Located in west Pender County, the town of Atkinson celebrated 100 years ofincorporation in October 2009. Originally called Lewis, the town of Atkinson was established when Mr. W. H. Lewis donated his land for a local railroad during the expansion of the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad from the mountains to the sea. Despite giving his time and effort to the development of the area, Mr. Lewis had the town renamed Atkinson in 1909 in commemoration of an engineer. Atkinson has always maintained fine farming with lots of produce and blueberries. In 1925, Pender County erected the Atkinson School, which still stands today and is used for town events.
