Historian David Cecelski illustrates with photos and family lore the story of fishers from Down East Carteret County who found their way to Lake Erie more than a century ago.
Culture & History
1913 storm thrashed ships, and a rescue led to accusations
The fourth Atlantic hurricane of the season this month 108 years ago resulted in a handful of ships lost or aground along the Outer Banks, including one daring rescue that led to allegations of piracy.
Our Coast’s History: Varnamtown’s Fishermen 1938
Photographer Charles Farrell captured how mullet fishermen in the fall of 1938 “made do,” as historian David Cecelski explains, on Bald Head Island during the Great Depression.
Manteo museum a snapshot of Pea Island Station History
The tiny Pea Island Cookhouse Museum in Manteo tells the bigger picture of the Pea Island Life-Saving Station, manned by an all-Black crew from the 1880s to 1940s.
Our Coast’s History: Remembering 1930s Sneads Ferry
Through Charles Farrell’s photographs of Sneads Ferry in the 1930s, historian David Cecelski learned the stories and people of the Onslow County fishing village.
Aviation, history buffs to celebrate Orville Wright’s birthday
In honor of National Aviation Day, Aug. 19, the public can purchase rides on one of the famous “Warbirds,” or World War II aircraft, the Avenger “Doris Mae.”
Family researcher discovers Bertie County ancestor’s secret
John Bunch of Tampa, who spoke Saturday at the 10th Family History and Genealogical Fair at Hope Plantation, found answers in his research that confirmed what his relatives had long denied.
David Stick was an example of the ideal coastal historian
David Stick, who literally wrote the book on Outer Banks history and founded the Outer Banks History Museum, represents an endangered species of local historians in the modern publishing world.
Hard times: Voices from the Great Depression on NC coast
Historian David Cecelski found interviews from the Great Depression from a seaman from Ocracoke, a country doctor from Lake Mattamuskeet, a Norwegian dredge boatman in Beaufort, a washerwoman in Elizabeth City and others.
Park Service to support Gullah Geechee corridor project
The National Park Service’s selection of a project to connect the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor with the East Coast Greenway in Brunswick County will bring national exposure, proponents say.
Marvin Jones’ Winton Triangle research a personal journey
Marvin Jones, Chowan Discovery Group executive director, has made it his life’s work to document the history of a northeastern North Carolina community of color.
For first time, Hatteras museum on track for state funding
For the first time since becoming a state museum, an appropriation of $4.2 million to implement an exhibit plan has been included in both the governor’s and the state Senate’s proposed budgets.
The other coup d’etat: Remembering New Bern in 1898
New Bern in 1898 could have easily experienced a coup similar to the massacre that took place in Wilmington the same year, writes North Carolina historian David Cecelski.
Historic Lighthouse Lens’ Odyssey Continues
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse’s lens is now on display at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, but its location was a mystery for more than a century.
Our Coast: Remembering a Church Bombing
David Cecelski shares his conversation with retired Trooper Bob Edwards, sole eyewitness to the 1966 bombing of an African American church in Craven County.
Marker to Note Ahoskie’s Civil Rights Legacy
The N.C. Civil Rights Trail program is set to place a highway marker at New Ahoskie Baptist Church in Ahoskie to celebrate members’ 1960s struggle for civil rights.
