In our county history series: Home to Wilmington and popular beaches, New Hanover County has been the setting for racial turmoil, economic expansion and changing culture over the centuries.
Our Coast
Search for Lawson in natural history museum continues
Historian David Cecelski continues about his visit to the Natural History Museum in London to study specimens of coastal North Carolina flora that John Lawson sent to English naturalist James Petiver in the early 1700s.
Women mark STEM milestone at Corps research facility
Women comprise half the science and engineering staff at the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory at the Army Corps of Engineers’ Field Research Facility, or Duck Pier, which now features a lactation room.
Professor among growing number of women in STEM
N.C. Central University assistant professor Dr. Carresse Gerald uses her role in the classroom to encourage young females in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Hiker follows vision to link Nags Head, Carova via trails
After the pandemic lockdown, a friend’s wedding in Madrid and a new perspective on getting outside, Luke Halton made it his mission to create a new hiking trail on the Outer Banks.
Coach Gilbert takes to the water as others take to the field
Cape Fear Academy lacrosse coach Paul Gilbert used to coach fall sports, but now autumn is reserved for fishing.
Onslow County’s rich coastal history often overlooked
In our county history series: Onslow is home to a sprawling Marine Corps base, but its two rivers were the center of growth for 200 years before.
Nags Head artist honors ‘checkerboard’ lifesaving crews
A recently unveiled painting depicts one of the “checkerboard” crews of the U.S. Life-Saving Service staffed by both Black and white members during the late 19th and early 20th century.
Woman turning family land into refuge for wildlife, herself
Sheba Shiver, who left a career as a clinical psychologist and returned to her family’s 50 acres in Pender County, was approved in 2021 for a conservation grant. While waiting for the money, she had more than 10,000 trees planted.
Inner Coast: Mattamuskeet project aims to restore ‘balance’
Wendy Stanton, acting refuge manager for Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, says Lake Mattamuskeet is “out of balance,” but officials behind the work say the community’s enthusiasm for cleaning up the lake continues.
‘Morass’ no more: Great Dismal could get new designation
The Great Dismal Swamp, already a national wildlife refuge, is being considered for designation as a National Heritage Area with new conservation, preservation and economic programs.
Salmon Creek seines: Shad, herring fisheries were once big
The historically significant site once saw significant river herring and shad fishing, back-breaking work done almost exclusively by enslaved and free Black laborers.
Landowners find Black lifesaving hero’s forgotten grave
Retired Coast Guard Cmdr. Gavin Wente and his wife Renee didn’t know when they bought their property last year that it included the unrecorded gravesite of Capt. Lewis Wescott, who participated in one of the most daring ocean rescues in Outer Banks history.
Searching for Lawson in London’s Natural History Museum
Historian David Cecelski recounts his visit to the Natural History Museum in London, which holds the specimens of coastal North Carolina flora that John Lawson sent to English naturalist James Petiver in the early 1700s.
ECSU Choir marks 90 years of bringing music to the people
The Elizabeth City State University Choir, which performed recently at First Flight High School in Kill Devil Hills, has been sharing its songs with audiences across the region since 1933.
Seafloor mapper Dave Bernstein knows how to find fish
He’s a geospatial mapping specialist who has loved fishing his entire life and a former competitive angler.