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HISTORY OF MUSEUM PROJECT
The Cape Hatteras National Seashore, within which the Graveyard of the
Atlantic Museum is built, was established by Congressional Act H. R. 7022 in 1937 and by Secretarial Order in 1953. In 1986,
the National Park Service (NPS), Local, State, and National
Representatives encouraged the Hatteras Village Civic
Association to compete for the artifacts from the USS Monitor,
which sank 16 miles off the Hatteras coast. The Hatteras Civic
Association, in conjunction with the State of North Carolina,
the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Navy vied with four
other states. Eventually, the Monitor collection was awarded to
the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, Virginia because there
were no facilities capable of maintaining and displaying the
objects in North Carolina.
With further
encouragement from the NPS, Commissioners, Senators, and
Congressmen, the committee decided that such a facility was
needed in North Carolina, particularly along the shores of the
Graveyard of the Atlantic. In 1988, the formation of the Museum
and a suitable permanent display of Monitor artifacts at the
Museum was authorized by Congressional Act H.R. 4210. Funding
through the Albemarle Commission made a feasibility and design
development plan possible and the Museum was formally
incorporated in 1989. In 1990, a grant from
Dare County supported the development of the facility and, the
following year, the Museum Committee entered into a land-use
agreement with the NPS for 7 acres on the southwestern end of
Hatteras Island adjacent to the Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry Terminal
and U.S. Coast Guard Station. On August 1, 1991, the Museum was
officially designated a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) not-for-profit, public,
educational organization.
In 1994,
Congressional Act H.R. 2519 reaffirmed the formation of the
Museum, the permanent display of Monitor artifacts at the
Museum, and allocated funds, through the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for Museum construction. The
money, matched by monies
provided by North Carolina, was awarded in 1995 despite Federal
budget reductions. Also in 1992, State Senator Marc Basnight
proposed the sale of the first commemorative plates issued in
North Carolina for an historical attraction. First issued in
1996 to help support the Museum, more than five thousand of
these license tags have been purchased by individuals throughout
the State. In 1995, a full-time Executive Director and a
part-time Administrative Coordinator were hired; marketing,
capital, and artifact acquisition plans were initiated and
approved; and the Museum received the largest grant awarded, to
that date, by the Dare County Tourist Bureau, for the production
of a promotional and informational video. This promotional piece
subsequently expanded into a full length feature documentary,
The Graveyard of the Atlantic, which was released in 1997. It has been shown throughout the
State, aired on public television, featured in the North
Carolina edition of TV Guide, was awarded the Silver Telly
for
best documentary of 1998, and is being used in schools
throughout the Southeastern United States.
1995 was also
the year NOAA became a more active partner in the project.
Through cooperative agreement NA57AB0441, the funds allocated to
the project in 1992 became available. From 1995 through 1996,
The Museum Board of Directors, working with NOAA and the NPS,
was able to: complete the environmental assessment process with
a finding of no significant impact (FONSI), select the
architectural firm, establish the basic design of the building,
meet all, original, special award conditions, institute an
organizational/administrative infrastructure (mission statement,
by-laws, code of ethics, collections policy, interpretive
prospectus, disaster plan, etc.) which brought the Museum into
full compliance with AAM and CAMM professional standards,
satisfy the facility requirements of the NPS by expanding the
size of the building to 18,768 square feet, and insure the
building was designed to withstand all potentially damaging
weather conditions.
From 1997
through 1998, the Museum Board, again in concert with its NOAA
and NPS partners, was able to: obtain all federal, state, and
local permits needed for construction, acquire the 28,000 cubic
yards of fill necessary to construct the Museum twelve feet
above sea level, clear the site, complete rough grading of the
site, and generate (through our architects) a complete set of
final specifications and bid documents.
 Over
the next year and a half, the museum was extremely successful in
raising the visibility of the project and new potential support
across the State. In 1998, the Museum became a founding
organization of the North Carolina Civil War Trail. In
addition, the Museum’s capital campaign plan was refined, the
case statement and named gift opportunities brochure were
produced, campaign leadership was established, and interviews
with state and civic leaders across North Carolina were held to
reaffirm feasibility and establish new levels of support. These
meetings proved extremely positive and enabled the Museum and
its fundraisers to move forward.
Also in
February 1998, Museum Board and Staff, Dare County Commissioners
and political leaders, and NOAA and NPS representatives met with
Senator Lauch Faircloth, Congressman Walter Jones, Jr., and
representatives of Senator Helms. In concert with Sen. Helms
and Congressman Jones, Senator Faircloth pledged a determined
effort to obtain funding for the Museum in the 1999 federal
budget. An appropriation was approved by Congress on October
19, 1998. On July 1, 1999, North Carolina awarded the Museum
matching funds and Phase I, construction of the Building shell,
began on December 10, 1999.
Phase I
involved general construction of the building and all the site
work including portions of the NC Civil War Trail. The 18,768
sq. ft. building is constructed to withstand sustained winds of
over 135 mph and gusts of over 250 mph and is elevated 12 ft.
above sea level surpassing the thousand year flood plain. The
design team consulted numerous experts in the field in order to
create a structure which exceeds current codes and sets a new
standard for coastal construction. It is the Museum’s intention
to eliminate, or at least minimize, damage and loss by
anticipating and planning for disaster. The overall innovative
design uses ship’s curves and timber elements to evoke the
spirit of historic seafaring vessels. The Museum decided to
phase the project in
order to exercise more complete control over each aspect of
construction. Phase I was completed within budget, in July
2001. All design and engineering criteria were either achieved
or surpassed. Also, in July 2001, the Museum’s second, two part
documentary production, War Zone, WWII off North Carolina’s
Outer Banks was released and aired on NC Public Television.
War
Zone was awarded a Silver Telly for best historical documentary
of 2001; an Aegis award of excellence; The Videographer Awards:
Award of Excellence; and was nominated for an Emmy.
From 2000
through 2001, the Museum was particularly pleased to receive
funding from the NC DOT TEA-21 program and the Outer Banks
Visitors Bureau. As public awareness of the Museum project
grew, contributions to the campaign increased. In particular,
private support continued to expand. The statewide “Save Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Committee” carefully studied how best to
expend their remaining funds and unanimously decided the entire
amount should go to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.
Significant contributions were also made by East Carolina Bank
and RBC Centura Bank.
Throughout
2001, the Museum organized the Ghost Ships Campaign which was
officially launched on October 26, 2001. In response, the Outer
Banks Visitors Bureau, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the
Outer Banks Community Foundation, the Meekins Charitable Trust,
and private donors enabled the Museum to begin Phase II
construction, the completion of the building interior, and open
a portion of the facility to the public in October 2002.
Early in 2003,
the NPS requested the Museum produce and host an exhibition on
General William “Billy” Mitchell and the historic bombing tests
which took place off Hatteras Island in 1923. The exhibition
was part of the First Flight Centennial in 2003 and showcased
Mitchell’s long association with Hatteras and the importance of
the tests in the emergence of United States airpower. The
exhibition opened in June 2003 and ran through December, 2004.
2004 also marked the inaugural year for the Museum first major
education program. The Shipwreck Archaeological Workshop (SAW)
provides secondary school students an opportunity to excavate
and record an actual shipwreck. Organized in cooperation with
The Naval Historical Center, NOAA, and the NPS, the program is
supported through the generosity of the Charles Finch Gaddy
Fund, North Carolina Community Foundation.
In February,
2004, the Museum was notified it had been awarded a prestigious
Save America’s Treasures Grant. That was followed, in
September, by additional funding from HUD-EDI and the State of
North Carolina. All of this money was used as matching funds
for the federal Save America’s Treasures Grant. Construction
began in April 2005. The museum was able to complete: the
climate controlled collection storage/study area, mail room,
unisex ADA accessible restroom, Board room, NOAA field office,
events kitchen, second storey storage area, five offices,
janitor station, storage closet, the fire suppression system for
the entire facility, and all related plumbing, mechanical, and
electrical systems, floor and wall finishes, cabinetry, and
appliances. Also in 2005, through the generosity of the Z. Smith
Reynolds Foundation, the Outer Banks Light house Society, and
private donors, the Museum, in cooperation with the NPS, was
able to place the original, 1854, First Order Lens from the Cape
Hatteras Lighthouse on display in the Museum lobby, and solve
one of the greatest mysteries in American lighthouse history.
Now, for the first time in sixty years, the public is again able
to view this historic artifact.
In 2006, the
Museum received an additional HUD-EDI award which was used for
high density shelving for collection storage, lighting for the
parking area, an upgrade of the Museum store, and additional
construction. In the same year, the Museum was formally
recognized as a key partner in the establishment of the UNC
Coastal Studies Institute, in Manteo, and as a founding
community partner in the redesigned Cape Hatteras Secondary
School – School for Coastal Studies in Buxton. On September 27,
2007, the Dare Education Foundation recognized the Museum as
Business Partner of the year 2006 – 2007.
 The Museum has
taken the lead in working with divers and local families to
reintroduce historically significant materials to the public
domain. Through landmark negotiations with the Federal Republic
of Germany and local divers, the Museum obtained the Enigma
encoding and transcription machines and related materials from
the wreck of the U-85. Thanks to generous support from North
Carolina Electric Membership Co-op., the Kelly Family
Foundation, and the Friends of the Museum, these rare and
important artifacts are being conserved and will soon be on
display. The exhibition: Hatteras in the Civil War
incorporating works of art, documents and artifacts from museums
and private collections, including sections on the USS Monitor
and the USS Alligator (the first Federal submarine), has been
very well received and a new exhibition centered on the recently
recovered bell from the Lightship Diamond Shoals (LV 71 sunk by
the Germans in 1918) is being developed. The collections
continue to expand with donations of everything from photographs
to an early twentieth century dive suit.
On June 6,
2008, the Museum was formally recognized as a Regional State
History Museum and was included in the North Carolina State
Museum System. This represents a new and increased level of
professionalism and public credibility for the project. A
combination of state and federal funds will enable the Museum to
complete construction of the main galleries and generous support
from NOAA has allowed the process of exhibition planning and
design to begin.
Since opening
in October,2002, the Museum has welcomed over 300,000 visitors.
It is estimated that 50% of these are day-trippers from the
northern beaches and Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo. Visitor
satisfaction is high despite the fact that the Museum is only
partially open and exhibitions are limited and temporary.
The Museum is
a model collaborative effort between private enterprise and
public agencies. It is becoming a premiere cultural
institution for the Eastern Seaboard; an invaluable resource
providing a wealth of quality, educational opportunities for the
general public, students, and researchers. The Museum is
heightening awareness for and fostering greater appreciation and
understanding of the resources and cultural diversity which
constitute the area's maritime history.
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