Theophilus Weeks - Origins of Swansboro

Origins of Swansboro

Probably the greatest accomplishment of his life came with the founding of the town of Swansboro. His plantation, The Wharf, was an ideal location for trade and navigation, and as commerce increased, he saw the advantage it offered as a seaport.

It is not known exactly when he decided to establish a town on his property. It is possible that he considered the idea for years. His plans were finalized early in 1771, or possibly the year before.

The settlement was laid out with six streets, and contained forty-eight lots. The lots were arranged in three tiers, with sixteen lots each. Three of the streets ran basically north and south, and the other three east and west. They are known today as Front, Water, Elm, Moore, Main (originally Broad), and Church Streets. A county road extended northeastward from Broad Street to the Onslow Courthouse (which no longer exists, as the Onslow county seat is now at Jacksonville). All the streets were thirty feet (9m) wide, except Front and Broad Streets, which were forty feet (12m). All the original lots were 60 x 200 feet (61 m), except on the north side of Front Street. These seven water lots (numbers 10-16) extended across it to the river.

Sale of the lots went slowly, and only five of the forty-eight had been sold when Theophilus died. The Weeks home was on the west side of Broad Street (now Main), lot #7, somewhere between Front and Water Streets, just up from the wharf so he could see the ships as they came in. A dock was located nearby where ships tied up for him to inspect their cargo. Lot #6 was sold to Edward Starkey on 11 May 1771, and Lots #2 and #5 were sold to Ezekiel Hunter. Lot #11 was sold to Mrs. Mary Pitts, who received the deed for what was called “lot number 11 in the plan of a town laid out by Theophilus Weeks.” One of the town’s original houses, that of Jonathan Green, Jr.’s son, Samuel, is still standing.

The town was known by several names during its early years. Some people referred to it as Weeks Point, Weeks Landing, Weeks Wharf, The Wharf, and others as New Town. In one petition, it is called “New Town upon Bogue.” It was generally called Bogue during the Revolutionary War era. The confusion was finally settled in 1783, when it was incorporated and an act of the General Assembly officially named it Swansborough, in honor of Samuel Swann, Speaker of the colonial assembly and official representative of Onslow in the Assembly. The name was later shortened to Swansboro.