The Swansboro Historical Association is recognizing the town’s African American heritage with program about Hammocks Beach State Park.
Local historians and park leaders will talk about how the park became important to the Swansboro community and how it evolved into a center for recreation, education, preservation, and conservation.
A New York neurosurgeon doctor purchased 4,600 acres including Bear Island in 1914 for a hunting and fishing preserve, according to officials with N.C. State Parks. In 1950, the land was deeded to the North Carolina Teachers Association, a nonprofit group of Black educators. After an unsuccessful attempt to develop the land, it was donated to the state in 1961 and it operated as a state park for Black people until it was opened to all in 1963.
The event begins at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Swansboro Area Heritage Center Assembly Room.
