“The mainland of Hyde County presents a stark vista: mile after mile of flat vacant land interrupted by pine forests, expansive fields, drainage ditches, impenetrable swamps and clusters of buildings that may or may not be a town. To many people it looks like the perfect picture of the middle-of-nowhere. Strangers passing through this place usually ask themselves: “How does anyone live here?”
Of course people do live here, and if you talk with them you can get beyond the lonely impressions created by the austere countryside. You discover they like Hyde County’s minimalist landscape where “progress” does not obscure the wonder of nature, and where the seasons—rather than a time clock—determine the pace of life.” -William Mansfield from Song of an Unsung Place
