Contact the Center
Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History
UNCW Library, Discovery Hall, 2nd floor
5162 Randall Dr.
Wilmington, NC 28403
csencah@uncw.edu
910-962-7810
Visit the Center
Location
The Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History is located on the 2nd floor of Discovery Hall in the UNCW Library.
Hours
From May 19th through August 15th, 2025, the Center will be open by appointment only due to reduced staffing. 48 hours' advance notice is required for appointment requests. Visit our website to request an appointment.
Access Policies
Prior to visiting the Center, users should familiarize themselves with our access and use policies.
Digital Collections
The collections below contain materials related to surfing that have been digitized from various repositories across the state of North Carolina, with an emphasis on UNCW Library's digital collections.
- Cape Fear Surfing Archive Digital CollectionThis collection contains materials curated as part of the Cape Fear Surfing Archive initiative at UNCW Library, which began in 2002. The collection includes both digitized items from the Center's collections and material borrowed and scanned from private collectors.
- WWAY Digital CollectionThis digital collection contains approximately 8,000 local news clips dating from 1982 to 1997 sampled from the Center's WWAY Television News Archive. Included in these clips are numerous local news segments related to surfing in southeast North Carolina.
- North Carolina Digital CollectionsThis database provides access to the digital collections of the North Carolina State Archives and the North Carolina State Library. Several documents related to surfing in North Carolina can be found using a simple keyword search.
- North Carolina PostcardsNorth Carolina Postcards is a project of the North Carolina Collection, located in historic Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives holds more than 12,000 North Carolina postcards, many of which depict midcentury beach scenes and surf culture from the North Carolina coast.
- Our State Magazine Digital CollectionOur State Magazine, formerly known as The State, is one of North Carolina's longest running magazines, published since 1933. Back issues of this title have been made accessible via the North Carolina Digital Collections. Many of the issues include articles about surfing and surf culture in the state of North Carolina.
- Surfing Photographs from the Outer Banks History CenterThe Outer Banks History Center has several collections by various photographers that have covered the sport of surfing in the Outer Banks area for the past 100 years. This Flickr album contains a sampling of those photograph.
Surfing and Surf Culture at UNCW
Researchers interested in the history of surfing at UNCW specifically, such as the UNCW Surf Club/Surfing Club and accounts of recreational surfing among students and faculty, will find the following digital collections helpful.
- Seahawk Digital Newspaper Collection"The student paper of UNCW, established 1948." The Seahawk is the student news organization and newspaper of the University of North Carolina Wilmington. It began as a four-page handout with stenciled headlines. In 1958, the Seahawk reemerged as a monthly publication after a five-year period without a student paper. For most of its run, the Seahawk informed students about campus, national and world news along with arts, entertainment, and sports once or twice a week. In 2001 the organization launched its online component: theseahawk.org.
- "The Fledgling" - UNCW's Student Yearbook, 1950-1989Contains 38 digital copies of "The Fledgling," UNCW's student yearbook, from 1950-1989.
- UNCW Academic CataloguesThe UNC Wilmington undergraduate catalogue is a valuable resource intended for use by prospective and currently enrolled students, faculty, advisors and staff. The catalogue provides information about the University’s curriculum, academic policies and regulations, degree program requirements and course offerings. In addition, information about admission procedures, financial aid, university facilities and resources, student life, and a Faculty Directory are also included. Current and archived catalogues can be found here.
- UNCW Board of Trustees Digital CollectionThe UNCW Board of Trustees works with the Chancellor and senior administration on planning and policy for the university, in alignment with the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. From 1958 to 1969, the Board was the sole governing body of Wilmington College. This collection includes board meeting minutes, executive committee meeting minutes, and other documents from the institution's governing body from 1958 to the present.
- Wilmington College Student Handbook & UNCW Code of Student LifeThe UNCW Code of Student Life began as the Wilmington College student handbook with rules and regulations for campus life.
- UNCW MagazineUNCW magazine has been published for alumni and friends of the University of North Carolina Wilmington since 1990. It contains feature stories and information on various campus initiatives and groups as well as individual students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
- Campus CommuniqueAs the official news bulletin for university faculty and staff from 1970-2004, the Campus Communique includes campus events, faculty and staff awards, and advertisements.