Pettigrew State Park

Pettigrew State Park
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
A view of Lake Phelps at Pettigrew State Park
Location of Pettigrew State Park in North Carolina Show map of North Carolina Pettigrew State Park (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	North Carolina, United States
Coordinates	35°47′50″N 76°25′19″W / 35.79722°N 76.42194°W / 35.79722; -76.42194[1]
Area	5,951 acres (24.08 km2)[2]
Elevation	10 ft (3.0 m)
Established	1939
Named for	J. Johnston Pettigrew
Governing body	North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation
Website	www.ncparks.gov/pettigrew-state-park

Pettigrew State Park is a North Carolina State Park in Tyrrell and Washington Counties, North Carolina in the United States. It covers 5,951 acres (24.08 km²)^[2] around the shore lines of Lake Phelps and the Scuppernong River. The park's developed facilities are south of U.S. Route 64 near Roper and Creswell, North Carolina. Pettigrew State Park is open for year-round recreation, including hiking, camping, fishing, boating and picnicking.

Pettigrew State Park is named for Confederate General J. Johnston Pettigrew, who lived in a nearby home. It surrounds Somerset Place, a North Carolina state historic site that includes a restored 1830s plantation house and outbuildings that can be toured, including reconstructed slave quarters.

Pettigrew State Park was established during the Great Depression after the land was leased from the Farm Security Administration, a New Deal program of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Part of Pettigrew State Park surrounds Lake Phelps, one of the oldest lakes in the eastern United States and a former hunting and fishing ground for the Algonquian peoples. Archaeologists have found dugout canoes in the lake that are up to 4,400 years old, preserved by its unusually clean waters. Pettigrew is home to an abundance of wildlife: Lake Phelps is a primary wintering location for several types of waterfowl, including Canada geese and Tundra swans. The park is also home to the woodland creatures, such as raccoons and white-tailed deer, that are commonly found along the east coast of the United States. Lake Phelps contains several species of game fish including largemouth bass and catfish.

The park also manages the 16,600-acre (67 km²) Lake Phelps, which is a North Carolina State Lake.^[2] All together, the park manages 22,430 acres (90.8 km²).