Join the Friends of the Maritime Museum for an exciting, one-of-a-kind themed gala, Boat Shoes & Bow Ties! Members and guests will enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres and libations, live music and dancing overlooking Taylors Creek. Come bid-ready for the live auction filled with treasures, both...
For generations, North Carolina’s oyster industry was underdeveloped. This changed in the late 19th century when North Carolina oyster beds attracted attention following overharvesting in the Chesapeake Bay and the nation’s insatiable appetite for oysters. By the late 1880s, North Carolina oystermen and fish dealers...
The menhaden industry of North Carolina, which began in 1865 and ended in 2005, is one of the State’s most thoroughly documented fisheries. Unfortunately, the industry’s origins have never been thoroughly explored. Due to a reliance on two primary sources, scholars have assumed that there...
North Carolina’s shrimp industry slowly emerged in the Lower Cape Fear region during the 19th century. However, it did not take-off until the years leading up to World War I when Scandinavian immigrants introduced the otter trawl to Brunswick County. Following the introduction of the...
Today we might imagine saltwater sport fishing in North Carolina as one where sport fishers pursue large sailfish and marlin offshore aboard fiberglass sport fishing boats. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, recreational fishermen could only dream of catching such fish. Instead, recreational fishermen...
Plantations that bordered coastal North Carolina’s creeks, rivers, and sounds often possessed fisheries that were operated by both free and enslaved peoples. While a few studies have provided some insights into the functioning of these fisheries, no one has analyzed labor management at them. Drawing...
Four guest clam chowder cooks and four cornbread bakers compete in the annual taste-off at the Watercraft Center. Participants will taste samples of the chowders and cornbread and vote for their favorite. Beer and wine included. Tickets are $45 ($40 for Friends of the Museum)....
In the late 19th century, North Carolina promoted the cultivation of oysters to provide a sustainable oyster industry. Large corporate interests quickly became involved and purchased thousands of acres of "submerged lands" in the state's sounds and rivers. These giant oyster gardens triggered rampant speculation...
In 1891, North Carolina created the Shell Fish Commission with the purpose of promoting and protecting North Carolina's most valuable fishery: oysters. To enforce the state's oyster laws, North Carolina leased several vessels to patrol the sounds until it purchased Lily, the state's first official...
In 1867, W. J. Bushall moved from Beaufort, North Carolina, to Core Creek to farm and fish. He left behind a diary from 1867 that details his life farming, fishing, and transporting his agricultural products by boat to market. The diary provides a view of...