This cannon is a replica of a 30-pounder Parrott Rifle, one of the most widely used siege cannons in the War Between the States. Invented by Robert P. Parrott in 1861, the 30-pounder Parrott Rifle quickly became one of the Union Army’s standard . . . — — Map (db m77064) HM
In order to promote safe navigation of shipping through Beaufort Inlet past numerous shoals and sand bars, the US Lighthouse Board established the Bogue Banks Lighthouse and a navigational beacon on the eastern end of Bogue Banks near Fort Macon . . . — — Map (db m77086) HM
This cistern, built in 1897, collected and stored drinking water for Fort Macon's caretaker. Cisterns such as this one have been used by coastal residents for years. Moisture and rain shed from the roof through pipes into the cistern, where it could . . . — — Map (db m31457) HM
This fort, guarding the entrance to Beaufort Harbor, was built between 1826 and 1834 as one of a series of seacoast fortifications for national defense. Local secessionist militia forces seized the fort on April 14, 1861, at the outbreak of the . . . — — Map (db m31451) HM
Built by U.S. Corps of Engineers, 1826-34. Good example of brick fort. Seized by Confederates, April 14, 1861. Scene of battle, April 25, 1862. — — Map (db m31278) HM
Fort Macon Life-Saving Station
In 1903, the US War Department approved a request from the US Treasury Department to establish a US Life-Saving Service station on the Fort Macon Military Reservation. In 1904 a wood frame hip-roofed station . . . — — Map (db m77083) HM
Fort Macon became a state park in 1924. At that time, the fort was all that remained of the military post. All other traces of the Army’s presence from the 19th century were gone.
The fort itself, and a US Lifesaving Service (later Coast Guard) . . . — — Map (db m77072) HM
In March 1862, Union Gen. John G. Parke’s brigade of Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside’ Coastal Division advanced from New Bern to capture Beaufort Harbor and Fort Macon. During March 22-26, Parke’s forces took possession of Carolina City, Morehead City . . . — — Map (db m77046) HM
Welcome to Hoop Pole Creek
Hoop Pole Creek is one of the last remaining natural refuges for fish, wildlife and plant life in Atlantic Beach, NC. This 31-acre property was purchased by the NC Coastal Federation in 1997 through a grant from . . . — — Map (db m77047) HM
This replica Hot Shot Furnace stands on the foundation of Fort Macon's original Hot Shot Furnace, built in 1836. Hot Shot Furnaces were used in forts to heat non-explosive cannonballs red hot for use against the unarmored wooden enemy warships of . . . — — Map (db m31502) HM
Smallest caliber cannon used in the War Between the States. Several of these were used as secondary armament in Fort Macon during 1834-1861 to defend vulnerable areas against assaults.
Weight of Bronze Barrel ........887 Pounds
Weight of Gun . . . — — Map (db m31501) HM
This cannon is a replica of a smoothbore Model 1841 Navy 32-pounder which stood here during the War Between the States. Cannons of this caliber comprised almost half of Ft. Macon's armament. The 32-pounder is so named because it fired round iron . . . — — Map (db m31535) HM
These are the only known surviving cannons of Fort Macon's original armament. Used in the fort 1862 to 1902. Similar to mortars used by the Union Army against the fort in the 1862 bombardment. Weight of Barrel .......................... 1968 Pounds . . . — — Map (db m31490) HM
The earthen mound in front of you was built to shield a battery of two 10-inch siege mortars mounted here in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. The underground gallery below was made into a magazine to store ammunition for the mortar battery. — — Map (db m31575) HM
Following the end of the War Between the States Fort Macon returned to its peacetime status as one of the US Army’s military posts. During the last half of the 1860s a lack of suitable quarters for officers and their families became a serious . . . — — Map (db m77070) HM
This cannon is a replica of a rifled Model 1841 Navy 32-pounder which stood here in the War Between the States. The cannon was originally a smoothbore 32-pounder and fired a round 32-pound cannonball. In October, 1861, Confederate soldiers converted . . . — — Map (db m31536) HM
If you could go back in time to the years of the last half of the Nineteenth Century you would find this area looked quite a bit different than it does today. The area around Fort Macon was cleared of any vegetation. The fort itself was only one . . . — — Map (db m77065) HM
Fort Macon was constructed between 1826 and 1834. This fort was used in the War Between the States (1861-1865), the Spanish American War (1898) and World War II (1941-1945). Fort Macon also served as a military prison from 1862-1877. Fort Macon was . . . — — Map (db m31479) HM
A Military City
During World War II (1941-1945) the US Army occupied Fort Macon once again for military defense. Although some soldiers lived and worked inside the fort itself, the area outside the fort once again came to life as a small . . . — — Map (db m77073) HM
When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, US Coast Artillery troops occupied Fort Macon State Park for the defense of strategic points in the Beaufort Inlet-Cape Lookout area.
In the sand dunes southwest of the fort, . . . — — Map (db m77074) HM
Before the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, local citizens formed the Beaufort Harbor Guards. These Confederate sympathizers, led by Capt. Josiah Pender, occupied Fort Mason when the sole guard, U.S. Army Ordnance Sgt. William Alexander, quietly . . . — — Map (db m77029) HM
This indicates the dividing line between old and new town, and was erected in place of a cannon which formerly stood here; said cannon being part of the armament of the U.S. Privateer “Snap Dragon,” commanded by Cap’t Otway Burns, in the war, . . . — — Map (db m189372) HM
The area around Beaufort and Morehead City long has been valued by marine biologists for its research potential. Army surgeons at Fort Macon in the 1870s published articles about marine life. In the 1880s The Johns Hopkins University for six summers . . . — — Map (db m77033) HM
In loving memory and recognition
Menhaden Fishermen Past — Present — Future
This is their livelihood, this is their life — they know the sea, can read God’s weather chart: sun, moon, and stars from memory. The compass points are there . . . — — Map (db m189374) HM
Deeded to town, 1731, by Nathanael Taylor. Capt. Otway Burns of the War of 1812, Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers are buried here. — — Map (db m77031) HM
The Olive Thurlow, a three-masted, 149-foot barkentine, was built in 1876. She was bound for New York City from Charleston with a load of yellow pine lumber in 1902. During a storm on December 5, she sank in Cape Lookout Bight near the . . . — — Map (db m76683) HM
This 1,500-gallon cistern collects stormwater runoff from the roof of the museum. The storm water collected by the cistern is used for general irrigation purposes on site. Storm water controls such as this help prevent fecal coliform and other . . . — — Map (db m77039) HM
An estuary is where water from rivers mixes with salt water from the ocean. The country’s second largest estuary is located here within North Carolina’s Back, Core, and Pamlico Sounds. Its water, nutrients, marsh grasses, and sunlight create a . . . — — Map (db m76720) HM
Erected in 1778 by Le Chevalier de Cambray & Capt. de Cottineau to protect Cape Lookout Bay. Dismantled, 1780. Site four miles south. — — Map (db m146056) HM
Welcome to the Harkers Island Visitor Center at Cape Lookout National Seashore
Spanning from Ocracoke Inlet to Beaufort Inlet, Cape Lookout National Seashore preserves 56 miles of undeveloped beaches, marsh, and soundside waters along the Outer . . . — — Map (db m76673) HM
Across the shallow waters of Core Sound and Back Sound a low string of islands appears to float on the horizon, barely above the waves. Those islands, along with their soundside marshes and surrounding waters, are the park—Cape Lookout . . . — — Map (db m76717) HM
The 1859 Cape Lookout Lighthouse warns ships about the dangerous Cape Lookout Shoals—sandbars that jut out over 10 miles into the ocean.
Replacing a short, 107-foot 1812 lighthouse, the new lighthouse has double walls. This design . . . — — Map (db m76685) HM
This 80 sq. ft. rain garden collects stormwater runoff from the roof of the Jean-Dale boat shed and the adjacent road. Rain gardens are depressions that contain native plants that absorb and filter polluted stormwater. This simple and effective . . . — — Map (db m77038) HM
The Marshallberg Harbor was established under
the 1950 Harbor Act of the 8lst Congress and
completed by the Corps of Engineers in 1957.
The Harbor was built for the small boat owners
of MarshallIberg and transient boaters. Since
that time it . . . — — Map (db m189368) HM
Completed in 1932 from Norfolk to Wilmington via Beaufort-Morehead City. Sen. F.M. Simmons of New Bern and Rep. J.H. Small of Washington led effort. — — Map (db m77011) HM
Carolina City was a small settlement established in 1855. It contained a post office, a turpentine distillery, and the large Carolina Hotel, a favorite resort stop for visitors from New Bern arriving by rail or steamship. During the Civil War, the . . . — — Map (db m31270) HM
Large Confederate camp which extended over an area of 1 sq. mi. stood here; taken by Union Army, March 23, 1862, in Fort Macon campaign. — — Map (db m31250) HM
Prelude: On February 8, 1862, Union General Ambrose E. Burnside captured Roanoke Island, key to the important Sound Region of Norteastern North Carolina. On February 10, Elizabeth City fell followed by strategic New Bern on March 14. Washington . . . — — Map (db m31254) HM
Company K, 9th New Jersey Volunteers, built the Bogue Sound Blockhouse here in the summer of 1862 to guard the junction of the Bogue Sound Road and Newport Road. Protected by a surrounding ditch and earthworks, the log blockhouse was armed with one . . . — — Map (db m77094) HM
The 7th North Carolina Infantry built Newport Barracks here as a set of log winter quarters in 1861-1862. Union soldiers later took possession and added a hospital, headquarters, stables, storehouses, earthworks to protect the complex, and an . . . — — Map (db m31225) HM
Believe it or not, Portsmouth, the small, now-deserted village on this remote island, was once a bustling seaport. North Carolina's colonial legislature chartered Portsmouth in 1733 to serve coastal trade, and for more than two years it was one of . . . — — Map (db m177229) HM
Completed in 1915 this church was the spiritual and communal center of the island, and like the villagers themselves it weathered many storms. As you enter the building notice that it tilts slightly to the right. The hurricane of 1944 left it this . . . — — Map (db m177424) HM
In the 1900s this building served as general store and post office. Portsmouth villagers called it the "new" store because it was the latest in a series of stores serving the community. At one time in the 1860s there were five. This store was built . . . — — Map (db m177276) HM
Florentine sailing under French flag. His voyage along the coast in 1524 marked the first recorded European contact with North Carolina. — — Map (db m167753) HM
