History of Outer Banks, North Carolina

Sir Walter Raleigh, John White, and 116 colonists arrived in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, (on Hatteras Island), first finding much of the land barren, without trees, unsuitable for colonizing. They sailed to Roanoke Island, coming into contact with the Croatian Indians.
After John White had returned to England and then back to America, all of the colony had disappeared, which is most famously called the Lost Colony. The only traces were the letters "CRO" and word "Croatoan", carved on a tree. While there is much speculation, no one knows what ever happened to the colony.
The Outer Banks, North Carolina, at one point, could have been considered the most dangerous waters in the New World. Because of shallow waters, protection of the barrier islands, and other special conditions peculiar to the Outer Banks, pirates were at an advantage to most European sea vessels. Smoke bristling from his beard, dressed in all black, pistol in one hand, cutlass in the other, notorious Blackbeard plundered many ships in the Outer Banks.
Not only did pirates seek booty, but scavengers hunted the islands and waters - known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" - for treasures, left from shipwrecked vessels. Over time, what was once under the command of storms and where were desolate, barren islands, villages sprouted. Since the sea was treacherous, Congress approved the construction of the first lighthouse in 1796. Too small and ineffective, the lighthouse was reconstructed in 1854.
Tourism took hold after the Civil War. New Yorkers visited to fish and hunt fowl. Word spread and roads were in response. At the beginning of the 20th century, two inventions would revolutionize the world and they were invented in the Outer Banks. Reginald Fessenden is credited to have invented the wireless telegraph in 1902. Working for the US Weather Bureau, he chose the Outer Banks for its remote and private location.
The Wright Brothers flew their first heavier-than-air plane in Kitty Hawk in 1903. Kitty Hawk too was chosen for its remote location, but also for its strong winds. As roads were developed and boats improved, the Outer Banks, North Carolina, were no longer remote. Over the 20th century, tourism grew.