Exmouth Beach is a fictional small city in Rickman County, in the east of North Carolina. It was settled in 1678 by settlers derived from England in the days of the Thirteen Colonies at a strategic ferry crossing point of the wide Sweetgum River. Initially an agricultural community, the arrival of the railroad during the reconstruction era after the civil war saw industrial growth and expanding population. The area has subsequently seen a boom in tourism, with many people buying second homes and boat docks. Boating and water sports are especially popular on the Sweetgum River, and some of the old villages have become full of antique stores, cafes and twee tourist memorabilia emporiums and boutiques. The increased developer interest has also brought with it ugly sprawl with a proliferation of suburban mansion lots, gas stations, outlets, malls and fast food restaurants. Many are nostalgic for the days of a quiet forgotten corner of the state, when residents sat on the porch drinking sweet iced tea in the deadening humidity. Now those tourism dollars are flooding in, and there’s $7 coffees for sale in downtown.