Program

Hometown Heritage®

Subject

Site

Location

723 E Main St, Belhaven, NC 27810, USA

Lat/Long

35.534185484777, -76.614109374153

Grant Recipient

Belhaven Public Library Inc

The opening of a 22‑mile section of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), located approximately nine miles east of Belhaven, marked a major milestone in a long‑envisioned effort to create a protected inland navigation route along the eastern seaboard. Interest in such a waterway dated back to the 17th century, when leaders sought to connect northern and southern ports to improve trade while protecting vessels from hazardous weather, piracy, and foreign naval threats. Federal support for the project came in 1913, when Congress approved funding for an extensive system intended to stretch across North Carolina and ultimately link Boston to Florida.

Construction of this segment, connecting the Alligator and Pungo Rivers, began in 1922 and continued through 1928. The project created a channel approximately 160 feet wide and 12 feet deep, requiring the removal of an estimated 30 million cubic yards of earth from swamps and marshlands. This intensive dredging, carried out at a rapid pace, represented a significant engineering accomplishment and was completed at a cost of about $2 million.

On August 30, 1928, the completion of the waterway section was celebrated in Belhaven with an event of extraordinary scale. Approximately 20,000 people attended—far surpassing the town’s population of about 1,500—filling the harbor and surrounding community. The celebration featured a wide array of participants and activities, including Coast Guard cutters, seaplanes, barges from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and even a blimp, as well as music provided by the Norfolk Naval Band.

The event included speeches by prominent figures such as J. Hampton Moore, John H. Small, and Josephus Daniels, held at the home of local industrialist John A. Wilkinson. Festivities extended throughout the town with boat races, baseball games, and large communal gatherings, where it was reported that five tons of local fish were consumed. Widely regarded as the most significant event in Belhaven’s history, the celebration underscored the waterway’s importance to the region’s transportation, economic growth, and maritime development.