Editing Beulaville, North Carolina (section)

===European Settlement===

The arrival of the [[German Palatines|Palatines]] at [[New Bern, North Carolina|New Bern]] and the ensuing wave of [[English people|English]] and [[Welsh people|Welsh]] settlers sparked a conflict known as the [[Tuscarora War]] (1710–1715). With the elimination of the last [[Tuscarora people|Tuscarora]] stronghold at [[Fort Neoheroka]] and subsequent exodus of the remainder of the tribe to [[New York (state)|New York]] (they became the sixth nation of the [[Iroquois Confederacy]]), the interior of the coastal plain was made available for European settlement. Many of the original European settlers of what is now Beulaville arrived from [[Beaufort County, North Carolina|Beaufort]], [[Craven County, North Carolina|Craven]], [[Jones County, North Carolina|Jones]], and [[Onslow County, North Carolina|Onslow]] counties.

In 1736, Duplin County (then upper [[New Hanover County, North Carolina|New Hanover County]]) was the destination of several hundred [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]] (Scotch-Irish) and a handful of [[Swiss people|Swiss]] [[Protestants]]. They settled on a plot of land, {{convert|71160|acre}} between the [[Northeast Cape Fear River]] and [[Black River (North Carolina)|Black River]], obtained from the Crown by Henry McCulloh of London.<ref name="carolana royal colony">{{Cite web|url=http://www.carolana.com/NC/Royal_Colony/nc_royal_colony_henry_mcculloch.html|title=The Royal Colony of North Carolina - Henry McCulloch, Esq}}</ref> Their first settlements were [[Sarecta, North Carolina|Soracta (Sarecta)]] on the Northeast Cape Fear, an area at the lower end of Goshen Swamp (then called Woodward's Chase), and the grove where the Duplin County Courthouse now stands.<ref name="lostsoulsgenealogy">{{Cite web| url=http://duplin.lostsoulsgenealogy.com/wd_history.htm| title=Duplin County History to 1810| author=William Dickson| publisher=Duplin County community website| accessdate=November 30, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124201604/http://duplin.lostsoulsgenealogy.com/wd_history.htm| archive-date=January 24, 2016| url-status=dead}}</ref> According to census records, several families of Sarecta and the settlement at the south end of Goshen Swamp had gravitated to the crossroads of what would become Beulaville by the middle of the nineteenth century.

Beulaville proper was founded as "Snatchet" in 1873 out of necessity for a trading center for nearby farmers and those in the business of logging and [[turpentine]] production. Also colloquially referred to as "Tearshirt" by locals, the town was once notorious for [[alcoholism]] and frequent street brawls. Indeed, the manufacture and distribution of [[corn liquor]] remained a steady source of income for many families well into the 20th century. Upon demolition of a prominent downtown building (which had formerly served as a soda shop in the 1950s) to make way for a McDonald's, a [[moonshine]] still and several barrels of the drink were uncovered in the basement.<ref name="WRAL homepage">{{Cite web| url=http://www.wral.com| title=Rowdy Town| publisher=WRAL.com |date=February 18, 2008| accessdate=November 19, 2013}}</ref>

The [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Kinston–Carolina Railroad and Lumber Company|Kinston Carolina Railroad and Lumber Company]] constructed a railway from [[Kinston, North Carolina|Kinston]] to [[Pink Hill, North Carolina|Pink Hill]] around 1900. In response, residents of Limestone Creek Township spent $15,000 to lobby for the creation of the "Duplin County Railroad" in 1916, extending the Kinston line through Beulaville and [[Chinquapin, North Carolina|Chinquapin]]. The rail, which ran alongside present-day Railroad Street, has since been destroyed.<ref name="biennial issue 19">Report of the Corporation Commission for the Biennial Period ..., Issue 19</ref> The post office of Snatchet was officially re-designated "Beulaville" in 1910, and the town was incorporated five years later. The town's name is derived from the Beulah Baptist Church (now the Beulaville Baptist Church). Beulaville is the most recent town to be incorporated in Duplin County.
[[File:Archie Lanier's Store.jpg|thumb|Archie Lanier's Store]]