Crystal Coast

Morehead City’s Wild Horses, Sunken Ships And History

Wild horses roam off shore; hundreds of years of seafaring history lurks just beneath the water’s surface, and so do throngs of game fish. It’s Morehead City, a sound-side port on the Newport River that is the hub of an area with maritime history in its veins. From shipwrecks and historic sites to the wild horses found roaming on Shackleford Banks, there are many stories waiting to be revealed to the curious visitor.

Morehead City was the product of planning by North Carolina Governor John Motley Morehead. He envisioned a major commercial port on the opposite bank of the river from Beaufort. Today’s Morehead City brings that vision to life.

Let’s begin our tour with a ferry ride to Shackleford Banks. This island is part of the Outer Banks, the necklace of barrier islands that decorates North Carolina’s coast. Here, in what is now part of Cape Lookout National Seashore, wild horses have roamed for centuries. These sturdy "Banker ponies" are thought to be the descendants of horses that came ashore from European shipwrecks.

In addition to the horses, you’ll find loons, cormorants, geese and swans, as well as some of the highest dunes in the park, marshland and maritime forest. People, however, are not found here. No one lives here today, and this park is one of the least visited of all national seashores. It’s a great place for contemplation.

If Neptune’s kingdom appeals to you, keep going offshore. Readers of Rodale’s Scuba Diving magazine named North Carolina as the best wreck diving destination in North America, and Morehead City as best overall dive destination.

A variety of ocean wreck sites just off the coast here bring divers back again and again to sample maritime history.

Some of the most visited wreck sites include U-352, the German U-boat that was torpedoed in 1942, the World War II tanker Papoose, and the World War I casualty, the Schurz.

Nearly all North Carolina wrecks are in depths of 75 to more than 100 feet of Gulf Stream water where visibility is typically in the range of 100 feet, and water temperatures average around 80 degrees.

Let’s get back to solid ground with a visit to Bogue Banks and Fort Macon. This area has been dubbed the Crystal Coast. The island is home to beautiful beach communities like Atlantic Beach, Pine Knoll Shores, Salter Path, Indian Beach and Emerald Isle. If you get tired of staring between your feet at the ocean, there’s history nearby.

Fort Macon was built over the period 1826 – 1834 to replace Fort Dobbs, a wooden structure built in 1756. The pentagon-shaped fort looks much the same as when it was built. This was the site of a major Civil War battle. When Fort Macon finally fell into Union hands, Northern forces gained complete control of the North Carolina coast. Today it is a state park – one of the most visited in North Carolina. Hiking trails lead you to areas ripe with life. You can see starfish and sea urchins, and you might catch a glimpse of dolphins and whales.

added: January 2, 2009

updated: January 4, 2009