Rodanthe, North Carolina
Encyclopedia
Dare County, North Carolina
-National protected areas:* Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge * Cape Hatteras National Seashore * Fort Raleigh National Historic Site* Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge* Wright Brothers National Memorial-Demographics:...
, on Hatteras Island
Hatteras Island
Hatteras Island is a barrier island located off the North Carolina coast. Dividing the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound, it runs parallel to the coast, forming a bend at Cape Hatteras. It is part of North Carolina's Outer Banks and includes the towns of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton,...
, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
. Rodanthe, along with Waves
Waves, North Carolina
Waves is an unincorporated community in Dare County, North Carolina, USA. It is on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Waves, along with Rodanthe and Salvo, are part of the settlement of Chicamacomico....
and Salvo
Salvo, North Carolina
Salvo is an unincorporated community located in Dare County, North Carolina, on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Originally part of the settlement of Chicamacomico, Salvo was originally known as Clarks or Clarksville.The name "Salvo" allegedly stems from the American Civil...
, are part of the settlement of Chicamacomico. Rodanthe includes the original Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station
Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station
The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station is a former station of the United States Life-Saving Service. It is located in Rodanthe, North Carolina, on Hatteras Island of the Outer Banks, on the east side of what is today Highway 12. Today, the surviving buildings of the station form a...
, decommissioned in 1954, but now a museum.
Rodanthe is served by North Carolina Highway 12 which runs north/south through town. The Chicamacomico area is bordered to the north by Pea Island NWR
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located on the north end of North Carolina's Hatteras Island, a coastal barrier island and part of a chain of islands known as the Outer Banks, adjacent to Cape Hatteras National Seashore...
and to the south by Cape Hatteras NS
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Cape Hatteras National Seashore preserves the portion of the Outer Banks of North Carolina from Bodie Island to Ocracoke Island, stretching over . Included within this section of barrier islands along N.C...
, a situation which limits potential growth. The town is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to the East and the Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, is the largest lagoon along the U.S. East Coast, being long and 24 to 48 km wide. It is a body of water separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a row of low, sandy barrier islands, including Cape Hatteras. The Neuse and Pamlico rivers flow in...
to the West.
Rodanthe is the easternmost point of North Carolina. It is famous for its observation of "Old Christmas" on January 6, formerly Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, December 25, by the Julian Calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
, a custom held over from the original English settlers who still used the "Old Style" calendar. A mythical beast, "Old Buck"—possibly related to Belsnikel or Krampus who are Companions of Saint Nicholas in Central European Christmas festivities—is said to appear at the celebration.
Dare County Board of Commissioners
The Dare County Board of Commissioners is the governing body of Dare County, North Carolina. It runs in the manner of a county commission. It has seven seats held by elected officials called County Commissioners. The Commissioners are elected at large in countywide elections and serve four-year...
. Rodanthe is part of District 4, along with Avon
Avon, North Carolina
Avon is a a census-designated place in Dare County in the State of North Carolina in the United States of America. It is located at latitude 35°21'7" North, longitude 75°30'39" West. The village is south of Salvo and north of Buxton on Hatteras Island...
, Buxton
Buxton, North Carolina
Buxton is an unincorporated community of nearly 1,500 people on Hatteras Island near Cape Hatteras. It is located in Dare County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. North Carolina Highway 12 links the community to other Outer Banks communities such as Avon, Frisco, and Hatteras...
, Frisco
Frisco, North Carolina
Frisco is a small unincorporated community on the barrier island of Hatteras Island, between the villages of Buxton and Hatteras. It is located in Dare County, North Carolina, USA, and was previously named Trent, or Trent Woods, but received a new name with the coming of the post office in 1898...
, Hatteras
Hatteras, North Carolina
Hatteras is an unincorporated community in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, on the Outer Banks island of Hatteras. North Carolina Highway 12 passes through the community linking it to Frisco and Ocracoke . It is south of the famous Cape Hatteras and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton...
, Waves
Waves, North Carolina
Waves is an unincorporated community in Dare County, North Carolina, USA. It is on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Waves, along with Rodanthe and Salvo, are part of the settlement of Chicamacomico....
and Salvo
Salvo, North Carolina
Salvo is an unincorporated community located in Dare County, North Carolina, on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Originally part of the settlement of Chicamacomico, Salvo was originally known as Clarks or Clarksville.The name "Salvo" allegedly stems from the American Civil...
.
Tourist economy
Many of Rodanthe's restaurants, shops and markets are seasonal with many closing during the winter months and reopening the following spring. Many of these are family-owned, rather than chain franchises. Provisions can still be purchased on the Outer BanksOuter Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
during the winter months, but a short drive to the town of Avon
Avon, North Carolina
Avon is a a census-designated place in Dare County in the State of North Carolina in the United States of America. It is located at latitude 35°21'7" North, longitude 75°30'39" West. The village is south of Salvo and north of Buxton on Hatteras Island...
to the South or Nags Head to the North is required.
There are only two motels within the larger settlement of Chicamacomico. There are, however, three inns or bed and breakfasts on the island of Hatteras ("The Inn on Pamlico Sound", "Cape Hatteras Bed and Breakfast", and the "Seaside Inn".) There are numerous rental houses, large and small, as well as numerous campgrounds ranging from deluxe to rustic ("Camp Hatteras", "Ocean Waves", "Cape Hatteras KOA
Kampgrounds of America
Kampgrounds of America is a franchise chain of nearly 470 campgrounds throughout North America based in Billings, Montana, USA. The current CEO of Kampgrounds of America Inc. is James D. Rogers. The President is Pat Hittmeier. - History :...
", etc). Several smaller campgrounds cater to water sports enthusiasts. Local water sports include fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
(both ocean and sound-side), swimming, sailboarding and kiteboarding, among others.
In fiction
In 2002, Nicholas SparksNicholas Sparks (author)
Nicholas Charles Sparks is an internationally-bestselling American novelist and screenwriter. He has 16 published novels, with thematic ideas that include cancer, death and love. Six have been adapted to film, including Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe,...
published the book Nights in Rodanthe
Nights in Rodanthe (novel)
Nights in Rodanthe is a novel by American writer Nicholas Sparks in September 2002.Set in Rodanthe, North Carolina, the story follows the romance of a divorced mother, Adrienne Willis, and a divorced father and surgeon, Paul Flanner...
that was later adapted into a movie. George C. Wolfe
George C. Wolfe
George Costello Wolfe is an American playwright and director of theater and film. He won a Tony Award in 1993 for directing Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and another Tony Award in 1996 for his direction of the musical, Bring in 'da Noise/Bring in 'da Funk.-Early life and...
directed this film adaptation
Nights in Rodanthe
Nights in Rodanthe is a 2008 American/Australian film adaptation of the novel with the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane in their third screen collaboration after Unfaithful and The Cotton Club . The film is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for "some sensuality" and...
, which was partially filmed in the town of Rodanthe and entirely filmed in eastern North Carolina – including Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America...
, Southport
Southport, North Carolina
Southport is a city in Brunswick County, North Carolina, near the mouth of the Cape Fear River. It is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
. The movie was released on September 26, 2008. Several Rodanthe landmarks such as the Rodanthe Pier were used during filming. During film production, one of the rental houses, Serendipity, the north-easternmost house in Rodanthe, was transformed into the fictional Inn at Rodanthe. This house was damaged and condemned after a Nor'easter
Nor'easter
A nor'easter is a type of macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada, so named because the storm travels to the northeast from the south and the winds come from the northeast, especially in the coastal areas of the Northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada...
storm in November 2009. The house was saved from demolition by a private business man from Newton, N.C. and moved less than one mile south.
