Local History (~1880 - present) | Aurora Fossil Museum

History, History of Phosphate Mine, 1880 to Present, Pre-1880

Aurora, located in Beaufort County, North Carolina was originally called "Betty Town" and was founded on the location of an Pomouik Indian village.



The land, that is now Aurora, was owned by Christopher Gale, a lawyer and the first Chief Justice of North Carolina. Christopher Gale assisted John Lawson in the founding of Bath Towne (Bath), which lies to the north of the Pamlico River.

In 1880, Reverend William Henry Cunningham (or Cunninggim) incorporated the town of Aurora.



Around 1914, Aurora began holding an annual fair on a vacant lot behind the Methodist Church.



In 1964 the Texas Gulf mine and chemical plant facility was constructed. In 1985, Texas Gulf acquired the land previously owned by the North Carolina Phosphate Company (NCPC). In 1995 the Aurora facility was purchased by the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS) and renamed PCS Phosphate Company, Inc. Recently PotashCorp merged Agrium creating Nutrien, the world's largest provider of crop inputs and services. Nutrien will fill a crucial role of Feeding the Future through helping growers to increase food production in a sustainable manner.

Text by Cynthia Crane for the Aurora Fossil Museum.
References:

•Reeves, Linda. Bath Towne. Raleigh, NC, 1978.

•VanCamp, Lous. Images of America: Beaufort County, North Carolina. Charleston, South Carolina: Acadia Publishing, 2000. Print.