The region from the mouth of North River to Core Sound was known in colonial times as the Straits of Core Sound, and from it grew the communities of Straits, Gloucester, and Marshallberg. New Englanders were encouraged to settle the Carolinas to increase trade, and Samuel Chadwick of New England settled in Straits and received the first whaling license issued by the governor of North Carolina in 1726. Men of Straits worked as merchants, in the merchant marine, and as farmers, while grist mills, general stores, and warehouses stood along the Straits. The community became known for sweet potatoes, and in the 1930s its baseball team was called the Straits Spuds; sweet potato pie was a staple, and after the fall digging the potatoes were stored in a potato bank for winter use. Two women connected with Straits, Emeline Pigott and Mary Frances Chadwick, served as Confederate spies after being recruited by their cousin Josiah Francis Bell. Mary Frances Chadwick’s grandfather’s plantation was used as a base of operations in both the Revolutionary War and the War Between the States. Also located in Straits was the Richard Whitehurst Plantation, granted by the Lords Proprietors of George I circa 1717; the second Methodist church in the community was built on that site, and Straits School stood nearby across the road from the brick kiln. Clay from Straits was used to make brick for Cape Lookout Lighthouse and Fort Macon.