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Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station
Congress established the United States Life Saving Service in 1873 to patrol the coasts and save shipwrecked sailors. The next year, the lifesaving station at Chicamacomico on Hatteras Island was created. This station became one of the most famous stations in the country in 1918 when six brave rescuers leapt into a fiery ocean to save 47 men from a torpedoed boat. Now open to the public from May through October, this station has been preserved thanks to the efforts of the Chicamacomico Historical Association. Exhibits at the stations include a live reenactment of a dramatic rescue at sea once every weekend from mid-June until Labor Day.
Contact: (919) 987-2401
The CSS Neuse
In March 1865, the ironclad CSS Neuse was scuttled by retreating Confederate soldiers as Union troops marched on Kinston. Nearly a century later, a group of businessmen collected enough funds to raise the Neuse from the bottom of the river. Nearly 15,000 artifacts were recovered from the Neuse, providing insight into 19th century naval warfare and the early life of the ironclad. The CSS Neuse is currently housed in the Caswell Memorial park where an annual living history reenactment portrays the life of Civil War soldiers camped alongside the Neuse river.
Contact: (919) 522-2091
North Carolina Aquariums
North Carolina's three aquariums, located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, house some of the most unique creatures that inhabit North Carolina's environs. All three aquariums have touch tanks that provide children and adults an opportunity to get closer to these beautiful creatures living in our oceans and waterways. The aquariums on Roanoke Island and at Pine Knoll Shores are open year-round while the aquarium at Fort Fisher is currently closed while undergoing renovation.
Contact:
Roanoke Island (252) 473-3493
Pine Knoll Shores (252) 247-4003
Fort Fisher (910) 458-8257
The Great Dismal Swamp
For thousands of years the Great Dismal Swamp has fascinated men with its dark, damp interior. Indians hunted game in its heart, early colonists tried to drain it and, during the Industrial Revolution, timber men came to harvest its trees. Although it is only a fraction of its original size the Dismal Swamp still fascinates us. Great works of literature have sung its praise and mythic folklore has sprung up around it. Preserved today by the Nature Conservancy, its future seems safe at last.
Contact: (252) 771-8333
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