’s not:
new farms
new fisheries
new access to land or water
new traditions
It’s housing units that:
don’t feed anyone
don’t sustain ecosystems
don’t replace lost livelihoods
don’t connect people to the land
And once those systems are gone, they don’t come back.
You can rebuild a house. You cannot rebuild a working watershed or a hunting landscape after fragmentation.
This is the core truth people need to hear
We aren’t losing things because times changed.
We’re losing them because nothing was put in place to protect them.
No corridors.
No agricultural protection at scale.
No watershed-level planning.
No requirement to keep systems intact.
So what we get is predictable:
No farms.
No seafood.
No wildlife.
No hunting.
Just houses, and higher costs.
Why this conversation matters now!
Because identity loss becomes permanent the moment:
the last working farm sells
the last creek fails
the last hunting corridor is cut
the last local fishery collapses
After that, the story gets rewritten as:
“That was inevitable.”
It wasn’t.
We’re not fighting change, we’re fighting the loss of the systems that made this place what it is.
True words – thought provoking.
I travel more than a bit across Northeastern NC to talk to folks, write about public meetings, photograph parades, cover church services and football games, and more – why – to tell stories not only about what’s happening, but share our cultural identity. I’m not doing it for the clicks or ego.
There’s no denying that our region is changing – more and more people are moving in, that’s OK, but…
In many towns and even in rural parts of the countryside, property values and thus tax rates have increased when newcomers come in – gentrify.
What that means is that a family that has been living in an ancestral home for generations may find it more challenging to pay the taxman after a property developer builds an expensive house, second home, perhaps a hunting lodge or housing development nearby.
What if you’re a senior citizen living on a fixed income and your tax values increase? That’s not fair.
My favorite – the growing divide between those who can afford a home and those who can’t. When you see billboards advertising homes that start in the “low” $300s, you know they are people who think that’s normal, that this is a good price point, but it’s not for the people who don’t have high-dollar jobs, maybe because they are content farming, working in a factory, running a small business, perhaps teaching in public schools – the kind of folks who make things go in our communities because they show up to serve, proudly serve their local volunteer fire departments, be actively involved their school’s PTA or coach youth football. Slowly, but surely, these people matter less and less than those folks who move into large property developments who don’t know their neighbors and work elsewhere, a growing commuter class to Virginia.
While the retirees’ money is nice, their migration has made housing prices … well… different than they used to be. I remember seeing homes in mill districts or out in the country that were within the price range of most folks – now, I laugh when I see how folks will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for an old millhouse that was once on the wrong side of the tracks or an old farmhouse so they can “cosplay” as being from around here.
And with the newcomers’ migration, culture has changed. It’s hard to pinpoint when that started happening, but it feels like there are fewer places like Layden’s Country Store in Perquimans County or B’s Barbecue in Greenville or Fairfield Gas Bar in Hyde County than there used to be. Homemade Southern food has been pushed out by overpriced meals in restaurants that segregate the haves from the havenots – a new kind of Jim Crow.
Moreover, because many of these people are transplants – some of whom are here today, gone tomorrow – few understand local history, personalities and traditions. For example, what do you serve for New Year’s dinner – answer – ham or pork means good fortune; black-eyed peas bring good luck; eat your collard greens because you’ll have more money; cornbread means you won’t be fretting so much over finances.
People used to not drink in public or rarely drank in public. Remember Blue Laws and dry counties? Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. Now, I can smell marijuana in the air when I walk along East Church Street in Edenton – sometimes in the mornings…
Avoid swearing in public…
Pulling over to the side of a road for a funeral procession… only some folks still do that.
On that note, the funeral wake is when food is served. Very important.
Handwritten thank-you notes, although I’m probably guilty of not doing that. Still, it is always a treat.
Remember long Sunday phone calls to family and friends?
Memorials that echo a local history of the Civil War are no longer acceptable.
Flip side — I would never go to San Francisco or New York and smugly demand that my “Mayberry” values should dominate local cultural norms. That’s not right any more than a newcomer calling someone in their hometown a racist or deriding their humanity because of who they chose to be elected president.
Yes, we need to be welcoming of visitors and newcomers, but we also need to push back when they insist that their way is always the best. Often, because these folks have been informed by misleading media portrayals in television, movies, or books, they know nothing about the local history, context, or the values that have evolved over the years. Trust me, the South has progressed since movies like Mississippi Burning. And if the South is so bad, why do you folks keep moving here?
I could go on and on, but the incoming migration of folks from elsewhere or the corporate homogenization of America has left our communities with a bland aftertaste in my mouth rather than the taste of salted country ham or peppered okra that I grew up with.
Before we become like one of those suburbs north of Richmond or circling DC – filled with strip malls, housing developments with names like Wickham Shores or Colony Park, and an anonymous view of life that ignores the community – our way of life needs to be defended and protected.
If we don’t step up to say we don’t want a huge housing development, we might lose what’s special about our local culture and hometowns.
Editor-founder of the Albemarle Observer, Miles Layton, can be reached at mileslayton1969@gmail.com
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9 responses to “Why Northeastern NC Must Defend Its Heritage”
My observations as “one of those” retirees who chose Perquimans County as an affordable location to live on the water.
– Western Albemarle Sound is surprisingly devoid of commercial marine traffic. And even more surprisingly, recreational marine traffic is non-existent outside of weekends in the summer. The rest of the year there are maybe a dozen fisherman in the early morning or evening to be found or seen or heard. Compare with Long Island Sound, Chesapeake Bay, or even Pamlico Sound and you will see what I mean. The eastern end of Albemarle Sound is still doing OK, thanks to the ICW and the gentrification of the Outer Banks, but the western end is incredibly empty, especially on a week day in the best months – April, May, Sept, Oct.
– Because of the above, the state’s laudable efforts to revive the town waterfronts are not going anywhere – in my opinion. Do you really see riders for the ferries between the towns? Are there even enough tourists to support evening cruises? I don’t think so, yet I very much hope I am wrong.
– In trying to attract retirees and their money to western Albemarle Sound, a key omission is made. There is a huge lack of medical infrastructure in Northeastern NC. There has been but one cardiologist for the region for decades. If you have any old-age problems, you have to go to Greenville, Norfolk, or Raleigh, and wait weeks to months to see a specialist.
– Agriculture in the region has become highly mechanized, both as a result of and driving the young to leave the area, and not return until they are ready to retire. That can be seen in church after church after church (I attend in Edenton) – the young adults leave the region for fame and fortune elsewhere.
– Elizabeth City is the lone exception to the doom and gloom around Albemarle Sound. And I believe that comes from the work of ECSU, the Coast Guard, Sentara, and College of the Albemarle to secure a future and a capable work force for the future. Unfortunately, today’s skilled work force leads directly to your dreaded gentrification, as they seek the middle class lifestyle.
Well said sir, totally agree!
Thx! — Miles
As you know my husband has a petition out to be on the ballot for Camden County Commissioner. We have visited with a lot people over the last couple of weeks and have heard a great amount of stories from the citizens in our County. What I am learning is that people are sometimes put in place to be the leadership of these small communities with ulterior motives. A person may be “chosen” to run for a leadership role and voters may not be fully aware of who they are actually voting for, when in fact you are voting for the person (or people) who are behind the scenes. It’s a shame that there are genuine people out there and their ONLY goal is to protect and preserve their home County the love. They have no financial gain. They aren’t in anyone’s back pocket. There are absolutely NO ulterior motives. My point is, how can we protect the heritage of our county when greed and ulterior motives are often the reason people get elected into the leadership roles that are dissolving these small town farm communities? Simply being a lifelong resident doesn’t automatically mean a candidate will act in the best interest of the county or its people. When familiar patterns continue to produce the same results, it becomes necessary for others to step forward and work toward meaningful change.
Agreed and tell Dave — good luck — please keep me posted!
– Miles
Thank you. They may be trying to keep him from succeeding to be Commissioner, but that won’t stop us from attending meetings and staying involved.
Well said, article. It is the honest truth. We appreciate how the Albemarle Observer reports on what is important to our area. We all want the latest name brand store or restaurant to move in down the street, but what is the cost? Stay country, you will never be able to bring it back. Everyone local better vote in every coming election. And vote for the candidates that are for sustaining local businesses and farms. You actually can live without electricity, shopping malls and restaurants, but none of us can live without food and water. Many in our area have forgotten how much food our area can produce. North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes. And our sweet potatoes travel all over the world. And if you think the Idaho potato chips are all from Idaho, you are wrong. Northeastern North Carolina sends millions of white potatoes to factories all over the country for potato chip production. So those name brand chips you are eating, may be from the soil just passed your backyard.
What is happening in our area did not start over night. Perfect example: Wal-Mart moving to Elizabeth City, claiming they would increase the job market. The city and the county gave them all kinds of tax breaks. Wal-Mart shoppers better wake up! They received discounts on utilities and taxes. Who do you think paid for all those tax breaks? And how many jobs were lost when many small businesses closed after they arrived. It has been proven time and time again; the so-called job increases are minimal after of few years when you include the businesses that close after big box stores move to your town. And the local common-sense folks are always asking, when has a city or county in our area given small, local, family businesses and farms tax breaks, just for keeping their doors open?
Keep reporting the news Albemarle Observer!
Tony,
Much appreciated — thanks for reading!
— Miles
Dear Editor,
We call them “Flatlanders” – that’s the term in Vermont to describe the people from Jersey, New York, and elsewhere coming into the Green Mountain state. It’s not a term of endearment. Even Vermont-born children of flatlanders traditionally don’t count as Vermonters, at least for a few generations — “If your cat had kittens in the oven, would you call them biscuits?”
My Dad was a flatlander. He moved up to Vermont, lured by its beauty and simpler lifestyle, after getting divorced from my Mom. After a bunch of different jobs, he landed on selling silos — a bit of a stretch for a boy from New Jersey! I would often go with him on his calls to those cozy farm kitchens, loving the animals, the space, the beauty, and the warmth of the people. Dad liked it so much he bought an old dairy farm that had seen better days and turned it into an apple orchard. A few years later, he added a Christmas tree farm to the mix.
The locals down at Keith’s Trading Post (probably as close to a Layden’s as you can get in Chittenden, Vermont) got a lot of good conversation and laughter during their morning coffees rating his unlikely chances of success.
He stayed and worked and so did we. I spent summers planting hundreds of trees, learning the right way to pick an apple, tying soap to branches to ward off the deer, and installing chicken wire at the trunk to keep the mice away. I saw hailstorms destroy crops, along with the bulk of that year’s income. When Dad turned to making jelly as a sideline, I screwed countless lids on jars and cursed the labels I had to get off and re-do if I put them on crooked. He would make jokes about my suburban softness and lack of work ethic…and so it went…summers, years, and then decades. He’s still there, so are my brothers…and now they call others “flatlanders.”
Vermont challenged me to respect and learn from local traditions. Chowan County asks us to do the same—honoring heritage while facing real decisions about growth and opportunity. The recent commentary about development, culture loss, and the fear that we are becoming “the next Brunswick County” showcases real concerns for our economy and environment. But the lesson of Brunswick is not that change, or newcomers, are the enemy. We need to be smart about how we change, collaborating, drawing from the strengths of the past, and analyzing the opportunities of the present.
There’s another famous Vermont saying – “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That makes sense sometimes but also denies the real advantages of progress. Washing boards and brooms work, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want a washing machine or a vacuum. Many things about Chowan County’s heritage deserve protection and pride — our sense of neighborliness, our connection to land and water, our commitment to service and community, but nostalgia becomes dangerous when it blurs hard truths.
Economic inequality and cultural changes are real, but new businesses that cater to those with a larger pocketbook are not the same as Jim Crow. Jim Crow was not about discomfort or change; it was about violence, exclusion, and the denial of basic human dignity sanctioned by law. Equating that history with modern economic shifts does not protect culture, it distorts it.
Understanding history helps us see that preserving our community does not mean freezing it in time. We can learn from Brunswick and other communities how to best navigate change. I am running for County Commissioner to listen and think and work with the community to solve some of these real challenges – preserving what we value while planning responsibly for the future.
Respectfully,
Kathleen Miglorie