Question: How did the Tar River get its name?
Answer: The Tar River got its name during the colonial period, with two main theories. One holds that European settlers named it for tar, a major product of the region’s naval stores industry. The alternate theory claims it is a corruption of the Tuscarora tribal word “Tau,” meaning good health, which early settlers reportedly misheard as “Tar.” The river gave its name to the town of Tarboro (originally Tarborough), which was incorporated in 1760.
