THE NORTH CAROLINA MARITIME MUSEUM

If you’re coming up from the Florida along the North Carolina coast in the spring, stop by the North Carolina Maritime Museum. Located in Beaufort, North Carolina, the North Carolina Maritime Museum preserves North Carolina’s maritime history in exhibits, by teaching seafaring skills in classes and workshops, and by maintaining traditions through annual events like the Wooden Boat Show that is held the first weekend in May.

The North Carolina coastal environment with its barrier islands, sounds, rivers, and pocosins, is woven into the history and culture of its maritime communities. The mission of the North Carolina Maritime Museum is to preserve and interpret all aspects of this rich maritime heritage through educational exhibits, programs and field trips.

History
The North Carolina Maritime Museum traces its “humble beginnings” to the early 1900s, when it was little more than a collection made up of a few fish mounts, jars of preserved crustaceans, fishing tackle, and bird skins which had been put together to represent North Carolina at the 1898 International Fisheries Exposition in Norway. Around 1904, these items were put on display for the public at what was then the U.S. Fisheries Laboratory on Piver’s Island in Beaufort, North Carolina.

In 1959, the funding and organization of the museum was delegated to the N.C. Department of Agriculture, placing it under what was at the time the N.C. Museum of Natural History. By 1975, the museum hired its first full-time curator and expanded its goals. Adequate and regular funding from the Department of Agriculture made it possible to hire permanent staff. During the next ten years in rented storefronts on Turner Street in Beaufort, the museum experienced phenomenal growth, recognition, and public support.

In 1985, the N.C. Maritime Museum moved into its first permanent location, a newly constructed building on Front Street in Beaufort. In 1997 the museum acquired 36 acres of prime land on Gallants Channel, a special project supported by the Friends of the Museum. Expansion plans include the development of the site for long-range needs and the expansion of exhibits and programs. Concurrently, the N.C. Maritime Museum and its Watercraft Center will continue to operate in downtown Beaufort. The museum also became an agency of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

Exhibits
There are numerous exhibits that discuss the ecology and ecosystems of the North Carolina waterways. Selected exhibits take visitors from dugout canoes of Native Americans to the variety of sail rigs and hull designs of explorers, traders and privateers in an exhibit entitled “North Carolina Working Craft”. They recall the brave traditions of the U. S. Lifesaving Service through the “Soldiers of Surf and Storm” and “The Sea Shall Not Have Them”, exhibitions of the U.S. Lifesaving Service, the U.S. Lighthouse Service, and the U.S. Coast Guard. They also document the tools of wooden boat builders and navigators, and the repair shops of the earliest outboard engines through “And Throw Away the Oars!. The exhibit features a large selection of early outboards, a facsimile of a pre-1950 engine shop, and a 1950 boat showroom that displays a 1958 Silver Clipper Barbour skiff. The Barbour Boat Works has a long history in New Bern, North Carolina. Also part of the museum are artifacts from the newly discovered wreckage of Blackbeard’s flagship Queen Ann’s Revenge which adds to the significance of the underwater archaeological site.

The North Carolina Maritime Museum conducts curator led field trips to nearby barrier islands, marshes, tidal flats and coastal forests for visitors of all ages. Hands-on activities and field trips combine to make the Summer Science School for school age children a unique “non-classroom” educational experience. The Junior Sailing Program, for ages eight and older, uses the fun of sailing and competition of racing to teach sailing, seamanship, navigation skills and maritime traditions. The Boat Building Skills program offers classes for novices and experienced woodworkers in the Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center.

Wooden Boat Show
Plan to visit the museum on May 4, 2002, for their Spring Gathering of Small Wooden Boats. Exhibitors show in the first weekend in May. Since 1975 the museum’s Wooden Boat Show has encouraged owners and builders of wooden boats to come together to show and use their boats and participate in rowing and sailing races. Along the waterfront, craftsmen demonstrate traditional skills and boats are displayed on Beaufort’s waterfront. The show can only accommodate small boats light and shallow enough to land and embark from a beach. Registration is limited to only wooden boats.

In the year 2000 the North Carolina Maritime Museum celebrated its 25th anniversary. It has come a very long way from that original natural history collection. The museum remains faithful to its mission to preserve and interpret all aspects of the state’s rich maritime heritage.
The North Carolina Maritime Museum is operated by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources and is located just off the Intracoastal Waterway on Highway 70 in Beaufort, North Carolina. Hours: Weekdays 9:00-5:00; Saturday 10:00-5:00; and Sunday 1:00-5:00. The museum is closed New Year’s, Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. Admission is free.
The museum can be reached at (252) 728-7317 or on the web at www.ahdcr.state.nc.us/sections/maritime.