Our Coast

  • History Rediscovered: NC’s First Lighthouse

    What did the first lighthouse on the Cape Fear River look like and what really happened to it? Documents that maritime historian Kevin Duffus found in the National Archives shed some light.

  • The Story of Shad Boats

    Historian David Cecelski introduces his 12-part series, “The Story of Shad Boats,” that explores the origins, construction and history of the workboats found on the North Carolina coast in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

  • Lockdown Inspires Outer Banks Students’ Art

    The pandemic lockdown has inspired university students stuck at home on the Outer Banks to further explore and develop their creativity, much like Isaac Newton and William Shakespeare during their day.

  • Christina Koch Describes View of NC Coast

    Astronaut Christina Koch hasn’t seen her hometown of Jacksonville since her last pass over the N.C. coast aboard the International Space Station, but she says that view is seared in her memory.

  • Lockdown Cravings? Where to Buy Seafood

    Stop dreaming about soft-shell crabs and shrimp burgers — North Carolina seafood markets are open and offering shipping, delivery and curbside pickup as the statewide stay-at-home order continues.

  • Historic Outbreak: Spanish Flu on NC Coast

    The call to end the practice of shaking hands was urged by the publisher of the Elizabeth City newspaper way back in 1919, as the Spanish flu was on track to claim nearly 14,000 lives in North Carolina.

  • Piney Grove: Touring Brunswick County’s Past

    Historian David Cecelski visits with Brunswick County’s Marion Evans, who leads him on a tour of the Piney Grove community, sharing rich, old stories and showing him the little-known sites where they took place.

  • Museum to Celebrate Women’s Suffrage

    The History Museum of Carteret County and the League of Women Voters are set to host a reception and celebration of the 100th anniversary of women getting the right to vote and the opening of an exhibit recognizing notable females.

  • Navassa History Misunderstood: Planner

    Navassa town planner Barnes Sutton, who has spent the last two years trying to balance growing the small town while preserving its history and heritage, says much of that history has been obscured.

  • ‘Where I’m Supposed to Be:’ Navassa Planner

    After spending most of his childhood bouncing from one military base to the next, Barnes Sutton, Navassa’s planning director, says the largely African American community is the place to settle and put down roots.

  • Aquarium Vet Emily Christiansen Talks Turtles

    She nearly opted to major in linguistics, but Emily Christiansen, veterinarian for the N.C. Aquariums, instead chose biology and a career where she must understand ailing sea creatures and communicate with students and researchers.

  • Amid Jim Crow, Blacks Here Forged Legacy

    The Wright brothers’ visits to the Outer Banks came as white supremacy was wrenching away racial progress in the state, but blacks on the banks persisted in their achievements.