Princeville persists one year after Hurricane Matthew's devastation

"I see my home, I see my home there all the time," she said. "I had four bedrooms. Two full baths."

The flood after Hurricane Matthew took it all. Now only her front steps stand.

But she plans to return.

"I will just be glad when the town gets back to town," she said.

When the Hurricane Matthew first came through, Princeville residents initially thought they were spared from the damage. But three days later, the community was in trouble.

Three days later, there was trouble.

Linda Joyner is the Mayor Pro Tem in Princeville. She said she watched as her town was swallowed by the damage.

"All of a sudden, the water went around the dike and started going into the town,"Joyner said.

She watched as her town was swallowed up. A report would find flaws in the levee protecting the town allowing the Tar River to flow in.

Around 80 percent of Princeville was underwater.

Curtis Murphey's home was consumed drowned in the floodwaters.

"Matthew damaged us pretty bad," Murphy said. "This is where I was raised, and I know most people here."

But there was no doubt he would make repairs and return. But there are fewer residents living in Princeville these days.

With each storm, Floyd in 1999 and Matthew in 2016, few people return to take their chances again.

Murphy stares at empty lots next door where neighbors used to live.

"Some people don't want to come back here," Murphy said. 'I am not going to leave home."

The Princeville Volunteer Fire Department also lost their station and is now using a temporary location.

"It's not sufficient, but it is what we have," Chief James Powell said.

Powell said he is worried about the number of residents who will not return.

Roughly 100 people applied to have their properties bought-out by the government. There are only 700 homes in town, a serious blow to the town's tax base.

"We know we see a decline in our funding," Powell said. "We expect ot see some troubling time for years after."

A team of experts met to talk about the future and ways to guard Princeville against future disasters.

"We are talking about growing, but not diminishing the original town," Gavin Smith said.

It includes moving the fire station, town hall and schools to a 52-acre tract less likely to flood, two miles from the historic downtown.

"We need to go out there with the future in mind, so that way we have room to grow, expand our capability," Powell said.

Not everyone is sold on the idea though.

"I think they should let it stay right here where it is," Murphy said.

No matter where they stand, most agree on where Princeville is going.

"I come by here everyday," Wiggins said. "I stop at my mailbox. I point over there and say I will be back."

The community says the this historic town will recover.

"The history here is deep, and we are going to stand," Wiggins said. "Princeville is going to stand. We are going to be here. We got hope, and we know that God is going to bring us back."