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Ft. Macon

·        Ft. Macon was constructed from 1826-1834.  It was a boost to the economy of Beaufort and Carteret County.  Many of the skilled workers and artisans that came to the area to construct the Ft. never left.  Wages were considered to be good, with a brick layer making an average of $2.50 for a 10-12 hour day.

·        Robert E. Lee, as a young captain,  visited Beaufort in the 1840’s.  He was surveying Bogue Island and designing the stone jetties which still protect the end of the island where Ft. Macon is located.

·        At the start of the “War Between the States” in 1861, a group of secessionists, called the “Old Topsail Riflemen”, commanded by Capt. Josiah Pender, took over the Fort from the federal gov’t.  The men, mostly from Beaufort, gave the sole member of the Federeal Garrison a ticket north and raised an improvised southern flag.  Col. Moses A. White became the commander.

·        Ft. Macon was taken siege on April 25^th of 1862, one month after the fall of New Bern.  Ft. Macon was defended by Col. White and 400 men.  The battle was loud, fierce and short.  The white flag was run up by 4pm of the day of the attack.

·        Gen. Burnside was said to have cried a few tears when witnessing two coffins of Beaufort townspeople being claimed by their loved ones.

·        During the Civil War, the town and harbor were visited by not only Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, but also Gen. W.T. Sherman and Gen. U.S. Grant.

·        Ft. Macon, which continued as an active garrison until 1877, also saw use in the Spanish-American War, though not during WW I; in 1924, it was ceded to the state of NC for use as a state park.  In 1942, it was leased to the federal government again and was used as a garrison and radar station during WW II.

·        Ft. Macon was named for Nathaniel Macon, who served in Congress as the Speaker of the House in the 1820’s

The Cape Lookout Light Station

·        Though it's not certain when construction began, the original Cape Lookout Lighthouse was completed and lighted in 1812.  The 96-foot high brick tower was eventually painted with red and white horizontal stripes.

·        The first Cape Lookout Lighthouse is completed on the four-acre Fulford-Pigott tract at a cost of $20,678.54. It is a brick tower inside a wood frame building. The boarded exterior is shingled and painted with red and white horizontal stripes. Its mechanism consists of thirteen 21-inch parabolic reflectors. The focal plane of the light is 96 feet above ground and 104 feet above sea level. President James Madison appoints James Fulford as the first keeper at a salary of $300 a year.

·        In July, 1814, British forces landed at Cape Lookout and partially destroyed the lighthouse there.   When the British attempted another landing on July 16, they were repulsed by troops from Fort Hampton and Beaufort.  The first Cape Lookout lighthouse continued to serve until Nov. 1, 1859, when the present lighthouse was first lit.

·        In time, it proved to be inadequate to protect passing ships from the Horrible Headland of Lookout Shoals.  The tower was too short and its beacon too unreliable to sufficiently light this treacherous section of the coast. By the 1850s, it was apparent that the lighthouse was in serious disrepair as well as in danger from the encroaching sea.

·        The second light house was built in 1859.  Congress appropriates $45,000 to build a new lighthouse. 

·        In 1864, Confederate troops from Kinston, guided by local agents of the Confederate Secret Service, were carried over to the Cape, planted explosives in both lighthouses and lit the fuses.  The older lighthouse was destroyed, but only the interior shaft of the new one was damaged.  This was repaired following the War, and has served as a beacon to ships ever since.

·        In 1873, the present Keeper's Quarters was constructed and the lighthouse received its distinctive diamond-shaped, black-and-white pattern which helped to distinguish it from the other North Carolina lighthouses.

·        Emeline Pigott delivered important instructions to the Confederate agents detailing the plan’s transportation, timing and supply logistics.

• The Cape Lookout Lighthouse originally burned whale oil, but changed to mineral oil in the late 19th century when whale oil became prohibitively expensive.  Now of course the lighthouse uses electricity and Two airport beacons, each powered with two, 1000-watt bulbs produce the light. Each beacon completely rotates in 30 seconds, giving a flash every 15 seconds.

The Hammock House

·        Built in the early 1700’s as an “ordinary” or an inn.  Some say it was built by ship captains or pirates to provide a sanctuary and a guide when entering Topsail Inlet.

·        Some say that Blackbeard had The Hammock House built and stayed there very frequently, rowing in from his ship in The Creek and tying his dingy to the front porch.  Some say there was treasure buried in the yard.

·        The Town Court and the Town meeting of commissioners met in the Hammock House in 1727, after a hurricane destroyed both the schoolhouse and the courthouse.

·        The Hammock House was also used as a schoolhouse following the burning of the existing schoolhouse in 1782 by the British.

·        It is possible and logical that the Hammock House was used as a fortified shelter for the settlers.  Longtime residents say there was a tunnel from the house to the creek that formerly existed to the east.   The tunnel was used as an escape route from the house.  Under the Hammock House parlor, one can still see where a trap door was cut after the house was built.  This trap door led to the tunnel.

·        Legend has it that Blackbeard captured a ship off of Cape Lookout, made the entire crew walk the plank, except for a young girl, whom he brought, screaming, to the Hammock House.  On the next full moon, he hung her, still screaming, from a Live Oak tree in the yard.  He buried her body in the yard and left.  Some say that you can still hear her screaming on a full moon when walking past the house.

·        Over the years, the entire yard of the house has been dug up by treasure seekers.  If any has been found, it has not been reported.

·        According to family history, the Rustuls were living at the Hammock House in 1747.  The story is that Richard, returning that year from a sea voyage, took a slave up to the 3^rd floor to beat him.  The slave broke away, pushing Richard down the steep steps to his death.  The family covered up the cause of his death.  Various legends about returning blood stains on the stairs and of a roaming ghost have evolved from this tale.  Another version of this story has Rustul returning to find his wife with another man and was killed during the ensuing duel.

·       One Spanish pirate, during the invasion of 1747, was cornered and caught in the attic of The Hammock House, where he was killed on the spot.

The Old Burying Ground

·        Deeded to the Town in 1731, Nathaniel Taylor donated a lot in the center of town to be used as a burial ground.  Taylor had purchased Beaufort Township in 1725 from Richard Rustull.  He paid 500 pounds for it.

·        There are some 200 dated stones from the pre-Civil War era, some 45 during the war, about 150 from 1865-1900, and a smattering of 20^th century dates.

·        Wooden tombstones made of cypress still exist today, as well as many early unmarked graves and illegible tombstones.

·        Common plants in the Burying Ground are Live Oaks, covered with resurrection ferns. 

·        The cemetery originally consisted of only Lot 91, but over time was expanded to include Lot 81, and portions of 5 other Lots.

·        Those buried in the Old Burying Ground include:  Otway Burns,  soldiers from the Revolutionary War and Civil War, a British soldier buried standing up, and a little girl buried inside a keg of rum.

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