With only a sign and crossroads, the name of this Pender community still remains a mystery

An unincorporated community in Pender County known to fans of a popular TV show has an unknown origin when it comes to its name.

Yamacraw is the "home" of fictional character Philip Banks, affectionally known as Uncle Phil by his nephew Will Smith in the 1990s sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

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Banks and the beloved characters have recently returned through Peacock’s “Bel-Air” series.

However, Yamacraw is little more than an area at the intersection of Bell Williams and John Henry Store roads with a sign bearing the name.

Burgaw retired judge, Gary E. Trawick, and author of "Born in Reconstruction: The Story of Pender County 1524-2012," says the earliest mention of the place named Yamacraw that he found in his research is a 1788 reference to the Yamacraw location of a Presbyterian church. That church has long ago disappeared.

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The source of the place name in Pender County remains a mystery. There is no mention of any such Native American tribe in North Carolina. However, there was a Yamacraw tribe in Georgia, Trawick said, and there is a statue in Savannah, Georgia, to the Chief of the Yamacraws.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Behind the name Yamacraw in Pender County