Buffalo City, a now-abandoned Dare County logging town notorious for moonshine production during Prohibition, also featured in a huge life insurance company fraud case in the 1910s, author and retired forester Bill Barber has revealed.
‘R’ you ready for April?
A mallard strikes a semaphore-like pose signaling the letter “R” as viewed over the weekend from the dike at the Roanoke Island Marshes Dedicated Nature Preserve. Covering almost 1,900 acres of marsh and wetlands, the preserve is possibly the least well-known of the protected natural areas on the Outer Banks. Although most of the preserve is impenetrable, a 1.3-mile trail along an impoundment is, at times, a birder’s delight. Photo: Kip Tabb
As timber declined, Buffalo City loggers made ’shine
Recently detailed by “When Ghosts Made Moonshine” author Chris Barber, loggers in the remote, deeply forested northeastern region of North Carolina supplied highly regarded whiskey to speakeasies up the East Coast during Prohibition.
Officials see a future for historic Mattamuskeet Lodge
An estimated $14.4 million renovation is planned for the deteriorating former pumphouse, which was part of a failed project in the early 1900s to drain the lake for agriculture and a county landmark.
Bebop drummer Max Roach kept coastal NC connections
Born in Newland near Elizabeth City, the late Max Roach was a pioneer in the mid-20th century New York jazz scene, and a civil rights advocate.
Foundation maps journey of its Lost Colony research
“Excavating the Lost Colony Mystery: The Map, the Search, the Discovery” is a compilation of essays and writings by historians, archaeologists and other experts on the last 20 years of research on Sir Walter Raleigh’s settlement.
Student study shines light on Outer Banks sea turtle nesting
Outer Banks Field Site undergrads who conducted a four-month study of how artificial light at night affects sea turtle nesting have presented their findings, which indicate conservation efforts may be working.
When gathering wild pocosin cranberries was profitable
Colonial accounts of what is now Dare County make no mention of wild cranberries, but the holiday tradition is believed to have long existed in the pocosin and reporting on the crop dates back to the 19th century.
Outer Banks tourism rebounded after COVID, now slowing
Presentations during the recent Outer Banks Visitors Bureau tourism summit featured an economy outperforming some state and national trends but also showing signs of cooling.
Scuttled Confederate ship had served both sides in Civil War
The steamboat scuttled at Cobb Point near Elizabeth City by its Confederate captain during winter 1862 had previously served as a Union vessel.
First Lady Cooper plants tree at park to hail native plants
North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper and other state officials visited Jockey’s Ridge State Park last week to plant a persimmon tree and celebrate plant species native to the region.
Outer Banks homeless shelter grapples with cut in resources
There is a real need to help people experiencing homelessness in Dare County, but resources are limited, said Shari Fiveash, the new executive director for the Outer Banks homelessness program.
Pilot projects may prove vital in Currituck Sound restoration
Currituck Sound, once the crown jewel of the Atlantic Flyway, but migratory waterfowl counts have plummeted. Years of pilot projects and collaboration led to a working plan for restoring this important marsh habitat.
Manteo denies county request for wastewater hookup
The decision continues a trend of county-based essential or workforce housing proposals being rejected at the municipal level.
Petrels ‘little superheroes’ to researcher Kate Sutherland
UNCW researcher and Hatteras Island resident Kate Sutherland studies the chemical isotopes of the feathers from black-capped petrels, a difficult-to-study, endangered pelagic birds species.
Ongoing study may show overlooked algal bloom causes
A year into a 30-month public science study, preliminary data appears to show that higher than expected nutrient loads in minor tributaries may contribute to increasingly regular and persistent blue-green algal blooms in northeastern North Carolina rivers.
