Historian David Cecelski shares the story of Nannie Davis Ward, who grew up at the now-uninhabited Davis Ridge in Down East Carteret County, and her description in an interview before her death of the remote community of formerly enslaved watermen and island women.
Our Coast
Community races against time to restore dilapidated church
Half of the $1 million needed has been raised to restore the mid-1800s Reaves Chapel, which has fallen into disrepair over the last 15 years since a congregation last worshipped within its walls.
Forgotten message in a bottle washes up 25 miles away
The message a South Dakota family put in a bottle and tossed in Corolla waters in 2016 was not an SOS, but a note asking to be contacted when and where the bottle washed up, which Steve Jarvis with Kitty Hawks Woods Reserve was happy to oblige.
‘They have got hold of the Bible’: Beaufort and the Civil War
The letters between an anti-slavery pastor and his daughter give a glimpse of Beaufort during the Civil War era, where escaped and liberated enslaved people could “come out of the shadow of slavery,” David Cecelski writes.
Red knots, northern gannets highlight Christmas bird count
The totals are now in from when dozens of birders flocked to Ocracoke in late December to join in the annual nationwide Christmas Bird Count.
Currituck County: More than a vacation destination
The Outer Banks county has a rich history of agriculture, political leadership and intriguing people, writes historian Eric Medlin.
The weary diamondback terrapin’s latest foe: phragmites
The diamond terrapin population, which has not fully recovered from the turtle soup trend of the late 19th century, faces a new challenge to its survival: phragmites.
Lost photographs: Remembering NC’s fishing communities
Historian David Cecelski illustrates with a series of photographs life in the 1930s and 1940s fishing communities as well as the man who took the photos, Charles Farrell.
Camden’s history, economy rooted in Great Dismal Swamp
Though Camden is the quietest, most rural county in northeastern North Carolina — mostly known for the Great Dismal Swamp — it is still a fascinating part of the state’s oldest region, writes historian Eric Medlin.
25-year-old Outer Banks Stamp Club seeks new members
Members of the Outer Banks Stamp Club, in their 60s, 70s and 80s, are trying to get the word out about their club, now in its 25th year.
Our Coast’s history: The early days of Bogue Banks
Historian David Cecelski takes readers to the early days of Salter Path, before paved roads, now flanked with hotels and condos, cut through the Bogue Banks village
Upheaval, rebirth cement Pasquotank’s role in NC history
It was Colonial North Carolina’s original political center and the site of an early rebellion — Pasquotank County, its people, history, educational institutions and economy are part of what makes this the regional anchor.
‘Oystering the old way’ exhibit new to Waterfowl Weekend
A new exhibit showing traditional oyster-harvesting methods is on display, just in time for the annual Waterfowl Weekend set for Friday through Sunday at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center on Harkers Island.
Mullet fishermen: A journey from Carteret County to Florida
The Florida fishing village known as Cortez has long been populated by folks with surnames that have for even longer been associated with the Bogue Sound area of North Carolina.
Island centenarian and a pirate shared a name, maybe more
William Howard, who purchased Ocracoke Island back in 1759, had the same name as a notorious pirate who, decades earlier, was Capt. Benjamin Hornigold’s quartermaster and sailed with Blackbeard, but was this mere coincidence or were they one and the same?
More than recipes: ‘Island Born and Bred’ a slice of life
The award-winning cookbook, which was originally intended as a church fundraiser nearly 35 years ago and is now available again, contains not only recipes but also sketches and stories that provide a glimpse of life in a coastal N.C. fishing village that has seen dramatic change.
