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
Our Coast
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.
Paddlers’ trip highlights issues, beauty along the Pamlico
Sound Rivers’ Environmental Projects Coordinator Clay Barber and Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Jill Howell recently spent five days paddling the Pamlico River and its estuaries with Miller the pup on a mission to document environmental conditions.
Black soldiers’ role in Civil War raid gets new recognition
A Civil War raid of Elizabeth City that led to liberation of hundreds of enslaved North Carolinians is set to be commemorated Saturday with the dedication of a new North Carolina highway historical marker.
Excerpt: Bland Simpson’s ‘Land of Water, Land of Sky’
Bland Simpson shares a taste of his latest book, “North Carolina: Land of Water, Land of Sky,” with photography by his wife and collaborator Ann Cary Simpson as well as Scott Taylor and Tom Earnhardt.
Perquimans County offers a quieter trip back in time
While sometimes overshadowed by neighboring counties of the Albemarle Region in terms of attractions, Perquimans boasts rich history and historically significant figures and structures of its own.
Cemetery threatened by erosion now features photo exhibit
The outdoor display features images from a photography and reporting project that investigates the effects of sea level rise and erosion as seen from the small cemetery at risk of being lost to the waters of Pamlico Sound.
Roanoke-Hatteras Algonquian: The tribe that never left
Marilyn Berry Morrison, an outspoken advocate for the Roanoke-Hatteras Tribe of the Algonquian Indians of North Carolina, has led the effort for official state recognition of the tribe she calls “keepers of the land” and is still represented here on the Outer Banks.
NC Bird Atlas to help prioritize conservation efforts
Volunteers are helping with a five-year project known as the North Carolina Bird Atlas that began this past spring to catalog the size and distribution of the state’s bird populations.
NC’s roots were in Albemarle Settlements, not ‘Lost Colony’
The role of Chowan County in North Carolina’s early Colonial history is often overshadowed by the first English settlement in North America, but it was here where the Tar Heel State had its true beginnings.
Our Coast’s People: Dr. Ben Speller of Edenton
A retired NC Central professor and preservationist of African American history, Dr. Ben Speller of Edenton is a self-described collaborator who says that, despite the things that divide us, there’s more that we share in common than some may care to admit.
Whitehurst fishery: A Down East community on Lake Erie
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.

















