Varnamtown, NC

Varnamtown is a Brunswick County town on the tidal Lockwood Folly River, where the Varnam family’s fishing and boat-building history still sets the tone. The first Varnam settlers arrived around 1860; a general store followed in the early 1900s, and Garland “Honey” Varnam opened the first seafood market on the river in 1954. Hurricane Hazel destroyed most riverfront structures that same year. Varnamtown incorporated in 1988, but the town still reads like a working coastal community shaped by fish houses, boats, and the river.