Bogue Banks facts for kids
Bogue Banks is a long, narrow island off the coast of North Carolina. It stretches about 21 miles (34 km) and acts as a natural barrier, protecting the mainland from ocean storms. This island is separated from the mainland by a body of water called Bogue Sound. The beaches on Bogue Banks face south towards the Atlantic Ocean.
Bogue Banks is the only island in Carteret County that has many homes and towns. You can reach the island by two bridges. One bridge connects Morehead City to Atlantic Beach, and the other connects Cape Carteret to Emerald Isle. The towns on Bogue Banks are a big part of the "Crystal Coast" area. A main road, NC 58, runs along most of the island. While there are some hotels, most of the land has private houses, many of which are rented out in the summer. There are also natural areas called maritime forests. Shops and other businesses are mostly found in the five main communities on the island.
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Island History
Long ago, in the early 1800s, maps showed Bogue Banks with a different name: Bordens Banks. The area where Morehead City, North Carolina is today was known as Shepard's Point.
The Story of Salter Path
In the late 1800s, the whaling industry (hunting whales) began to decline. At the same time, fishing was very good on Bogue Banks. Because of this, many families, especially those living near Cape Lookout, moved to the middle and western parts of Bogue Banks.
The community of Salter Path is thought to be named after a person named Owen Salter or possibly Riley Salter. These early settlers were fishermen. They would often catch "mullet" fish that swam close to the ocean shore. The fishermen would quickly walk from the sound side of the island to the ocean side, creating a path in front of a Salter family's home. This is how the name "Salter Path" came about.
Many families who moved to Salter Path in the late 1800s and early 1900s built their homes without official land deeds. This changed when John A. Royall, a man from Boston, bought Salter Path and 8,000 acres on Bogue Banks in 1910. He owned almost two-thirds of the island! The Salter Path area became known as a "squatters'" community, meaning people lived there without legal ownership. However, John Royall later gave deeds (official ownership papers) to families in Salter Path who had built actual structures. John Royall and his wife, Agatha Freeman Royall, also helped the Salter Path families build a school and a church.
John Royall built a house called Pine Court on the island. He cared deeply about protecting the island's natural beauty. He also built a doctor's cottage and a Tea House on the ocean side, which is now a popular lookout spot.
In 1923, John A. Royall sold 2,000 acres of his land to Alice Green Hoffman. She was a distant relative of President Theodore Roosevelt. After buying the land, Alice Hoffman sued the people of Salter Path in 1923. Why? Because their cows were wandering onto her property! A court decided that the Salter Path residents could stay, but their cows were not allowed to graze on Hoffman's land. The village was limited to 81 acres (328,000 m²) that the squatters already lived on. The court also said that only current residents and their descendants could live on the property. However, it did not give individuals official ownership of their land. This ruling stayed in place until 1979. Then, a new legal agreement allowed Salter Path residents to finally own their property and for Carteret County to collect taxes from the village.
Cool Places to Visit
There are several interesting spots on Bogue Banks:
- The Coast Guard Station is located on the western end of the island in Emerald Isle.
- Fort Macon State Park is on the eastern end, past Atlantic Beach. This fort was important during the American Civil War. Today, it has some of the tallest sand dunes on the East Coast and is North Carolina's most visited state park.
- The North Carolina Aquarium is in Pine Knoll Shores, in the middle of the island. It's one of three aquariums in North Carolina.
- Around the aquarium is the Theodore Roosevelt Natural Area. This is a 265-acre (1.07 km²) maritime forest that the state protects. It's one of the few remaining maritime forests on North Carolina's barrier islands.
- A historic marker stands at the corner of N.C. 58 and Pine Knoll Boulevard. It marks the spot where Europeans first landed on the North Carolina coast. This happened in 1524 when Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer working for France, explored the coast. His journey was the first recorded time Europeans made contact with what is now North Carolina.
Island Communities
Bogue Banks is part of Morehead Township and White Oak Township. The communities on the island are:
Waters Around the Island
Bogue Banks is surrounded by several important bodies of water:
- Onslow Bay (part of the Atlantic Ocean) is to the south.
- Bogue Sound (part of the Intracoastal Waterway) is to the north.
- Bogue Inlet is to the west.
- Beaufort Inlet is to the east.
- White Oak River is to the northwest.
- Newport River is to the northeast.
Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier
The Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier is on the western end of Bogue Banks. It's one of the few fishing piers left on the island. In 2006, a company wanted to buy the pier's land to build condos. However, many local residents and officials in Emerald Isle are working to stop the pier from being torn down.
