Historical Geography of the North Carolina Outer Banks.

Abstract

The term Outer Banks refers to the barrier chain between Cape Lookout and the Virginia state line.Early known as a result of the Raleigh Roanoke ventures, the Banks received their first permanent settlers in the late 17th and early 18th centuries when stock raisers from Virginia and from the Albemarle were seeking marsh and island locations for their stock.The difficult inlets early necessitated resident pilots.The early settlers on the Banks were not shipwrecked sailors, as 1 b popularly believed, but were herders and pilots who derived immediately from the Albemarle and Chesapeake areas.A barrier to navigation, the Banks proved to be a bulwark of defense, a difficult coast to which to lay siege.Since the early commerce of northeastern North Carolina was in great part maritime and used the inlets, the Banks were personally involved in all wars up to and including the Civil War, As use of the Banks for stock raising declined, commercial fishing became the leading occupation.Government service became an important means of livelihood after the Life Saving (later Coast Guard) Stations were established beginning in the late 1870's but has lately declined as most of the Coast Guard stations have been decommissioned.Although ix the 1950 census shows that fishing is still the principal single occupation on the Banks, the Bankers are turning increasingly to various aspects of the tourist business.

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