Rodanthe

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North Carolina Highway 12 leads on from Bodie Island and then over the Oregon Inlet to Hatteras island, next in the chain. Cape Hatteras National Season lines both sides of the highway with occasional villages interspersed. About halfway down the island is Rodanthe. (It is the setting of the 2008 film Nights in Rodanthe.) We stopped for gas and looked in at the accompanying souvenir shop. Old Bay seasoning products dominated the comestibles for sale.

A really interesting attraction in Rodanthe is the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site and Museum. The US Life-saving Service, founded in 1848, conducted rescue operations for ships in distress in coastal waters. (The USLSS merged with the Coast Guard in 1915.) In the Outer Banks, a life-saving station was located every three miles. The Chicamacomico installation at Rodanthe has been preserved as a museum. The oldest property is the first Station House, built in 1874. Lifeboat crews, known as Surfmen, lived and kept watch in the station house. It was converted to a boat house in 1911. The Station House of 1911 is much larger and houses a gift shop and museum exhibits. During World War II, Coast Guardsmen on the Outer Banks kept watch for German submarines. The Coast Guard station was decommissioned in 1954.

Not far south of Rodanthe is the village of Salvo. An interesting sight here is the former Salvo Post Office. It is known as the second smallest post office in the United States. The two-room building was in operation from 1910 to 1922. It has been preserved for display and placed on stilts. (The structure originally stood on the ground.)

The narrow strip of island from Salvo to Cape Hatteras in entirely within Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Public beaches and trails face the Atlantic side. Sand dunes block a view of the ocean from the highway. There are numerous pull-offs for beach access. Vehicles may be driven onto the sand provided enough air is let out of the tires

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Photos

Chicamacomico Life-saving Station
Station house of 1911. Restored as the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site & Museum.
National Register of Historic Places 76000164
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Chicamacomico Life-saving Station
Station house built in 1874. Converted to a boat house in 1911.
National Register of Historic Places 76000164
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Chicamacomico Boat Houses
Chicamacomico Life-saving Station. Small Boat House (1897) and storage sheds.
National Register of Historic Places 76000164
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Rodanthe Cottage
Outer Banks cottage in Rodanthe.
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Salvo Post Office
The second smallest post office in the United States was built in 1910 and closed in 1992.
National Register of Historic Places 93000997
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Salvo Post Office
The second smallest post office in the United States was built in 1910 and closed in 1992.
National Register of Historic Places 93000997
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Kinnakeet Beach Dunes
Scrub brush, sea grass and sand dunes at Little Kinnakeet Beach Access. Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
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Little Kinnakeet Beach Access Trail
Sea grass and sand dunes at the Little Kinnakeet Beach Access trail. Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
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