The Lower Coastal
Plain Tobacco Research Station and Cunningham Research Station
are two sites in close proximity in the north Kinston area.
The Lower Coastal Plain Tobacco Research Station (LCPTRS) was originally
established in 1948 on rented land near Greenville (Pitt County).
The station was moved to its present site in Lenoir County in 1965.
This site is 101.5 acres and located 6.5 miles north of Kinston.
In 1985, the estate of the late Raymond P. Cunningham left 414
acres to North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the North Carolina
Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (NCDA&CS)
for agricultural research and education purposes. A large portion
of this land is located within the northern city limits of Kinston.
The LCPTRS office was transferred to this site in 1989 and is located
in the Raymond P. Cunningham Center on the Cunningham Research Station,
serving as a regional research, education, and extension center.
Facilities include a modern meeting area, implement storage and
shop building, tobacco storage and grading building, bulk curing
barn, two compartment-type tobacco curing barns, and a greenhouse.
