North Carolina Maritime Museum at Beaufort

10/20/2026

On Oct. 20, 1850, prominent shipbuilder, lightkeeper and American privateer Otway Burns Jr. died at Portsmouth. He was then brought by boat to Beaufort where he was laid to rest in the Old Burying Ground on Ann Street.

Image: An oil painting of Otway Burns by F. Mahler, ca. 1875-1895. (Image courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of History).

Image: "Unveiling Ceremony at the Tomb of Captain Otway Burns." (Image courtesy Ncpedia.com).

Images: Otway Burns’ tomb/grave, Beaufort, N.C.

10/19/2026

On October 19, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved Secretary of Navy James V. Forrestal's order for African American women to be accepted into the Naval Reserve.

Just over two months later, Harriet Ida Pickens, who attended Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina, became one of the first Black women to become an officer in the U.S. Navy when she was commissioned December 26, 1944, as a lieutenant junior grade.

As a Naval Reserve officer, Pickens would use her expertise and experience to organize and administer physical training to enlisted WAVES (members of the Women’s Navy Reserve were known as Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service).

Image: Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Harriet Ida Pickens (left) and Ens. Frances Wills. (Image courtesy U.S. Navy).

10/18/2026

On October 18, 1899, Erasmus (Rasmus) Midgett was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for rescuing 10 sailors from the barkentine “Priscilla.”

Rasmus, No. 1 surfman of the U.S. Life-Saving Station Gull Shoal Hatteras Island, was on the 3 a.m. to sunrise patrol on Aug. 18, 1899, when he discovered the wreck just south of the station between Gull Shoal and Kinnakeet. The captain’s two sons and wife, along with one other young boy, were swept into the sea and lost. Deciding there wouldn't be time to summon his fellow surfman he went into the water and pulled the remaining survivors to safety.

Image: Erasmus Midgett posing on the remnants of “Priscilla” after the storm passed, 1899. (Image courtesy NC State Archives).

10/16/2026

Fauna Friday
Happy Autumn!
Who says you have to head to the mountains for fall color?

Next time you're out in the salt marsh, keep an eye out for a tiny succulent that turns from bright green to a vivid red this time of year.

Salicornia virginica (also known as American glasswort, pickleweed, or sea asparagus) is a low growing and salt loving plant that thrives in coastal marshes and tidal flats. With its leafless, jointed, fleshy green stems, it may be small, but its autumn transformation is hard to miss!

Images: Salicornia virginica on the Rachel Carson Reserve, October 2026.

10/15/2026

On October 15, 1954, Hurricane Hazel made landfall at Long Beach on Oak Island in North Carolina. The storm’s arrival occurred on a full moon high tide, increasing the impact of the storm surge on the barrier beaches of Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle, Holden Beach, Long Beach, Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Island.

Hazel was the only Category Four hurricane of the 20th century to strike North Carolina. Its winds peaked at 140 miles per hour. Hazel was responsible for 95 deaths in the U.S., including 19 in North Carolina.

Image: Collapsed building in Atlantic Beach post-Hazel. (Image NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort collection).

Image: Southport’s Bay Street looking east toward the pilot towerpost-Hazel. (Image courtesy NC Maritime Museum at Southport collection).

Image: Large fishing boat washed ashore near a house in Southport following hurricane Hazel. (Image courtesy NC Maritime Museum at Southport collection).

Image: Large unnamed boat in front yard of house in Southport. (Image courtesy NC Maritime Museum at Southport collection).

Image: Four houses along a street with piles of debris and fallen trees in front following hurricane Hazel. (Image courtesy NC Maritime Museum at Southport collection).

Image: View down a residential street in Southport following hurricane Hazel with a focus on a house that seems to have collapsed . The roof sits on a pile of wooden debris, a gas tank, and decking. (Image courtesy NC Maritime Museum at Southport collection).

10/14/2026

Anna Kellner McColl, our Group and Volunteer Coordinator at the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort, put a fun seasonal spin on this week’s “Boats that Float” program. She challenged a visiting group to design a boat that could help pumpkins float. Sure, we know pumpkins already float, but the kids didn’t when the lesson began! They rose to the challenge with creativity and enthusiasm, and Anna couldn’t resist showing off their fantastic floating pumpkin vessels. Great work Anna and this week's visiting group.

10/13/2026

Happy 251st birthday to the United States Navy!
Wishing all who serve calm seas, bright skies, and safe voyages ahead.

Founded on October 13, 1775, when the Continental Congress authorized the creation of a swift sailing vessel armed with 10 carriage guns and a crew of 80, the Navy’s legacy of honor, courage, and commitment has endured for more than two and a half centuries.

Image: A woman pins ensign epaulettes on graduate at U.S. Naval Academy, A.C. Walker of Asheville, North Carolina. (Image courtesy the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division).

Image: U.S. Naval Air Station, Camp Glenn, NC, Feb. 1, 1919. (Image courtesy the Library of Congress).

10/11/2026

On October 11, 1896, the crew of the U.S. Life-Saving Station at Pea Island carried out a heroic nighttime rescue after the schooner “E. S. Newman” wrecked in a storm. With the surf too rough for boats and the beach equipment unusable, the lifesavers swam out to the wreck 10 times, each trip pulling survivors to safety.

These brave African-American surfmen weren’t formally recognized until 1996, when their descendants received Gold Lifesaving Medals in a Washington, D.C. ceremony, honoring the extraordinary courage shown a century earlier.

Image: Pea Island Life-Saving Station crew that performed the rescue. Keeper Richard Etheridge (on left) and his crew, Benjamin Bowser, Dorman Pugh, Theodore Meekins, Lewis Wescott, Stanley Wise and William Irving, in front of their station, circa 1896. (Image courtesy US Coast Guard).

10/09/2026

Fish Friday
The wait over! The 2026 federal recreational Red Snapper season opened at 12:01 a.m. on October 9, and anglers get three full days to reel in this prized catch before the season closes at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 12. That’s one more day than last year!

Why all the excitement? The red snapper is a striking, rosy‑red beauty with bold red eyes and a sleek, triangular profile. They typically reach around 24 inches and 10 to 20 pounds, but the giants can hit 40 inches and up to 50 pounds.

These deep‑dwelling predators thrive around rocky reefs, ledges, and offshore structures, feasting on fish, shrimp, crabs, squid, and more, with some living for more than 50 years.

And of course, they’re a favorite on the table with a mild, slightly sweet flavor.

Image: Red snapper model on display in the museum lobby.

10/06/2026