1. Beaufort is the third oldest town in North Carolina.
Established in 1709, Beaufort is a quaint coastal town located on Beaufort Inlet, a channel leading south to the Atlantic Ocean. It has a residential population of about 4,000 with a high influx of visitor traffic during the warmer months. The Plan of Beaufort Towne, laid out in 1713, survives in a 12-block area, which today is on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, it holds the County Seat of Carteret County, NC. Beaufort is home to the jail and courthouse. 2. It’s pronounced differently than South Carolina’s town of Beaufort. For NC, it’s “bow-fort”, for SC it’s “b-yew-fort”. 3. Its name comes from Henry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort. He was an English politician, and the 2nd Duke of Beaufort. 4. It was ranked as “America’s Coolest Small Town”… …by readers of Budget Travel Magazine on February 1, 2012. 5. Travel and Leisure named it “America’s Favorite Town” in 2014 The early economy of Beaufort was on the use of natural resources in the area. Hence, fishing, whaling, the production of lumber and naval stores, shipbuilding, and farming were the chief economic activities. Though Beaufort had the safest and most navigable harbor of any of the ports of North Carolina, extensive commercial activities failed to develop, owing to the fact that the town was almost completely isolated from the interior. Now, Beaufort’s economy depends heavily on tourism, supplemented by a regional boat-building industry. 6. It was also ranked as No. 8 “America’s Best Town for the Holidays” in the same magazine. It’s no wonder, with all the historic homes decorated with lights for the holiday season, Beaufort really is a beautiful place to celebrate this time of year. Approximately 150 of the restored historic homes bear plaques noting names of the Town’s earliest known owners and dates of original construction. 7. Blackbeard the Pirate crashed his ship here. In 1718, at what’s known now as the Beaufort Inlet, Blackbeard ran his famous Queen Anne’s Revenge aground. Originally a fishing village and port of safety dating from the late 1600s, Beaufort has been visited by patriots, privateers, merchants, and skilled craftsmen who built Bahamian and West Indian-style homes and public buildings. 8. Beaufort houses a Duke University Marine Laboratory Called the Nicholas School of the Environment, it’s one of ten graduate and professional schools of Duke. Marine science research figures prominently. 9. There’s an Old Burying Ground. Located on the 400 block of Ann Street in Beaufort’s historic district, the town’s oldest cemetery holds fascinating stories about Beaufort’s 300-year history! Many graves are marked with shell, brick, or wooden slabs because stone markers would have to have been brought from afar by wooden sailing vessels. Others have vaulted markers, which were covered in brick to protect them from high water and wild animals and are characteristic of many historic seaport towns. Uncovered by an archaeological survey in 1992, the seemingly empty northwest corner of the cemetery is in fact its oldest section, with many unmarked graves dating from the early 18th century. A record from September 1711 notes the area had “been depopulated by the late Indian War and Massacre.” It is probable that those in some of the unmarked graves perished during wars with Coree and Neusiok Native Americans. Other inhabitants include a child who died at sea and was buried in a keg of rum, as well as the great privateer Captain Otway Burns and the crew of the Crissie Wright who died when their schooner went aground at Shackleford Banks during a January storm in 1886. It is the resting place of about 200 pre-American Civil War era gravestones. 10. Carl Johnson Real Estate assists buyers and sellers from Beaufort to Swansboro and its surrounding communities of the Crystal Coast. If you’re ready to buy and/or invest in your own dream property at the Crystal Coast, give us a call today to learn more about how we can help get you to where you want and need to be. Ready to sell or liquidate your Coastal asset? We can help with that as well. Call Carl Johnson Real Estate--919-880-0904—to start a conversation on how we list a home differently and better than the others! From custom digital marketing to beautiful print media, we cover it all! Learn more about the Crystal Coast Communities CLICK HERE
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