Island History: The birth and resurrection of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum
North Carolina’s iconic Outer Banks are famous for numerous things – most are nationally famous, some are world-famous: the first English colony in the New World. the Wright brother’s first powered fight in a heavier-than-air machine controlled by a pilot, its seven lighthouses, its premier beaches, and the first national seashore, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Of all these, the one most profound in both space and time is the Outer Banks’ maritime history, past and present. Our region is a thoroughly maritime community, and the centerpiece is world-famous Hatteras Island. With its Cape Hatteras (or Cape Point), infamous Diamond Shoals, and the easily recognized Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Hatteras Island stands out when it comes to maritime culture.
Celebrating this maritime history is best done by the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras Village, at the very southern end of Hatteras Island. Here is its account – but first, the backstory.
The Trigger
The sinking of the USS Monitor, America’s first ironclad (or steel- hulled) vessel on December 31, 1862, off the infamous Cape Hatteras has been a major American and Civil War story ever since.
It became an even bigger national news story in August 1973 when a team of scientists aboard Duke University’s research vessel Eastward located the shipwreck in 230 feet of water, 16 miles off Cape Hatteras, Hatteras Island, North Carolina.
Birth of the Museum
The iconic Hatteras Island has always had a major part of its history in the maritime world. It was not uncommon, therefore, that soon after the explosive discovery of the Monitor, the “mental wheels began spinning” in the minds and hearts of Hatteras locals.
A group in Hatteras Village itself (see map) led chiefly by Belinda Willis began to formulate plans for a museum. What better place could possibly house this highly significant maritime artifact?
A group was formed, volunteers joined, officers were elected, and meetings were held. Many discussions, plans, and details followed. Progress, and particularly with fundraising, was painfully slow. So painful, in fact, that an established museum in neighboring Virginia was given the rights to the wreck – ouch!
In spite of a major and emotional setback, the Hatteras group felt that a maritime museum for the island was still a great idea. They were right.
They formed a nonprofit, funding sources appeared, and the National Park Service’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore provided seven acres of land.
Finally, significant state and federal funding allowed serious progress to start. Phase I of building began on December 10, 1999. In 2002, it opened, almost 30 years after the discovery of the USS Monitor. It became popular quickly, and was a great new Outer Banks attraction. However, it still struggled with displays and funding.
The Resurrection
Under the leadership of the dynamic group primarily consisting of Joe Schwarzer (ret.), Hatteras Historian premier Danny Couch and a very competent and energetic Board of Directors, inspirational, grandiose, ambitious, and new plans moved boldly forward.
Equally important was the new corresponding funding plan.
“In May 2021, the museum received a $4.1 million grant from the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to conduct an overhaul of the Hatteras village site. Months later, Dare County and the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau stepped in with an extra $500,000 in funds, which the state then bolstered with an additional $400,000, resulting in a total of $5.1 million to bring the remodeling project to life,” from the Joy Crist, Island Free Press, article, ‘It’s a whole new beginning’; Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum is undergoing a transformation.’
The Museum closed completely for quite a few months while the chrysalis was forming. The “butterfly” that emerged was spectacular!
The New Museum
Mary Ellen Riddle said “Schwartzer brought vast knowledge of underwater archeology to the operation and, over the years, secured significant objects including WWII, shipwreck and lifesaving artifacts. Alita Carroll, a longtime museum volunteer and former coordinator for volunteerism and education who currently sits on the museum board, watched the site grow,” in her article ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum reopens,’ for the Outer Banks Voice on April 17, 2024.
The centerpiece exhibit is magnificently stunning: a full-size Monomoy Surfboat. It appears to be floating on waves hanging down from the ceiling. It is crewed by accurately represented full-size United States Life-Saving Service surfmen, the direct predecessors of today’s U.S. Coast Guard. It will take your breath away, and have you giving it double-takes, making sure that it is really what you are seeing.
Could it get any more spectacular? Well, how about the original First Order Fresnel lens of the 1870 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse? That is the better-known “Sisters in the Sand” maritime service for ocean-going vessels to be warned and to be physically saved.
“The revamped museum boasts an array of interactive experiences, from touch screens to holographic video displays, providing visitors with engaging ways to delve into the region’s maritime heritage,” says new director Maria Vann. “The design is set up so that we can be adaptable and update to make it a new experience,” says Vann. “The displays themselves aren’t just static: we want people to interact with them and form a deeper connection.”
Most certainly, people will interact with the new displays and will be amazed by the outstanding maritime history of the Outer Banks in general and with Hatteras Island in particular and finally they will “form that deeper connection.”
Keeper James Presentations TM is a series of live programs presented by local historians, historical interpreters and performers Keeper James Charlet and Miz Linda Molloy. Each program about the U.S. Life-Saving Service consists of appetizers of true, exciting, highly dramatic Outer Banks stories of ‘America’s Forgotten Heroes.’ For more information, see www.KeeperJames.com/programs.
