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.
Legacy Recordings from the Center's Collections
- Alluvium [DVD recording] byCall Number: GV840.S8 A45 2002 c.2Publication Date: 2002Features surfing in Hawaii, Mexico, California, Indonesia, East Coast, Barbados, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic
- Any given morning : a film [DVD recording] byCall Number: GV840.S8 A59 2007Publication Date: 2007"A surfing story about separate souls with a common passion." Features footage of surfers in the Wrightsville Beach/Shell Island area.
- Beach break : a history of surfing in South Carolina [VHS recording] byCall Number: GV839.65.S6 B42 1998Publication Date: 19981 videocassette (58 min.) ; sd., col. ; 1/2 in
This video explores the history of surfing in South Carolina beginning in the early 1960s. The sport's origins in the state were relatively simple, but now surfing is competitive and high-tech. Also, surfing apparel is big business. Includes interviews with local surfers and surf shop owners. - Dawn patrol [DVD recording] byCall Number: GV840.S8 D39 2007Publication Date: 2007"A bored banker surfs back to his barefooted youth."
- Destined for second [DVD recording] byCall Number: GV840.S8 D487 2002Publication Date: 2002Featuring: Ben Bourgeois, Jesse Hines, Tommy O'Brien, Noah Snyder, Jeff Myers, Asher Nolan, Gabe Kling. Explores surfing in Australia, Florida, Mexico, Hatteras, Costa Rica, Hawaii, France, California
- Detlev Lancaster & Harold Petty [DVD recording]Call Number: GV840.S8 L36 2007Publication Date: 2007A videotape interview with Detlev "Lank" Lancaster and Harold Petty on their surfing experiences in North Carolina, including opening East Coast Surfboards in Carolina Beach and shaping their own boards.
- The endless summer [VHS recording] byCall Number: GV840.S8 E534 1995Publication Date: 1995Photographed, edited, directed by, and narrated by Bruce Brown ; music by the Sandals
- It was better back then : a trip through the seventies, a decade of waves [DVD recording] byCall Number: GV 840.S8 I88 2005Publication Date: 2005Includes footage of first professional surfing contest on East Coast held in Atlantic Beach, NC (May 1972); and 1974 U.S. Surfing Championships held in Cape Hatteras, NC
Streaming Video
- Streaming Video Resources from UNCW LibraryUse the search box at the top of this page to search for the UNCW Library streaming video collection for keywords like "surfing" or "surfer."
- ESA 50 Years Strong by Shoots MediaFounded in 1967, the Eastern Surfing Association is the largest amateur surfing organization in the United States. The ESA is for the East Coast surfers from Maine through the Gulf Coast of Florida, Alabama and the Great Lakes. Several world champions started their surfing careers in the ESA including Kelly Slater, Lisa Anderson and CJ Hobgood.
- East Coast Motions Volume 1This clip from a larger documentary of the same title by Bryan Murray includes footage of the 1985 Record Bar Pro-Am ASP Surf Tour at Wrightsville Beach.
- 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.
- Surfing Footage from the North Carolina Maritime MuseumThis video was created by the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort as part of an exhibit on the history of surfing in North Carolina. It contains historical footage of surfers and surf contests at Kitty Hawk, Buxton, and Atlantic Beach, 1966-1974
- North Carolina’s Surfing History (lecture by Ben Wunderly)Join Associate Museum Curator Benjamin Wunderly for a look at wave riding Carolina-style as we discuss the results of research into our state’s role in the history of surfing from records dating back into the 19th century up to more modern events.
- Surfing Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks - Museum of the Albemarle "History for Lunch" SeriesLocal surfing historian Tony Lillis chronicles the rich history of surfing along Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks from the early twentieth century, when world travelers brought home tales of Hawaiian surfing, the heyday of the 1960s and into the twenty-first century.
- The History of Surfing on the Outer Banks of North Carolina by Ken MannThe history of surfing on the Outer Banks of NC. On OBXTV