Area guide · Camden County, NC
South Mills
A canal village on the Virginia line, where the Dismal Swamp Canal meets the farm fields of northwest Camden County.
- For sale now
- 23
- Median list price
- $520K
- Sales, last 12 months
- 75
- Median sale price
- $438K
Hive MLS, residential, as of Nov 10, 2026
Overview
About South Mills
South Mills sits where the Dismal Swamp Canal leaves the swamp and runs south toward the Pasquotank River. US 17 passes on its west side, with Elizabeth City to the south and Chesapeake, Virginia to the north.
It is not an incorporated town. Camden County has no incorporated towns of its own, so South Mills is an unincorporated community with its own post office (27976), and the county handles zoning, permits and services.1 Camden County is part of the federal Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metropolitan area.2
On the market
Homes for sale in South Mills
South Mills is a mailing-address area, not a town with legal limits. These are listings whose MLS address reads South Mills, North Carolina.
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Median asking price
$500K
- Homes listed
- 35
- Median days on market
- 53
Camden County, this list, MLS listings as of November 10, 2026
For Camden County homeowners
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Taxes, flood zones, utilities and more, each answer sourced and dated October 25, 2026.
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Market
South Mills by the numbers
As of Nov 10, 2026 · Hive MLS
- Homes for sale
- 23
- active now
- Pending
- 12
- under contract now
- Median list price
- $519,975
- homes for sale now
- Homes sold
- 75
- last 12 months
- Median sale price
- $438,215
- last 12 months
- Median days on market
- 26
- sold homes, last 12 months
- Sale-to-list price
- 100.0%
- median, final list price
- Median price per sq ft
- $211
- sold homes, heated area
Recent sales
| Address | Sold | Price | Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 128 Jasmine Court | Nov 2026 | $429,485 | 5 bd · 3 ba · 2,540 sq ft |
| 230 Lilly Road | Nov 2026 | $359,000 | 3 bd · 2 ba · 1,191 sq ft |
| 213 Myrtle Lane | Nov 2026 | $418,635 | 4 bd · 3 ba · 1,903 sq ft |
| 122 Jasmine Court | Oct 2026 | $400,000 | 4 bd · 3 ba · 1,903 sq ft |
| 104 Horseshoe Road | Oct 2026 | $365,000 | 4 bd · 2 ba · 2,167 sq ft |
| 109 Otters Place | Oct 2026 | $350,000 | 4 bd · 3 ba · 1,844 sq ft |
Own a home in South Mills? Request a private valuation →
Residential listings with a South Mills, NC mailing address in Camden County, from Hive MLS records read through the SourceRE RESO Web API on Nov 10, 2026. Medians print only with at least 10 sales. Sold figures exclude rentals and land. Refreshed twice a day. Camden County market report →
History
A short history of South Mills
Before it was South Mills, the settlement at the canal's southern end got its mail under the name New Lebanon. Once the Dismal Swamp Canal opened in 1805, water spilling from its southern end was put to work turning mill wheels, and the mills gave the place its name: the post office changed from New Lebanon to South Mills in 1839.3
The canal itself was dug by hand, mostly by enslaved laborers, starting in 1793. It is often called the oldest continuously operating artificial waterway in the United States, and today it is one of the two routes of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway between Norfolk and Albemarle Sound, maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.4
The lock at South Mills made the village a target in the Civil War. On April 19, 1862, Union troops marched north to destroy the canal locks and keep Confederate ironclads from reaching Albemarle Sound from Norfolk. Confederate troops held them for about five hours at Sawyer's Lane, south of the village, then pulled back. Both sides claimed the Battle of South Mills: the Union held the field, and the locks were never destroyed.5
Places to visit
Interesting places in and around South Mills
The South Mills Bridge
The little drawbridge over the canal was built in 1934 and is North Carolina's oldest historic bascule bridge.6 It sits only about four feet above the water when closed, so it opens for nearly every boat, timed with the South Mills Lock beside it: a good place to watch Intracoastal Waterway traffic come through.7
Directions to The South Mills Bridge (opens Google Maps) ↗Williams Strawberry Farm
A Camden County strawberry farm open each spring. Besides berries it sells greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers, strawberry biscuits and pies, and ice cream made in an old five-gallon churn.8 Season dates follow the crop, so check before you drive out.
Directions to Williams Strawberry Farm (opens Google Maps) ↗Dismal Swamp State Park
About 14,000 acres of swamp forest. A half-mile boardwalk loops through the swamp behind the visitor center, and more than 20 miles of trails and old logging roads go deeper in.9
Directions to Dismal Swamp State Park (opens Google Maps) ↗Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center
Next door to the state park, with a 150-foot dock where boaters tie up overnight. It is the only welcome center that serves both a major highway and a waterway.10
Directions to Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center (opens Google Maps) ↗
Your broker in Camden County
Thinking about South Mills?
Travis Old is a North Carolina broker and licensed general contractor, with 20+ years in building and real estate. Ask about a listing, a lot, a septic permit or a flood map before you drive out.
Travis Old, Broker, Horizon Realty Group · NC Broker #334264