News From the Department
Gift For N.C. Maritime Museum
For more information contact Maryanne Friend at 919-807-7385.
( Raleigh, October 4, 2006) -- The State of North Carolina accepted a gift of 36 acres of land on the waterfront on Gallant’s Channel in Beaufort, N.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 3, to expand facilities for educational and cultural programs of the N.C. Maritime Museum, administered by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.
The existing docks and facilities are currently used for the museum’s junior sailing program, rowing programs and Cape Lookout Studies program. The location is also home for artifacts from the shipwreck presumed to be the Queen Anne’s Revenge (QAR), flagship of the pirate Blackbeard. The property was purchased by the Friends of the N.C. Maritime Museum in 1997 for future museum expansion.
Property improvements include bulkheads and dockage, gravel road access, fencing, security, and presentation cases for QAR artifacts and storage. Purchased for $3.6 million in 1997, today the estimated value stands at $36,000,000.
“Community leaders and the Friends of the Maritime Museum recognized a need for expanded educational and recreational opportunities for citizens of all ages so they went into action.” said Maryanne Friend, Cultural Resources, Director of Development and Marketing Communications.
“The Friends acquired a natural site on the Intracoastal Waterway and put a 10-year development plan into place for a natural and historic resource center to preserve and interpret the unique maritime heritage and coastal marine ecology of North Carolina.
“There are few, if any, properties like Beaufort’s Gallant’s Channel that are so well suited to fulfill the vision and serve the public for generations to come. We are grateful to the Friends of the Maritime Museum for the deeds of gift of 36.6 acres at Gallant’s Channel and pleased to move forward to create an ever more exciting cultural institution,” she said.
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources is a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture. For more information about the Department of Cultural Resources visit www.ncculture.com
# # #
Return to News Page
