| Things to See & Do
on the Crystal Coast
Beaufort Historic Site
Cape
Lookout National Seashore
Carteret County
Museum of History and Art
Core Sound
Waterfowl Museum
Fort Macon State Park
Hammocks
Beach State Park
North Carolina
Maritime Museum
Beaufort Historic Site
 The Beaufort Historic Site, in the 100 block
of Turner Street, is in the heart of
Beaufort, NC’s third oldest town. Thirteen
restorations preserved
by the Beaufort Historical Association comprise the historic
site. Tours of the restorations include the
1796 Carteret County Courthouse, 1859
Apothecary Shop and Doctor’s Office, 1732 Rustell House which houses the Mattie K.
Davis Art Gallery, 1829 county jail, 1778
Leffer’s Cottage, 1767 Joseph Bell House and
the 1825 Josiah Bell House. Visitors are
welcome to the Robert W. and Elva Faison
Safrit Historical Center where orientation
exhibits and demonstrations are offered
year-round. Guided tours of the site are
offered year-round at 10am, 11:30am, 1pm and
3pm Mon.-Sat., $6 adults, $4 students.
Children under 6 are admitted free with a
parent.
Group and self-guided tours also are
available. Interesting narrated walking and bus tours
depart from the Beaufort Historic Site April
through October. See the sights of Beaufort
on the English Double Decker Bus Tour 11am
and 1:30pm Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
These special tours are $6 adults, $4
students, children under 6 free with parent.
Narrated tours of the Old Burying Ground,
c.1709, are conducted with a minimum of five
or more people ($5 adults, $3 children,
children under 6 free with parent) 2:30pm
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, or may be
self-guided at any time (free). Beaufort
Historic Site is open Mon.-Sat. 9:30am-5pm
in season; 10am-4pm off season. Group tours
may be arranged by calling 252-728-5225 or
800-575-SITE.
An active annual calendar at the Beaufort
Historic Site includes Publick Day, a
colonial-style flea marker with
entertainment, games and food, in April; the
Old Homes Tour and Antique Show and Sale,
always the last weekend in June; Harvest
Time, living history and demonstrations of
coastal family life in the 1700s especially
for school groups in October; Community
Thanksgiving Feast in November which offers
a traditional Thanksgiving menu and
gathering; and the Coastal Carolina
Christmas Celebration in December.
Cape Lookout National Seashore
 One of the most beautiful natural treasures
on the Crystal Coast is Cape Lookout
National Seashore, 55 miles of unspoiled
barrier islands with unparalleled fishing
and shelling stretching from Beaufort Inlet
to Ocracoke Inlet. Three undeveloped barrier
islands make up the seashore - North Core Banks,
South Core Banks and Shackleford Banks. Accessible only by boat, the
undeveloped Cape allows primitive camping,
has renovated lighthouse keeper’s quarters,
boardwalk to the ocean beach, daily summer
ranger programs and facilities in summer; no
guarded beaches or maintained roads. ATV’s
and 4x4’s are allowed.
Remnants of old gun mounts are visible on an
ocean side walk between the rock jetty and
Cape Point. The islands are protected
loggerhead turtle nesting areas. The highest
visitation to Cape Lookout is during October
and November, with summer months the next
highest. Primitive cabin rentals are
available from mid-March to the first
weekend in December.
Cape Lookout Lighthouse, landmark for the
coast since 1812, is now operated
automatically by the US Coast Guard, Ft.
Macon group. The tower, the second to stand
at Cape Lookout, was painted its distinctive
black-and-white diamond pattern in 1873 to
make it a better daymark. The beacon has
kept many a ship from the low lying shoals
of Cape Lookout and has served as a guide
during storms that have swept through the
coastal waters known as "The Graveyard of
the Atlantic." The lighthouse’s 201 cast
iron steps are not open for climbing.
The National Seashore also includes adjacent
Shackleford Banks, former site of extinct
fishing village Diamond City, with large
dunes and wild Banks ponies; Core Banks
North and South (of Drum Inlet), noted for
wonderful shelling, clamming and surf
fishing April through November; and
picturesque Portsmouth Village at the
northeastern tip of Core Banks, a 250-acre
uninhabited island community dating from
1753 and preserved as a National Historic
Place. A self-guided trail runs through
Portsmouth Village.
Access to the Cape is by ferry service
concession, local private ferries and
charter boats, or by contacting the National
Park Service (252-728-2250) at the new
visitors’ center on the eastern end of
Harkers Island. The average stay on the
National Seashore is two to five hours.
Visiting all three islands can take a total
of seven ferry rides, warranting an extra
day for your visit.
There’s plenty to do on the National
Seashore including sightseeing at Portsmouth
Village and Cape Lookout Lighthouse,
observing wildlife, picnicking, shelling,
fishing and just getting a tan. Swimmers
should be aware that there are no
lifeguards. To get the most enjoyment out of
your visit to the Cape, don’t forget to
bring drinking water, sunscreen and a good
insect repellent.
Carteret County Museum of History and Art
The Carteret County Museum of History and
Art houses an interesting collection of
Carteret County artifacts and an excellent
historical research library. Located at 100
Wallace Drive in Morehead City, next to the
Crystal Coast Civic Center, the yellow
church building with the big anchor out
front has been on this site since 1985.
The museum building has a history
every bit as interesting as the artifacts inside,
dating back to 1907 when it served as Camp
Glenn School. Built by Henry Clay Lockhart,
William Clyde Lockhart and Asa Elijah
Gaskins, it was first known as the "Carolina
City School House." From 1910 until July 7,
1913, it was known as the "Hollywood School
House," a name derived from the many holly
trees that grew nearby. In 1913, the school
was renamed the "Camp Glenn School House."
In 1918, the Methodist Society bought the
building and moved it across the railroad
tracks to where the present-day Wendy's
restaurant is located on Arendell Street. It
then became the Camp Glenn Methodist Church.
Additional rooms were added to the one-room
school house in 1945. The structure served
as the Methodist Church until 1962.
The building was then rented out to the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
In 1964, Donald and Joyce Clark purchased
the property and used the building as a flea
mall. In 1985, Philip Mantz of Washington
acquired the property and offered the
building to the Carteret County Historical
Society free of charge if the organization
would move the building. The society then
moved the building to its present location
on Wallace Road and the doors have been open
to the public free of charge since that
time.
The museum is open 1-4pm Tuesday-Saturday.
Members of the Carteret County Historical
Society volunteer as docents or tour guides,
run the gift shop, and assist visitors using
the research materials in the library.
The research library, in addition
to providing materials which document and
interpret the museum collections, contains
the best collection of basic Civil War
materials in eastern North Carolina and an
especially notable genealogy collection.
Researchers come from far and wide to use
the library which is open to the public at
no charge.
The museum's gift shop offers unique gifts
for children and adults in addition to books on a wide variety of subjects.
For information on the Carteret County
Historical Society and the Carteret County
Museum of History and Art, call 252-247-7533
email: cchs@clis.com.
Core Sound Waterfowl Museum
 Decoy carving is a true American folk art.
Native Americans were the first to use
wooden carved decoys to entice ducks to the
ponds and rivers. These hunting techniques
were passed on to New World settlers,
and in turn the knowledge was passed on to
Europeans.
On Harkers Island and Down East,
waterfowling has been a way of life for
hundreds of years beginning with the Coree
Indians and continuing with English settlers
to the area. In recent years this cultural
heritage has enjoyed a rebirth thanks to the
Core Sound Decoy Carvers Guild. Dedicated to
preserving local art, lore, culture and
history, the guild established the area’s
first museum in 1992.
The Core Sound Waterfowl Museum, located
on Island Road just east of the elementary
school, rotates wonderful collections of
decoys by local carvers, antique working
decoys and other forms of waterfowl art.
Down East collectibles and handcrafts,
books, bird houses and feeders, related
clothing, stationery, calendars and jewelry
are also available for purchase at the
museum gift shop. You can observe local
carvers in action Thursday through Sunday
from 11am-4pm on the museum’s lovely front
porch. A visit is a short and interesting
20-minute drive from Beaufort. Open
year-round, the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum
hours are 10am-5pm Mon.-Sat., 2-5pm Sun.
The annual Core Sound Decoy Festival
is held the first weekend in December each year. The
Crystal Coast’s largest off-season event,
the Decoy Festival attracts nearly 10,000
people to see the work of and meet the most
renowned of active waterfowl carvers.
Display areas, auctions and competitions
fill the weekend with interesting activity
including decoy carving, painting and float
tank competitions. In a float tank
competition, the slicks (working decoys as
opposed to the decorative) are poked,
prodded and turned upside down to make sure
they right themselves properly. The decoy
with the most natural, lifelike swimming
ability and appearance is the winner.
Entertainment, demonstrations, and food also
abound. And don’t miss the loon-calling
contest on Sunday afternoon. Winning
loon-callers have been featured on CBS This
Morning and The David Letterman Show.
The future of the Core Sound Waterfowl
Museum is very exciting. Through the private support of the museum’s
membership, a permanent museum building on Harkers Island
is coming closer to reality. The museum has
a long-term lease with the National Park
Service on 16 acres of land at Shell Point
where the new building will neighbor Cape
Lookout National Seashore’s visitors center.
The location is being prepared with
interpretive nature trails and a newly
restored freshwater duck pond, the
centerpiece of the museum’s environmental
education program.
Donations and memberships in support of the
museum are welcome: Core Sound Waterfowl Museum, P.O. Box 556, Harkers
Island, NC 28531, 252-728-1500. More information can be
found on the museum’s web site at www.coresound.com.
Fort Macon State Park
 Fort Macon State Park is composed of 385
acres of beach, dunes and maritime forest
located two miles east of Atlantic Beach, at
the eastern tip of Bogue Banks (milepost 0)
at the Beaufort Inlet. The focal point of
the state
park is historic Fort Macon, a brick five-sided fortress built between
1826 and 1834 and named for Nathaniel Macon, the
state senator who procured the building
funds. The vulnerable colonial port of entry
at Beaufort Inlet had attracted a number of
threats from piracy to Spanish raiders, but
at the time of the fort’s construction, it
was the Civil War that loomed ahead in its
future.
Garrisoned in 1834, Fort Macon was seized
from the Union forces by NC troops at the
start of the Civil War, or the War of
Northern Aggression, as some still refer to
it. In 1862, Union forces recaptured and
used the fort as a coaling station for Union
navy ships and later as a federal prison.
Fort Macon was regarrisoned in 1898 for the
Spanish-American War and in 1942 for World
War II.
Fort Macon State Park is the most visited
park in NC with around 1.4 million annual visitors. Admission is free.
At the fortress, visit the museum, bookstore, and
restored commandant’s quarters (exhibits and
audio programs) with free guided tours in
the summer at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Watch
musket firings on weekends in summer or hike
the 1/4-mile nature trail. Fish from rock
jetties, or park at the bathhouse area for
the public swimming beach, boardwalk, picnic
area, and summer-only concessions.
(Bathhouse open 10am-6pm, $1 children, $2
adults.)
The park opens daily at 8am and closes at
sunset; fort hours are 9am-5:30pm daily. The
museum and bookstore are open 9am-5pm daily.
Beach, bathhouse and picnic area are fully
accessible to handicapped persons. Fort
Macon’s calendar features many special
events and programs. Information,
252-726-3775.
Hammocks Beach State Park
 Located on Bear Island, Hammocks Beach State
Park is best known for its three miles of
beautiful beaches stretching along the
blue-green waters of the Atlantic Ocean
(follow park signs off Hwy 24 just west of
Swansboro). Here you can find a beach
unspoiled by man, untouched by time, and
definitely at its finest.
For hundreds of years before the English
came to America, Bear Island
was
home to the Neusiok and Core Indians. But when the English arrived, the
secretary to the royal governor granted the notorious pirate
Blackbeard use of the island in return for
some of his "treasures." Blackbeard thusly
utilized the island throughout the early
1700s. After his death a fort was built on
the western end of the island to protect the
area from other outlaws.
Today visitors to Hammocks Beach can enjoy
surf-fishing, hiking (very hot sand
necessitates shoes), camping, swimming,
picnicking and shelling. Seventeen primitive
campsites are available on Bear Island for
camping year round. Bear Island is also one
of the most important nesting areas in the
state for loggerhead sea turtles. Females
come ashore on summer nights to deposit
their eggs in the warm sands and then return
to the sea. These nests and hatchlings are
protected by the endangered species act - do
not disturb.
Educational programs on such
topics as sea animals, pollution, the island’s history,
and shells also are presented by park
employees. A ferry to Bear Island runs the
25-minute route 9:30am-4:30pm every hour on
the half hour May through October: in May,
Friday through Sunday; in June, Wednesday
through Sunday; Memorial Day to Labor Day,
seven days a week; in September, Wednesday
through Sunday; and in October, Friday
through Sunday. Information, 910-326-4881.
North Carolina Maritime Museum
 The NC Maritime Museum is located just off
the Intracoastal Waterway on the Beaufort
Waterfront. The all-wood, cedar-shake
building on Front Street is reminiscent of
nineteenth century Beaufort and architecture
and of
the early US Lifesaving Service buildings. Funded by the NC Department
of Agriculture since 1975, the museum offers educational exhibits, programs
and field trips. There is no admission charge.
Museum exhibits highlight
the maritime and natural history of coastal North Carolina
and include the history of the US Lifesaving
Service, working watercraft, ship models,
decoys, hand tools, fossil and shell
collections, displays of coastal pant and
animal life, salt water aquariums and
indigenous small craft. The research library
offers visitors use of its extensive
collection.
The museum’s Harvey W. Smith Watercraft
Center, just across the street on the water side, is a working boat
shop where visitors can watch wooden boats being built and
restored. There, in the model shop,
volunteers build ship models to scale.
The museum’s annual programs attract
all ages, all interests, all year. The Wooden
Boat Show, the first Saturday in May, is
full of workshops, demonstrations and
activities for wooden boat owners and
enthusiasts. The Junior Sailing Program
instructs two-week classes for children ages
8-15 from June through August, and Summer
Science School for those entering grades 1-9
involves exciting field programs in both
natural and maritime history.
For two decades, the
museum’s education
staff has been offering environmental
education programs for the public. Coastal
wetlands and habitats are highlighted in
trips to barrier island beaches, maritime
forests, salt marshes, and tidal flats. In
addition there are trawling trips aboard a
research vessel, visits to local boat
builders, bird watching and fossil hunts.
The museum gift shop has maritime and
natural history posters, field guides and
posters, NOAA and Defense Mapping charts and
navigational aids. Construction plans for
North Carolina small watercraft can also be
purchased.
For a free copy of
the museum’s calendar of
activities, call or write NC Maritime
Museum, 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC 28516,
252-728-7317. The museum is open 9am-5pm
Mon.-Fri., 10am-5pm Sat., and 1-5pm, Sun.
Information
courtesy of nccoast.com |
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