Hyde
County was first called Wickham County, the name being changed about 1712. It is in the eastern section of the State and is bounded
by the Pamlico Sound and Beaufort, Washington, Tyrrell and Dare counties. Dare and Carteret counties are also a short boat ride away by the banks by the Atlantic
Ocean.2
This Northeastern North Carolina county is surrounded by the Pamlico Sound, the Alligator and Pungo Rivers, and is bisected by the Intracoastal Waterway. Known as "the land of many waters", Hyde County is also home to North Carolina's largest natural lake, Lake Mattamuskeet. Ocracoke Island, once home to the pirate Blackbeard and now a tourist Mecca, is accessible only by air or water.3
It not exactly evident where this nickname originated, but it seems to have given birth during the Civil War. North Carolina's troops were said to have tar on their heels, because they would not run in battle even as other states retreated.
Additional County History
