PEOPLE & 



PLACES 



building is now used for Russell Cinna- 

 mon Landing, a gift shop. 



Across the street is one of Swansboro's 

 landmarks: the Captain Peter Ringware 

 House. Built around 1778 by Ringware 



— a privateer in the Revolutionary War 



— the house has framing made of hand- 

 hewn beams. The foundation was erected 

 from ballast stones. 



Turn left onto Elm and view the two- 

 story Jonathan Green Jr. house — the 

 oldest home still standing in Swansboro 

 and likely the oldest in Onslow County. 

 Constructed around 1770, the frame 

 home belonged to the son of the first 

 family to settle on the plantation that 

 eventually became Swansboro. 



The house has hand-hewn joists and 

 a foundation built on ballast stones. It 

 also has a number of features associated 

 with Georgian architecture. The right 

 chimney is Flemish bond, and the roof is 

 steep like a Louisiana plantation-style home. 



While strolling down Elm Street, 

 stop at the Charles R. Webb House. Built 

 in 1 898, the cottage is typical of the period 

 with a tin roof and narrow front porch. 



At the end of Elm, turn right onto 

 Broad and walk one block to Walnut 



ofN.C. Archives and History 



where Swansboro's early settlers are 

 buried in the old cemetery. 



While heading down Walnut, turn 

 left onto Church and stroll toward the 

 brick Swansboro Town Hall. Built by 

 the Unitarians, the building was used 

 once as the Emmerton School, which 

 offered excellent instruction in aca- 

 demic and vocational education and 

 claimed the first kindergarten in the 

 county. 



The Unitarians' "primary mission 

 in the South was not to make religious 

 converts but to aid their fellow man 

 with education, social work and outright 

 charity," writes Jack Dudley in his new 

 book Swansboro: A Pictorial Tribute. 

 "No other church or institution of any 

 kind has had such a profound effect on 

 Swansboro and its people as the 

 Unitarians did." 



After seeing the school, head back 

 down Church toward Front Street. Stop 

 and relax at one of the downtown 

 restaurants or walk down to the riverfront 

 and watch shrimp boats come in. 



On some days, you can hear ducks 

 quacking and watch seagulls soaring 

 over the water, laughing at you. □ 



Far left: 



A statue of Captain Otway Burns 



in Bicentennial Park greets visitors 



to Swansboro. 



Near Left: 



The Old Brick Store is one of 



Swansboro 's landmarks. 



Onslow 

 County 

 Museum 



Want to view the longest 

 dugout canoe ever found in North 

 Carolina? How about artifacts from 

 a ship sunk during the Civil War or a 

 foot-long oyster shell? 



These diverse items are 

 showcased in The Water and 

 The Wood Exhibit at the Onslow 

 County Museum in Richlands. 



From fossils of ancient sharks 

 to an enlarged photo of towering 

 live oak trees and purple flowers 

 along the White Oak River, the 

 exhibit depicts the county's 

 prehistory to the present 



"We hope the exhibit helps 

 people develop an understanding 

 that Onslow County's culture is tied 

 to the ocean, beach and pocosins," 

 says Lisa Whitman-Grice, the 

 museum's assistant director. 



Stretching over 763 square 

 miles, the county's landscape also 

 includes dense forests. One display 

 highlights the importance of naval 

 stores during the antebellum period. 

 Another focuses on a framed 1 8th 

 century house. 



Museum hours are Tuesday- 

 Friday 1 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 

 Saturday and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. 

 For more information, call 

 910/324-5008. E 



COASTWATCH 29 



