2025 History Guide

Inside, the Aycock Brown Welcome Center is a treasure trove of area information, and visitors will find hundreds of pamphlets on local attractions and activities, area menus, vacation rental and real estate catalogs, and local guide books. In addition, the Visitors Center offers dozens of coupons and coupon booklets for Outer Banks vacationers, making it an attractive first-stop after arriving on the OBX for visitors who love a good bargain.

Commune with nature and take photos of the pristine Outer Banks!

Tucked away along Schoolhouse Road and shaded by a cluster of Live Oaks, the Historic Corolla Schoolhouse is a lesser-known but nevertheless important attraction in the coastal town of Corolla. The schoolhouse was originally constructed sometime between 1890 and 1905, (with some lifelong locals attesting that their older relatives attended the school in the mid-1890s.)

An airport and museum featuring models related to the area. 

If you enjoy a good cup of coffee and a good book, a stop into Duck’s Cottage Coffee & Bookshop is a must. Located in a historic gun shop next to the pond in the Waterfront Shops in Duck, a visit to Duck’s Cottage truly is an experience to savor. Owner Allen LeHew, a self-proclaimed java junkie, uses only the best coffee beans from a small roasting company in Lexington, Virginia.

Elizabeth City Historic Tours provides a unique opportunity for guests to tour downtown Elizabeth City in style with Carolina Carriages. As guests stroll through the streets on this 30-minute horse and carriage ride, they will learn about the unique architecture and history of the downtown area and the surrounding region from a costumed guide. If guests are looking for some hauntingly scary history, they can reserve a seat on the haunted carriage ride and learn about the city’s little-known mysterious past by carriage lantern light. They will even be invited inside a historic home.

Looking at the small town of Manteo, with its Crepe Myrtle lined busy main streets, and charming downtown filled with contemporary restaurants and old antique stores, one wouldn't necessarily think that this Outer Banks village was the veritable birthplace of European Settlement in America.

A Native American Museum featuring artifacts from local indigenous people.

More than 2,000 shipwrecks sunk off the Coast of North Carolina in what’s called the Graveyard of the Atlantic. With all that history floating around, it was only natural to build a museum to honor and preserve the maritime culture of the Outer Banks. A state-of-the-art structure, the year round museum houses and displays artifacts, and presents a variety of exhibits and interprets the rich maritime culture that includes war, piracy, ghost ships and more. Artifacts include thoseex from the USS Monitor, which sank 16 miles off the Hatteras coast. The lobby features the stunning and original, 1854, First Order Lens from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Current hibits include those on piracy and the Civil War on Hatteras Island.

A welcome center and bit of history combined!

A living history farm that interpretes mid-1800's island life. 

Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head offers fishing and fun for the entire family! Go fishing, take a family fishing class or simply walk out to the end of this 1,000-foot-long, concrete ocean pier.

You haven’t been to the Outer Banks if you haven’t been to a fishing pier, and Nags Head Fishing Pier is as authentic as they come. One of the oldest and longest surviving piers on the barrier islands, this is a great place to take the kids or less agile folks to hook a fish. But people of all ages and skill levels enjoy the great inshore fishing available here, thanks to the closeness of the warm Gulf Stream off the coast. There’s a full-service tackle shop with gear for rent, including rods, reels and other tackle. Bait is also for sale. One-day, three-day eight-day and season passes are available, and kids pay half. And if you catch a fish, you can have the pier's restaurant cook it for you! Even if you never fished a day in your life, it is worth paying the $1.50 to walk on the pier to enjoy the view and the wonderful social scene, and be entertained watching folks fish. The ocean looks awe-inspiring, and it’s fun to feel the sturdy pier sway as the waves crash under it.

Discover what makes the Outer Banks the most haunted beach in America! You'll be entertained as a guide leads you through down town Manteo by lantern telling the spooky stories and haunted history of the Outer Banks. Whether you believe it or not, you'll enjoy your time at OBX Ghost Tours. Book now for the time of your afterlife!

Visitors to Ocracoke Island won't have too much trouble exploring the area. With 16 miles of undeveloped and completely pristine beaches, bordered to the north by a 4-square mile village that encircles the Ocracoke Harbor, it doesn't take long for most vacationers to figure out their way around town.

The Ocracoke Preservation Society is a community-based non-profit organization founded in with the goal of preserving the rich cultural and historical heritage of Ocracoke Island. It's main function is preserving and restoring the island's significant structures, buildings and districts, as well as objects with historic charm or of local interest and those relating to the distinctive character of Ocracoke Island. Another part of OPS's mission is to encourage public participation in these preservation programs and activities through membership and other contributions. Memberships are used to fund special projects and to help operate the Museum and come with several benefits, including a10% discount at the Museum Gift Shop. The public can also participate by sharing personal collections of photographs, documents or other items from Ocracoke's past and by volunteering at the Gift Shop. The OPS website includes a section on the history of Ocracoke Island, and the Museum offers weekly historical "Porch Talks" during the summer season. One of the organization's main fund-raisers is its annual raffle of a one-of-a-kind quilt designed and stitched by local artists and donated by The Ocracoke Needle and Thread Club. Tickets are only $1 each and can be purchased by visiting, emailing or calling OPS. The drawing in is November.

The Outer Banks History Center at Roanoke Island Festival is a treasure trove of Outer Banks information, dating back centuries and serving as an instrumental tool for historians, scientists, journalists, writers, educators, and the everyday public. Researchers and visitors who take a tour through their extensive achieves will be overwhelmed with the raw materials at hand, and it would literally take years to sift through all the documents and accounts available.

Celebrate the origins of America with a fascinating and purely entertaining visit to the Roanoke Island Festival Park. This 25-acre historic site, an easy stroll from the downtown Manteo waterfront, is a popular summer attraction for visitors of all ages. With four distinct attractions that wind through the wooded and grassy regions bordering the Roanoke Sound and Shallowbag Bay, patrons will find acres of history to explore, and plenty of engrossing hands-on exhibits to keep everyone purely entertained.

A maritime museum with antique boats and maritime programming. 

An experience not to be missed! The 2024 Season of The Lost Colony offers a refreshed production of Paul Green's original symphonic drama. Set on the soundfront on Roanoke Island, enjoy this 87 year-old musical under the stars. Become immersed in the story of the discovery of a new world with newly enhanced musical and theatrical direction and dynamically stunning choreography. Witness the pageantry of Queen Elizabeth I and her court and celebrate the birth of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America all while preserving the historical importance of America's oldest mystery. An Outer Banks experience not to be missed!

Join us in Duck, North Carolina, as we celebrate the Town’s 10-Year Anniversary with a host of fun-filled, family-friendly events.

 There are few locales on the Outer Banks where multiple roads cross paths, and Whalebone Junction is one of the main intersections along this barrier island shoreline. The term refers to the area in South Nags Head where three major highways converge, which are US Highway 64, US Highway 158, and NC Highway 12. Both US 64 and US 158 end at this juncture, but NC Highway 12 continues south from this locale, all the way to the end of Hatteras Island, and across the Hatteras Inlet to Ocracoke and Cedar Islands.