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In 1907, the General Assembly passed the law that would eventually become East Carolina University. Several towns bid on the school:
Washington - $75,000 and the choice of two sites, 200 acres or 133 acres; Elizabeth City - $62,5000 and 25 acres; Kinston - $25,000 in secured bonds, free water and electricity for 10 years, 87 acres and the Rhodes Military School; New Bern - $25,000 and 25 acres; Rocky Mount - $25,000 and 40 acres; Tarboro - $30,000, free utilities for 10 years and choice of two sites, 40 acres or 25 acres; Edenton - $25,000 and 35 acres Greenville - $100,000 less the cost of land and bond election expenses.
If you were in charge, what city would you pick? Looking at the options, Greenville would be last in my option.
Washington, Elizabeth City, New Bern, and Edenton are all on the water and would be awesome.
Kinston and New Bern are on the future US 70 corridor, so it wouldn't be a destination city. The Morehead City would be, which would help with road upgrades.
Same thing with Rocky Mount and Tarboro, with the US 64 and the Outer Banks.
I doubt the transaction was above board. Tobacco was quite influential back in the day. Having said that, New Bern's new branding should be " 100 years of terrible decisions."
From what I understand, Washington (Washington Park actually) was the front-runner, but didn't want the transient growth that comes with a college. Maybe I've heard wrong for 25 years? It would have been beautiful there on the river and down into the peninsula in my opinion.
From what I understand, Washington (Washington Park actually) was the front-runner, but didn't want the transient growth that comes with a college. Maybe I've heard wrong for 25 years? It would have been beautiful there on the river and down into the peninsula in my opinion.
I remember seeing somewhere their "offered land" was on the water. Could you imagine how different East Carolina would be on the Pamlico?
a larger UNCW?
Not a bad thing. But I wonder if it would have been more focused on marine issues than medicine.
Well, funds weren't appropriated until 1974, and BSOM didn't open until 1977. So they would have had nearly 70 years without medicine.
They likely would have been slightly more focused on marine science, but they aren't really slouches in it as is.
I've heard Kinston was one of the top choices but decided that it would be better to have Caswell Center rather than ECU. They didn't want the kind of growth that ECU would have brought. Not sure how much truth there is behind that but boy look at Greenville now and look at Kinston.
a larger UNCW?
Not a bad thing. But I wonder if it would have been more focused on marine issues than medicine.
Well, UNCW is four-ish miles from the ocean/Cape Fear. This would have been on the waterfront, if in Washington. Even though the Pamlico isn't the ocean, I think the scenery would be better in Washington.
Washington Park would have been a beautiful campus. It has a College Drive as a street. Is that a nod to what could have been or is there a different reason to name a purely residential street as such?
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