Oct 22 Cliffs of the Neuse

 

Located in the coastal plain, Cliffs of the Neuse is a small NC State Park at under 900 acres. I began my visit at the Visitor Center. The building has some interesting displays which touch on the human history of the park as well as the geology. Tuscarora and Saponi Indians have occupied the area and used it for ceremonial hunts. The sand cliff rises as much as 90' up from the river and runs about 600 yards along the river.

Mountain galax is found on the Galax Trail. I doubt you can find it many other spots in the coastal plain. Here, the galax meets Spanish moss.  I heard the Bird trail is a good birding location but I did not hike it. And, although I did not measure it, the 350 Yard Trail is probably about that long. 

The banks show erosion almost everywhere I hiked along the riverbank. It's lucky to have Cypress trees like this one. Not only are they attractive but the root and knee system work to prevent riverbank erosion.

My hike started in a Loblolly forest along an old wagon road. That led me right to the tallest point in the park on the 350 Yard Trail. Then it was a walk above the river with occasional views of it. That trail brough me to river level and a Cypress forest. This bottom area was covered in a very slick mud. I could see where other hikers had slipped in the mud. Then it was a forest walk back to the Visitor Center passing Swim Lake (another not so creatively named place). The forest was quite dense here, not suitable for off trail exploration.

In 1945 a local Goldsboro businessman Lionel Weil donated the original 291 acres for the state park. Other landowners followed his lead with donated land. A few parcels were purchased as well to bring the park up to almost 900 acres. Weil was a multi-faceted fellow. He, seemingly, was involved in everything, businesses, charities, civic organizations, farming and land conservation. He even authored a book - Our Native Trees and invented a devise to transplant Longleaf pines. 

Over time, the river carved the cliffs. The one above is quite steep and looks unstable in spots. Layers of sand, clay, seashells, shale and gravel make up the cliff, like a muted rainbow. The park has taken measures to protect the cliffs for safety and to preserve the cliffs. Climbing, repelling and digging for fossils would result in a very quick erosion of the cliffs. 

Just outside the park's boundary heading downriver, is the site of Whitehall, NC, now Seven Springs. In mid-December 1862, Union solders attempted to destroy the Confederacy's ironclad Neuse which was under construction. They also wanted to destroy some key railroad infrastructure. The Confederates, crossed the bridge at Whitehall and burned it. At night the Union soldiers rolled barrels of tar to the riverbanks and lit them on fire so they could see the Confederate positions. The following day they attempted to deceive the Confederates into thinking they were going to try to cross the river but instead send most of their soldiers to destroy a railroad trestle near Goldsboro. The Confederates were not fooled and most of the Union soldiers retreated to New Bern. A small force stayed behind to help the wounded and bury the dead. A Confederate patrol found an open trench with 100 dead Union soldiers in it. The Union's Maj Gen John Foster who led the attack was severely criticized in northern newspapers for this and failing to achieve his objections. Yet the Union promoted Foster.