What's so unique about Beaufort, NC?

· Isolation – At a mainland point northwest of Cape Lookout, facing southwest, Beaufort’s orientation has always been outward to the sea. Neither of the two short rivers on which she is located, the Newport and North, gives substantial access to the interior of the state. The town had no rail link to the rest of the world until 1907, and her main highway access inland, Route 70, was not connected to Beaufort by bridge until 1926. Communication with New York, Boston, Philly and Baltimore was more direct and frequent than with New Bern, only 45-50 miles distant.

· Wooden Construction – Beaufort is built almost exclusively of wood. There are only two brick buildings in town which predate the Civil War, The Odd Fellows Lodge and the Jail, and there are no stone buildings.

· Beaufort has not undergone a renovation period where the old was uprooted and the new inserted. Many of the buildings and homes in the Historic District are the same as they have been for centuries. Thanks to the Historic Preservation Committee, Beaufort looks today as much as possible as it did in the past.

· White paint – since it’s inception, through the 19th and 20th centuries, almost everything in Beaufort was painted white.

· Lack of Wealth – Few citizen’s wealth could be measured against the wealth elite of New Bern, Edenton, or Raleigh. Many of the homes in Beaufort were essentially vacation houses for families who lived inland, but adjourned to Beaufort in the heat of summer to take advantage of the cooling breezes. The rest of the town was populated with working men, fisherman, shipbuilders, whalers, and shippers.

· In both the Revolutionary and Civil war, Beaufort was eventually taken over by the British and Union respectively, and used as a HQ. As a result, there was virtually no damage to the town during those two Wars.