Yes, I drove an hour round trip to take a picture of a sign but this one is special. It denotes the…read moretime that the United States bombed North Carolina, nearly a hundred years after the end of the Civil War. The marker reads, "Nuclear Mishap. B-52 transporting two nuclear bombs crashed, Jan. 1961. Widespread disaster averted; three crewmen died 3 miles south." Okay, all kidding aside. Three Air Force crew died and in the process, prevented what would have been an unspeakable tragedy. It is a serious matter. During the height of the Cold War, the United States had a policy of keeping armed aircraft in the air at all times in the event of a conflict. Nuclear deterrence and all that. Well, this B-52G Stratofortress took some structural damage during an air refueling and while preparing to land at nearby Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, it experienced a major failure of the right wing. The plane broke up and exploded at 8000 feet. "As a result of the breakup of the plane, two MK39 nuclear weapons were released at a height of between 10,000 and 2,000 feet. Seven of eight arming, fusing, and firing switches and devices in one bomb automatically actuated. Only a crew-controlled switch prevented a nuclear detonation. Since its parachute deployed, one bomb had only minor damage when it fell about a mile from the crash site. The second bomb fell free, without its parachute deploying, and broke apart on impact." "Components of the bomb were sought for several weeks. The decision was made to leave remaining portions of the weapon containing uranium, believed to have entered the water table, in the ground. As a precaution, the government purchased part of the site and still maintains an easement in order to prevent digging in the vicinity. Periodic groundwater tests, still conducted by the state, have revealed no contamination." As the sign mentions, the actual crash is three miles away and the grounds are secured. Here in downtown Eureka, there isn't much. A small sandwich shop is near the sign if you're hungry. [Review 15486 overall, 990 of 2021, number 3029 in North Carolina.]

I stopped in for a tour last week and unfortunately they were only having self-guided tours where…read moreyou had to scan each QR code with your phone for the details. But the history of the home, the Bellamy family and enslaved workers were fascinating. The home is beautiful. I want to return around Christmas time for a guided tour.

We did the self guided tour of the mansion and slave quarters. The original building that had the…read morespace for the slaves was quite remarkable. It gave a glimpse into how life for them really was. Very eye opening. The mansion was large and had very unique elements. It was interesting to go in all the rooms and see the lifestyle. The children's floor was interesting too. The kids were given a lot of space to live and play. We also enjoyed walking through the gardens. If you are in the downtown area, take in a visit. We went in August, and the top floor of the mansion and the building for the slaves was very hot. We couldn't stay in there long. It is worth a tour, admission is a little high, but it keeps the museum going.

What a unique experience I had finding this place…read more I had posted on Facebook that I was in town from LA and a friend from 30 years ago, then at first met at my first job in California randomly responded about the Old Burying Ground and said I should visit it. We were downtown and hitting a couple spots, and I was mentioning to my friend that lives locally about her response and it came right at the same exact moment that we were passing the cemetery and she pointed it out, so we quickly stopped and backed up and parked, and took a venture inside, mainly to see the girl that was buried in a barrel of rum, holy cow when you see the age of some of these graves and realize how extremely old they are, and you really quickly getting a sense of the magnitude of the history of the place. It is well worth your time to visit and explore.

Beautiful , historic graveyard . If you love history this burying ground is definitely worth a stop…read more. Plan to spend around 30 minutes here , maybe longer if you take your time to read the tombstones . It's a well kept graveyard but be sure to watch your step as the terrain is uneven in some areas . If you really want to learn more about the town's oldest graveyard , you can take a tour offered by the Beaufort Historical Association . Go to the website or visit the Beaufort Historical Center on Turner Street for more info . It's a peaceful final resting place for hundreds of notable people , soldiers , seaman and most notably , the Rum Girl .

One of our mornings while at the beach, my wife and I got up early and drove down to Fort Macon…read moreState Park. We were told this would be a good spot to find trails to go for a short run, and it was true. There was plenty of trails, to safely walk and run on, rather than along the busy road with beach bums driving by at crazy speeds. There is plenty of parking and nicely maintained trails we found. After our run, we decided to poke into the fort it self, which was free to enter, and we explored some of the space, and some of the educations exhibits. They had a little bit of something for everyone, and tried to make the visitors center exciting and fun for kids. I'd 100% visit this spot again, maybe when it's not so hot, but either way, we enjoyed our visit. The park and fort are well maintained, and preserved, with clean restrooms, and staff to answer any questions you might have.

Okay, this place is quite the gem of beaches in the area. Tons of free parking. Lots of shelters…read morewith grills. Convenient and clean bathrooms. Even a massive covered shelter with a snack bar and lockers to keep your stuff in. Oh yeah, did I mention all of this is FREE?? Even at 3:00pm, the beach wasn't over crowded and there was plenty of parking. On rainy days, you can forgo the beach and check out the Fort Macon museum. There are even trails you can walk! Not hard to spend an entire day here! There were park rangers patrolling to keep everyone safe and maintain the beauty of the park. Not much more you can ask for.

The Cowan Museum of History and Science is located in Kenansville NC. The museum is in a house…read morebuilt in 1848. The museum collection focuses on the 19th and 20th century. The museum has agricultural tools; household tools; crafts tools; medical tools and musical instruments. One room is full of gemstones and some of them glow when the case is lit up. I go to a lot of history museums and have not seen some of these artifacts before. I was impressed with an older toaster. I was thankful that I have a washing machine and do not need to clean my clothes in the washing machine tub. Outside is a Botanical Garden with 90 species of native plants. Thhere is also a log cabin; general store and tobacco barn. Even though this is a smaller museum it is full of history and worth a visit.

This was a great little museum. You can see all types of artifacts from the 19th and 20th century…read more You can also tour the grounds which have a visitor center, kitchen garden, botanical garden and real log cabins, former general store and school house. Tours are free. There is an interactive area for kids. Also, it's all FREE. great way to spend a day.

The TM-61C was the second version of the surface-to-surface U.S. Air Force Matador cruise missile…read more Built by Martin, it carried a nuclear warhead, flew at subsonic speeds at an altitude of up to 13 kilometers (8 miles), and had a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). After being boosted during its launch by a short-firing solid-fuel rocket engine, a jet engine then powered the missile the rest of the way to the target. Ground-based microwave emitters assisted the missile in finding its target. The TM-61C was deployed at various sites in Europe and Asia from 1957 to 1962 and was replaced by the more advanced Mace cruise missile. Now sitting in the parking lot of a church the location used to be a local airport (Big Daddy's Airport) and was originally painted red and used as signage for the first location of the Big Daddy's restaurant chain. There is no caption near the missile, which is completely approachable. I was unable to discern how this obsolete nuclear warhead came to be here. [Review 15488 overall, 992 of 2021, number 3031 in North Carolina.]

The Battle of Newport Barracks Civil War Memorial in Downtown Newport represents the life at a…read moremilitary barracks during the Civil War. Admission is free but they do accept donations. A parking lot is available as well. The Newport Barracks was a Civil War Outpost that guarded a railroad trestle bridge. The railroad was used as a supply line to get supplies and equipment to New Bern. 900 Union soldiers tried to hold off 2500 Confederate soldiers who were there from Wilmington trying to regain control over New Bern. They fought for over ten hours before retreating but set fire to the depot and the railroad and bridges to destroy equipment and supplies. .

This is a great representation of a Civil War Confederate Camp. They have a cannon, several tents…read moreand other items from camp life. I especially like the cooking examples as well as the wash area and blacksmith shop. They have buildings there made of local materials and with craftmanship which has withstood the test of time. I will take some of these ideas home to put into practice in my own yard. The demonstration camp is a sobering reminder of the hard work and ultimate sacrifice Americans gave during this turbulent time in our history. Remembering is important. This camp provides and opportunity for Americans and visitors of all ages to see back in time and reflect. Well worth the time while in Newport, whose old town has other treasures to discover!

Was nice to visit however not much else on island to do other than beach . Little discouraging by…read more3hr wait after 15 minutes to see lighthouse and then 3hrs to wait to go back got sun poisoning

Cape Lookout Lighthouse is a must see if you are visiting the lighthouses. It is in need of repairs…read moreso was not open during my visit but the house was open and some valuable information was provided to us. The first floor of the house serves as a museum. We arrived to Cape Lookout via the 15 minute ferry from Harkers Island and we were dropped off at the docks and could walk up to the main area with restrooms and a gift shop that did serve cold drinks besides souvenirs. From there, the boardwalk leads you to either the ocean or the lighthouse depending if you go left or right. The island is pretty much undeveloped and as nature made it.

Harmony Hall was built in 1772 and is a real gem. It is open to tour Wednesdays through Saturday…read morefrom 10am to 4pm. When you arrive at the front door, just knock as they keep the door locked. The volunteer working will provide the background of the house. North Carolina's first Governor made Harmony Hall act as the Capital of the state during the war to protect the records. The house may have been used as a hospital at one point. 10 of 12 children of one family died here and another man committed suicide. So there has been a lot of tragedy there. Two floors of the restored house can be toured as well as the one room schoolhouse and garden. The house has 18th and 19th century furnishings. Upstairs one room has a very large doll collection. The schoolhouse shows what it would have been like to attend school in a room with desks and blackboards. A skeleton key is used to unlock the building. A garden club keeps up the garden's beautiful flowers. Harmony Hall is worth a visit. There is no admission fee but donations are accepted to maintain the property.