The earliest white settlers in the Oyster Creek area came from Hyde County in the early 1700's. There was a large Native American settlement called Secatok on Middle Bay at that time. Elizabeth Leith signed her will in her farmhouse at Mouse Harbor in 1795.

Settlers first raised corn (mostly), also cotton, tobacco, rice, sweet potatoes, and molasses cane. They later raised cattle and sheep and let them free-range. The sheep were driven to Mouse Harbor for the winter to graze. The cattle were run through large, dug vats to remove tics and lice. Smoke pots were used inside the home and in the fields to drive away mosquitoes.

During the 1800's, a number of very large, Dutch-style wind-driven grist mills were constructed in the area. There was one on Horne Road. As you leave the paddle, look for the millstone planted with flowers at a sharp curve.

All the land in the paddle area was farmed into the mid 1900's.

In 1828, a lighthouse was constructed on Pamlico Point to mark the entrance to the Pamlico River. The lighthouse-keeper lived in a cabin on the point. During the Civil War, Union troops set the lighthouse on fire but the Confederates arrived in time to put out the fire and save it. The brick structure finally crumbled in the late 1800's and most of the bricks were salvaged by local farmers. The foundation, now under water, is a popular fishing spot. In 1891, a screwpile lighthouse was built by the Coast Guard on Gull Shoal near the point. It was hexagonal in shape and lasted until the mid 1900's when the wooden structure was disassembled. The steel frame still exists.

During the hurricane of 1913, the roads to the paddle were under 7 feet of water.

Before the early 1900's, sails and men powered the local fishing fleet. There were about six types of sailing craft used for fishing ranging from 35 to 80 feet in length. They included sharpies, schooners, sloops, bugeyes, skip-jacks, and dugout "kunners" (from "canoe"?). All were seen in the paddle area.

The oldest fishing technique was pound-net fishing in which long, permanent nets herded fish into "pounds" or traps. Until the mid 1900's there were about half a dozen fishing camps on Pamlico Point for tending pound nets.

Before crab pots, long trot lines, to which cow tongue and bull noses were tied every few feet, were set just before dawn and harvested with a loop run down the line and a basket or "dipper" slung underneath to catch the crabs as they dropped off. These lines were often a mile in length.

Mouse Harbor Ditch was dug by hand by local fishermen to use as a shortcut to Mouse Harbor. A jug of whiskey was placed every few feet on the route as incentive for the diggers. An oysterman who did not help dig "sacrificed" his first load of oysters through the ditch to feed those who did.

Odell Spain describes fishing from a 30-foot boat with two partners during WWII from Sunday evening to Friday evening in Mouse Harbor, sleeping in the cabin of the boat. To finish hauling the nets, he would stand overboard in huge masses of nettles.

Fishing and crabbing are still important to the livelihood and culture of Goose Creek Island.

Odell tells of a crabber in Oyster creek who thought he saw a crab line and on close inspection found it was a swimming bear. As he turned away, the bear, smelling fish, hung unto the side of the boat. The crabber gunned the motor but the bear only climbed aboard. The crabber then hid in the small pilot house while the bear circled the decks several times looking for fish. He finally jumped off and swam away.

Blackbeard was known to have visited the paddle area. The story of a witness, handed down to local residents, says that he helped Blackbeard bury a treasure on Cedar Island at the mouth of Oyster Creek and that the man who volunteered to guard it was beheaded and buried with the horde.

DISCOVER ONE OF THE LOVELIEST UNEXPLOITED RIVERS IN OUR STATE
visit a quaint, old fashioned village,
where time stood still and small town America lives!
WARNING: THE NATIVES ARE VERY FRIENDLY