Washington County land and farms offer investors and developers low-cost labor and access to major transportation corridors via US Highway 64, which cuts through the county from east to west. As it heads toward Raleigh, the highway intersects with US Highway 17 in Williamston, I-95 near Rocky Mount and with I-40 in Raleigh. Going east, the road takes visitors to the Outer Banks just 80 miles away. The land in Washington County is sparsely populated with only 12,000 residents in the 424-square-mile county located in the Coastal Plain. Farmland occupies 80,000 acres, and 88% of the agricultural sales are from crops. Much of economy revolves around lumbering and the products it produces. Domtar Paper Co., Weyerhaeuser Co. and Mackeys Ferry Sawmill are among the largest employers in the rural county. Manufactured products include wood pulp, paper, plywood, lumber, pallets, clothing, rope and processed peanuts. The Roanoke River, Albemarle Sound and 16,000-acre Lake Phelps provide plenty of fishing opportunities. Hunters take advantage of the opportunities to hunt bear, deer and waterfowl on the vast amount of private and public land that includes large expanses of woods and other undeveloped land. The Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is in the southern part of the county. Washington County Schools provide K-12 public education, and Beaufort Community College offers higher learning.
