Beaufort

History

The Beaufort Historic District, Carteret County Home, Duncan House, Gibbs House, Jacob Henry House, and Old Burying Ground are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In June 1718, Blackbeard the pirate ran his flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge and his sloop Adventure, aground near present-day Beaufort Inlet, NC. The Queen Anne's Revenge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 with the reference number 04000148. Thirty-two years later, in August 1750, at least three Spanish merchantmen ran aground in North Carolina during a hurricane. One of the three, the El Salvador, sank near Cape Lookout. Beaufort was established by European settlers in about 1709 on the site of a former Coree Native American village, Cwarioc. The town was surveyed and laid out in 1713 following the end of the Tuscarora War. Subordinates of the lords proprietors of the Province of Carolina designated Beaufort a port for unloading ships on April 4, 1722. In the colonial period, Port Beaufort exported tar, pitch, turpentine, crafts of wood, and corn, especially to the West Indies. The town was incorporated on November 23, 1723. Its boundaries were expanded and new lots sold in 1728, but its population remained small. It was briefly occupied by Spanish privateers in 1747. Beaufort continued to develop slowly during the antebellum period, but by the mid-19th century it had become a vacation destination and was home to several successful merchants and hotelkeepers. During the Secession Crisis in April 1861, Beaufort locals formed a militia and seized nearby Fort Macon. The State of North Carolina seceded from the United States in May and joined the Confederate States of America and thus becoming involved in the American Civil War. Federal troops recaptured Beaufort…

Geography

Beaufort is located south of the center of Carteret County. It is located near Beaufort Inlet, a channel leading south to the Atlantic Ocean. To the west is the tidal Newport River, separating the town from Morehead City. To the east is the unincorporated neighborhood of Lenoxville, extending to the North River, another tidal river. U.S. Route 70 passes through Beaufort, leading west across the Newport River to Morehead City and northeast to its end in the town of Atlantic. According to the United States Census Bureau, Beaufort has a total area of , of which is land and , or 17.75%, is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Laughing Gull

  Leucophaeus atricilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,766
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,509
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,285
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,778
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  5,539
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,795
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  4,767
• Brown Pelican

  Pelecanus occidentalis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  4,529

Largest nearby schools

• West Carteret High
  High · Morehead City · 1,146 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Morehead City Primary
  Elementary · Morehead City · 545 students · 11.4:1 ratio
• East Carteret High
  High · Beaufort · 530 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Morehead City Middle
  Middle · Morehead City · 482 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• Beaufort Elementary
  Elementary · Beaufort · 378 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• Morehead Elem at Camp Glenn
  Elementary · Morehead City · 285 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Beaufort Middle
  Middle · Beaufort · 258 students · 12.3:1 ratio
• Down East Middle and Smyrna Elementary
  Elementary · Smyrna · 249 students · 10.8:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2014-02-11
  7 km NW of Hobucken, North Carolina