Navassa, North Carolina

A post office called Navassa was established in 1903.[5] The community was named after Navassa Island.[6] Navassa was incorporated as a town in 1977.[6]

Navassa is located along the Brunswick and Cape Fear rivers.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 13.8 square miles (35.8 km²), of which 13.3 square miles (34.5 km²) is land and 0.50 square miles (1.3 km²) (3.50%) is water.[4]

The Navassa and Cape Fear region in southeastern North Carolina is considered an exceptionally rich biodiverse area in the United States. This region hosts 50 different habitat types supporting 300 species of plants and animals. Twenty-two of these species are considered "endemic", meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. An assessment of biodiversity was completed by the State and prioritized terrestrial habitats based on the presence and quality of significant natural areas, rare species, important bird areas, high quality wildlife habitat, and wetlands. Aquatic habitats were assessed based on aquatic significant natural heritage areas, native trout waters, anadromous fish spawning areas, high quality benthic communities, high quality waters, outstanding resource waters, oyster sanctuaries, shellfish harvest areas, fish nursery areas, submerged aquatic vegetation, and stream buffers. Anadromous means that fish are born in fresh water nurseries of Navassa's creeks and rivers, spend most of their life in the sea (Atlantic Ocean) and return to the town's fresh waters to spawn.

The Cape Fear River and Brunswick River marshes along Navassa's eastern limits are an extensive 330 acres (130 ha) of tidal marshes upstream of saltwater influence. This tidal freshwater marsh is characterized by tall herbs, grasses and wildflowers. This site supports the only known population of Carolina Bishop Weed in North Carolina. The natural area has been altered by human influences of ditching, diking and roadbed construction. Sturgeon Creek, along Navassa's southern limits, is a tributary of the Brunswick River and supports the same uncommon natural community type of Tidal Freshwater Marsh. The 154-acre (62 ha) marsh contains a population of Cypress Knee Sedge, a rare plant species.

The town of Navassa has a rich cultural heritage supported by strong roots in the Gullah-Geeche culture. Gullah describes a group of African Americans along the southeast coast of the United States from Jacksonville, North Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida. They have a distinct culture, language, and lifestyle that have been preserved since the early 1700s. In the southeastern North Carolina area, the Gullah people of today are direct descendants of slaves who worked in the rice and peanut plantations of the Cape Fear River valley. Residents of Navassa have a direct link to this culture. At one time there were five different rice plantations in what is today Navassa. As the plantation system came to a close, the slaves who worked these plantations eventually resettled the area.

In 2006, the US Congress established the east coast Gullah-Geeche Cultural Heritage Corridor to help preserve and educated the public on the importance of this culture in our history. The corridor is preserved with the assistance of an executive committee, of which the Mayor of Navassa is vice-chairman.

• Town of Navassa official website