We build pools in Farmville, North Carolina, about eight miles west of Greenville and straight out I-587. Farmville was incorporated in 1872, grew as a tobacco market town, has around 4,400 residents, and has spent the last couple of decades turning its Main Street into something genuinely worth walking — murals, galleries, the glass studio, the local museum, and the Dogwood Festival every spring. The town has held Tree City USA status for well over three decades, which anyone who has driven down Main Street in April can see the point of.
Farmville sits on the high ground, and it matters
Here is the single most useful fact about building a pool in Farmville. Pitt County's elevation runs from roughly sea level on its eastern edge to about 124 feet near Farmville at the western end. Farmville is, quite literally, the top of the county.
Elevation of that kind is not dramatic, but in the Coastal Plain a few dozen feet is the difference between ground where the seasonal high water table sits at or near the surface and ground where it sits well below five feet. A great deal of Farmville falls into the second category, on the better-drained Norfolk-type soils. That means excavations that stay dry, less need for dewatering, and a wider range of pool designs available without special measures.
It is not universal. There are low pockets around the drainages and old field ditches, and there is graded fill in newer subdivisions like anywhere else. But on average, Farmville is the friendliest ground for a pool in Pitt County, and we say so.
What better drainage buys you: deeper designs are available, dewatering costs come off the bid, backfill consolidates more predictably so decks settle less, and the risk in ever draining the pool for service is lower.
Older in-town stock, newer building at the edges
The Farmville Historic District carries a real mix of housing periods, much of it built when Farmville was a working tobacco market. Those lots have mature trees and traditional setbacks, and access for equipment needs checking before a fiberglass shell gets specified. Gunite and vinyl liner construction handle constrained sites better.
Newer building at the edges of town gives you open lots, straightforward access and simple pool projects. Those are usually fiberglass or vinyl liner installs that go in quickly.
The I-587 effect
US 264 through Farmville was officially designated Interstate 587 and signed in June 2022, running 37 miles from I-95 and I-795 near Wilson to the NC 11 interchange in Greenville. Before that, Greenville was one of the largest cities in the country without an interstate. Farmville sits on it, with its own interchange at US 258.
Practically, that means Farmville is a fifteen-minute run from Greenville and a straightforward drive from Wilson. For us it means no travel charge and no scheduling excuse. For homeowners it means the town has become a genuinely viable place to live and commute from, which is part of why we are getting more calls here every year.
What we build in Farmville
The better ground opens up options that are harder elsewhere in the county. Deeper pools where someone actually wants depth. Integrated spillover spas, which sit lower in the ground than people realise. Larger decks with less worry about long-term settlement, because well-drained sandy loam that has been compacted in lifts stays where you put it.
Renovation work here is mostly finish and equipment on pools from the eighties and nineties — replaster, new tile and coping, and a modern variable-speed pump to replace a single-speed unit that has been the biggest electrical load in the house for fifteen years. See renovation and remodeling and equipment installation.
Permits come from the Town of Farmville inside the limits and from Pitt County outside them. The safety requirements are the same everywhere in the state: a barrier at least 48 inches high with self-closing, self-latching gates, drain covers meeting the federal Virginia Graeme Baker standard, and the equipotential bonding grid required by Article 680.
What we build
Nearby towns
Questions people ask before they build
Is Farmville really better ground for a pool?
On average, yes. Pitt County's high ground is near Farmville at roughly 124 feet, versus near sea level on the eastern side of the county, and much of the area sits on better-drained soils where the seasonal high water table is well below five feet. That reduces dewatering, widens the design options and lowers the long-term risk. Individual lots still vary, which is why we still walk the site.
How far do you travel to Farmville?
Farmville is roughly eight miles west of Greenville with its own I-587 interchange, so it is a short run and there is no travel charge. We are out this way regularly.
Can I build a deeper pool in Farmville than in Greenville?
Frequently, yes. Depth is limited by the water table as much as by anything else, and Farmville's better drainage means the floor of a deeper pool is less likely to sit in groundwater. It still depends on your specific lot, but the odds are better here than almost anywhere else in the county.
Do I need a permit from the town or from the county?
From the Town of Farmville if your property is inside town limits, and from Pitt County if it is outside. The state safety requirements are identical either way. We handle the permit process as part of the build rather than leaving it to you.