The Albemarle is defined by water, from the fresh water rivers that roll down from the Appalachians to the brackish waters
of the Sounds, the rolling surf of the ocean. No wonder that
water has played such a defining role in the history of the
region.
On the Outer Banks, first settlers were
fishermen or wreckers. Known the world-over as the Graveyard
of the Atlantic, the waters off the Outer Banks are littered
with the bones of thousands of ships that have net their
fate here. Many an Outer banks home was built from the
lumber salvaged from shipwrecks.
The Federal government contracted built
lighthouses at 40 mile intervals along the Banks in the
mid-nineteenth century, and the he United State Lifesaving
Service established a series of stations along the banks
after the Civil War. The precursor to the US Coast Guard,
the Lifesaving Service of that time was a vital employer for
many Outer banks families. The annals of the Service are
filled with tales of bravery and sacrifice by the men who
risked their lives to rescue shipwreck victims from raging
storms.
In the Sound country, the waterways were the
first "highways" for the region. Regular ferries and private
boats plied the waters between the Outer Banks and the towns
of the Albemarle, delivering supplies, mail, and even the
occasional important visitor--such as Orville Wright in 1900
and Franklin Roosevelt in 1937.
Waterfowl were once plentiful in the area,
especially in Currituck Sound. Around the turn of the
century, wealthy industrialist discovered that fact and
constructed magnificent hunt clubs on the islands and shores
that dot the sounds.
The 2.2 million square miles of estuary and
tidelands make this system the largest of its kind in the
country--and a nursery for a booming fishing and shell
fishing business. Pleasure boaters also appreciate the
variety of waters in the region, and the Intercoastal
Waterway brings boaters from all over the world to the area.
