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
The Center is open from 10am to 2pm, Monday - Friday. Appointments are not required, but we strongly encourage visitors to contact us in advance of any planned research visit to discuss your research topic and confirm the availability of collections. Onsite research assistance may be limited.
Access Policies
Prior to visiting the Center, users should familiarize themselves with our access and use policies.
A Note about Finding Aids
The links below will take you to each collection's finding aid, which provides more details about the collection and its creator(s) as well as a list of the collection's contents. Finding aids are only descriptions of archival materials and generally do not include scans of the materials themselves, although a finding aid may provide a link to a digital collection containing scans of material if that collection has been digitized. In most cases, you will need to visit the Center (or the archival repository described) in person in order to view these collections.
Manuscript and Archival Collections
- D.J. Struntz Photograph: "Crystal Pier, Nov. 2001"This image is part of the Special Collections Prints and Photographs Collection.
- D.J. Struntz Photograph: "Masonboro," 2001This image is part of the Special Collections Prints and Photographs Collection.
- MS 055 Cape Fear Surfing Archive Artifacts and PostersThe Center's Special Collections holds numerous items donated as part of the Cape Fear Surfing Archive initiative, including several t-shirts and other articles of clothing, surfing-related posters, and a surfboard. Please contact the Center for more information about accessing these materials.
- MS 152 Lou Buttino Manuscript and Film CollectionThis collection contains papers related to Lou Buttino's writing career. These feature his magazine articles, newspaper columns, proposals, and manuscripts, as well as media copies of his video and film work. Included in the collection is a 1928 copy of the Wilmington Morning Star with images of historic Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach, including images of surfers, local farming, historic homes and sites.
- MS 290 Consuelo Berkman PapersConsuelo "Connie" Berkman was an artist and photographer in Wilmington, North Carolina, as well as an amateur surfer. The Consuelo Berkman Papers contain artwork, correspondence, personal journals, photographs, yearbooks, and other materials dating from 1968 to her death in 1996. The bulk of the collection consists of Berkman's photography and includes thousands of prints, slides, negatives, and contact sheets documenting daily life in and around the Wilmington area. Of note in this collection are photographs of local surfing contests, including the Record Bar held in Wrightsville Beach in the 1980s.
- MS 296 Dave Coley Surfing MemorabiliaThis collection contains original handbills and posters promoting surf film screenings in the greater Wilmington area, as well as sales flyers for a local surfboard shop called America Surfboards.
- MS 344 Charles Bombeld Surfing MemorabiliaThis collection contains Surf movie mini-window cards, a film program, and a interview print-out of local surfer Bruce Clelland. The collection consists of items relating to early 1960s independent surf films. A period film program and an interview from one of the film's surfers, Bruce Clelland, are preserved here.
It should be noted that Big Wednesday (1961) is not Big Wednesday (1978, Warner Bros.). Both are surf films, but the latter is more well known. - MS 347 WWAY Television News ArchiveThis WWAY Television News Archive contains approximately 1,744 U-matic tapes of news and locally produced footage from 1982-1999, approximately 980 DVC-Pro tapes of news and locally produced footage from 1999-2007, and approximately 3300 DVDs starting in 2007. WWAY is an ABC/CBS/CW-affiliated television station licensed to Wilmington, North Carolina, serving the Cape Fear region. Many recordings dating from 1982 to 1997 have been digitized, including numerous clips related to surfing, and can be accessed from the WWAY digital collection at https://digitalcollections.uncw.edu/digital/collection/wway
- MS 408 Star-News Image ArchiveThis collection contains thousands of print photographs and negatives from the Wilmington newspaper, The Star-News, from the last several decades, with the bulk of the images dating from the 1980s and 1990s. The collection includes several images related to surfing. These can be found in two folders labeled "surfing" as well as filed under the names of individual surf shops, surfers, etc.
- MS 409 James Evans Postcard CollectionThis collections contains 638 postcards documenting life in Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Fort Fisher, and locations in Pender and Brunswick Counties. Imagery includes major attractions, institutions, streets, and scenes of daily life in these areas. Most postcards are undated, though in some cases, a circa date is used to identify when the postcard was postmarked. Included are numerous postcards from the Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach areas advertising the beaches, hotels and motels, recreation, and local businesses.
- RG-7 University of North Carolina Wilmington Library RecordsThe University of North Carolina Wilmington Library Records contain administrative records for the library beginning in 1947. Included in this record group is a folder of material related to a library exhibit entitled "Country Soul: The Surfing Experience in Southeastern North Carolina."
- RG-11 University of North Carolina Wilmington Student Affairs RecordsThis collection includes student affairs records from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and its predecessor institution, Wilmington College. The Division of Student Affairs oversees intramural and club sports and manages many aspects of the college experience such as student housing, residential life, tutoring and learning services, health services, and disability services. Included in this record group is a folder of material on the UNCW Surf Club from 1984 to 1989.
- Special Collections Vertical File on SurfingThe Special Collections vertical files are compiled by Special Collections staff on an ongoing basis and contain material such as articles, photocopied documents, maps, ephemera, etc. of various persons, places, organizations, and topical subjects related to UNCW and Southeastern North Carolina history. The Surfing vertical file contains information on surfing in Southeast North Carolina, including a 2002 issue of Star-News "Currents" highlighting women surfers.
- Ephemera Collection, PC.5276 (Outer Banks History Center)The Ephemera Collection, 1798-2019 and undated, contains ephemera (printed documents, created for a specific, limited purpose, and generally designed to be discarded after use) primarily related to the state of North Carolina and its counties, with a particular focus on Dare County. See especially the tourism/marketing materials and various files on recreation for material related to surfing.
- Ray Couch Photographs, AV.5131 (Outer Banks History Center)Ray Couch was a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Army and photographer living in Buxton, North Carolina, from the 1960s to the 1990s. The Ray Couch Photographs, 1955-1990 and undated, comprise prints, negatives, contact sheets, and color slides documenting the Outer Banks and other topics during this time period, with a particular focus on Hatteras Island subjects and sportfishing
- Dare County Tourist Bureau Records, ORG.5271 (Outer Banks History Center)The Dare County Tourist Bureau (DCTB) was an organization that aimed to increase tourism to the Outer Banks and promote Dare County to potential visitors across the country. The group distributed promotional materials, created advertising campaigns, organized and participated in events, and contributed articles and press releases to newspapers in order to bolster the tourism industry on the Outer Banks. The photographs series of the collection includes surfing photographs from around the 1980s
- Photographs by Walter V. Gresham, III, AV.5132 (Outer Banks History Center)Walter Gresham's photograph collection documents numerous events and scenes along the Outer Banks in the 1970s and 1980s, including surfers in Frisco.
- Mike Murray Collection of East Coast Motions/Beach TV Recordings, AV.5247 (Outer Banks History Center)Beach TV was a locally produced news and current events show that aired on the Outer Banks from 1987 to 1993. Produced by East Coast Motions, Beach TV covered all facets of Outer Banks life from competitions, to recreation, to politics, to local awareness. East Coast Motions also produced commercials for local businesses and events.
- Drew C. Wilson Photograph Collection, AV.5137 (Outer Banks History Center)Outer Banks photojournalist Drew C. Wilson has produced extensive photographic documentation of the area from the 1980s through the present. Included in his photograph collection are numerous photos of surfers, surfboard manufacturers, and surf shops based in the Outer Banks.
- William A. Withington Photographs, AV.5128 (Outer Banks History Center)This collection consists of several hundred 35mm color slides taken by Outer Banks photographer William A. Withington in the 1970s and 1980s, including several images of surfers.
- Hugh Morton Photographs and Films, P0081 (North Carolina Collection, UNC Chapel Hill)This collection contains still images and motion pictures made by white North Carolina businessman and political figure Hugh MacRae Morton (1921-2006). Images document North Carolina from the 1930s to the 2000s, including statewide landmarks and attractions; schools and businesses; nature; Grandfather Mountain; the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; sports; and World War II. Included are numerous photos of surfers in both North Carolina and Hawaii, largely dating from the 1960s and 1970s.
- News and Observer Photograph Collection (State Archives of North Carolina)This collection contains hundreds of thousands of negatives and prints produced by the staff of the Raleigh News and Observer from 1938 through 2018. Included are numerous photos related to surfing and surfers in North Carolina. Because the collection is quite large, researchers are advised to contact the State Archives for more information about the specific images available.
- Dept. of Conservation and Development, Travel Information Division Photographs (State Archives of North Carolina)This collection includes photographic prints and negatives, either taken by the Travel Information Division and its Travel Development photographer or added to their collection. Included are hundreds of photos of beach scenes and other imagery related to surf culture in North Carolina.
- Karen Baldwin Folklore Archive, Collection #1160 (Joyner Library, East Carolina University)Collection materials consist of eastern North Carolina folklore student research projects (completed as class projects at East Carolina University) based upon interviews with family members, friends, and acquaintances. Includes several files on surf culture, surfing folklore, and surfers' lingo/dialects.
- Surfer's Paradise: A Journey to Cape Hatteras, FK95.004 (Edward H. Nabb Center for Delmarva History and Culture)In 1995, former Salisbury University student Jesse Bellavance collected folk material. His collection is about surfing and what it represents to the folk group of surfers. In this paper, he tells about his friendship with other surfers and how they taught him the essentials of surfing. He also recounts one of their adventurous road trip to North Carolina, specifically to Hatteras island, to chase after some good waves.