Historic Sites
Proposed as early as 1730 by Col. William Byrd II, the Dismal Swamp Canal is the oldest operating artificial waterway in the United States, extending 22 miles with a lock on each end. Part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, this historic inland route connects the Albemarle Sound in NC to the Chesapeake Bay in VA. […]
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Learn about construction of the Dismal Swamp Canal and Moses Grandy, a slave born in the late 1700s who years later gained his freedom and became a prominent abolitionist. Camden County was also home to two Rosenwald Schools. Explore the museum’s collection of school images, mascots and school books from Marian Anderson High School. This
Camden Heritage Museum & Historic Jail Read More »
Marian Anderson High School, originally named Sawyer’s Creek High School, was opened in 1952 for Camden County’s African American students. In 1956 Principal W.C. Witherspoon changed the school’s name to honor Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993), a famous African American opera singer. In 1969, students were integrated into the existing Camden
Sawyer’s Creek | Marian Anderson High School Read More »
The McBride Colored School opened in 1928 at the site of where today stands the Rosenwald Community Center. It was one of the 800 schools built in North Carolina for African Americans. Between 1917-1937 there were 4,977 schools, 217 teachers’ homes, and 163 shop buildings built throughout the South. Conceived by Booker T. Washington and
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At Collins Park in Manteo, NC, centered in the roundabout on Bideford and Sir Walter Raleigh Streets, you will find a life-size bronze statue of Keeper Richard Etheridge standing with courage and conviction and holding a long oar of a rescue boat in his right hand. His statue is accented with a bronze commemorative plaque
Richard Etheridge Statue at Collins Park Read More »
-National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom- The first Union military victory of the Civil War concluded August 29, 1861 with a naval bombardment and amphibious assault of Confederate forces at Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark, the former being near the location of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum today. Prized for their strategic military value
Hotel De Afrique | Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum Read More »
The Outer Banks has the distinction of being home to one of the most highly awarded rescue crews in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard, the all-Black surfmen of Pea Island Lifesaving Station who earned Gold Lifesaving Medals posthumously for valiance protecting mariners in peril along our coast. From 1880 until his death in
The Pea Island Cookhouse Museum | Manteo Read More »
Richard Etheridge (1842-1900) and his family were buried on property that he purchased in the vicinity of the former Freedman’s Colony, and today you can visit his gravesite and public memorial adjacent to the N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island. Inside the Aquarium, you can enjoy a gallery of original portraits painted by local artist James
The Freedman’s Colony 1862-1867 | NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island Read More »
Island Farm At this living history heritage farm on Roanoke Island, the life of Christiana ‘Chrissy’ Bowser is honored. Born a free black in 1820, she was the cook on the farm from 1845 until her death in 1914. Today, a reconstructed cookhouse is on site, and costumed interpreters use the cookhouse to demonstrate historic
Miss Chrissy’s Cookhouse Read More »