According to The North Carolina Gazetteer, the Brunswick County community’s name comes from the nearby plantation of the Russell family.
Daniel L. Russell (1845-1908), the local judge and political leader who was governor of North Carolina from 1897 to 1901, was born there. Russell was the last Republican to serve as North Carolina’s chief executive until the election of James Holshouser in 1972.
Winnabow Plantation, in turn, seems to have taken its name from an Indian word whose meaning has been lost.
The community, located near the intersection of N.C. 87 and U.S. 17, was known as “Evans Store Crossroads” during the Civil War. The Winnabow name was in use by the time the post office opened in 1882.
Date posted: October 22, 2010
User-contributed question by:
J. Rabon
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