History

Pink Hill has always been "on the move", both figuratively and literally. The community was founded originally near the home of Anthony Davis in the mid-1800's. Davis lived on a hill some two miles from the present town which was covered in Spring with a profusion of pink wildflowers. Settlers became attracted to the area and on November 11, 1847, the Pink Hill Post Office was established on Davis' farm.

Pink Hill was first incorporated in 1907 and again in 1915. The 1920 census shows that Pink Hill has a population of 166. The town had a population of 522 people in 1976, which was an increase of 12% since 1966. The 1980 census shows a population was 644, yet in 2010 it had decreased to 552 according to http://www.usa.com/pink-hill-nc.htm. The population growth rate of 5.95%, since 2000, is much lower than the state average rate of 18.46% and is lower than the national average rate of 9.71%.

Years later, in the early 1900's logging was a big industry in much of Eastern NC. Trains were the best means of moving logs to market. A train came through Beulaville, to Pink Hill, and on to Kinston. Evidence of old rail tracks were found on the property of present day Sheppard Equipment Co. The next stop for the train was at Mr. Luby Turner's house. This stop was called Lynchburg. People would go there to board the train and wait in Mr. Turner's kitchen in winter.

When a railroad was built from Kinston, Pink Hill residents began to move down the hill to the tracks. Gradually the old settlement was abandoned. Pink Hill is still a rural trading center but, industrial employment is steadily increasing. In 1952, the Volunteer Fire Department was created and in 1954 the water system was put down.

"Pink Hill is located close to the center of North Carolina. Pink Hill is between the Lenoir, Duplin, Jones, Onslow county. Pink Hill has 0.47 square miles of land area and has no water area. Pink Hill median household income is $33,750 in 2008-2012 and has grown by 3.35% since 2000. The income growth rate is much lower than the state average rate of 18.54% and is much lower than the national average rate of 26.32%. Pink Hill median house value is $75,000 in 2008-2012 and has grown by 8.07% since 2000. The house value growth rate is much lower than the state average rate of 41.83% and is much lower than the national average rate of 51.67%. As a reference, the national Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate for the same period is 26.63%. On average, the public school district that covers Pink Hill is close to the state average in quality (www.usa.com/pink-hill-nc.htm)."

Only one known person from Pink Hill died in the Vietnam War, his name was CPL Alex Ray Houston.This is a link to the virtral wall- http://www.virtualwall.org/dh/HoustonAR01a.htm

The pink wildflowers and the railroad are gone now... but the town and its name lives on.

Information provided by:

Lenoir County-- 200 years of progress-- 1776-1976, Lenoir County Board of Commissioners and Kinston-Lenoir County Bicentennial Commission (1976)

Catherine Stokes Sheppard, a life-time elderly resident of Pink Hill

http://www.usa.com/pink-hill-nc.htm