Diamond City was a settlement on the eastern end of

Shackleford Banks Shackleford Banks is a barrier island system on the coast of Carteret County, North Carolina. It contains a herd of feral horses, scallop, crabs and various sea animals, including summer nesting by loggerhead turtles. It is a tourist and beach cam ...

, in

Carteret County, North Carolina Carteret County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,686. Its county seat is Beaufort. The county was created in 1722 as Carteret Precinct and gained county status in 1739. It was named fo ...

, United States. Due to the San Ciriaco hurricane that struck in August 1899, the approximately 500 residents of the settlement and island decided to move. The last of the residents had left by 1902, and even relocated houses to nearby places such as

Harkers Island Harkers Island is a census-designated place (CDP) in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population of Harkers Island was 1,207 at the 2010 census. Harkers Island is unincorporated and receives most public services, including law e ...

Salter Path Salter Path is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Carteret County, North Carolina, Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. A Crystal Coast community, it lies on Bogue Banks as an enclave within Indian Beach, North Carolin ...

and

Morehead City Morehead City is a port town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast. His ...

. Shackleford Banks is the westernmost island of the

Cape Lookout National Seashore Cape Lookout National Seashore preserves a 56-mile (90-km) long section of the Southern Outer Banks, or Crystal Coast, of North Carolina, USA, running from Ocracoke Inlet on the northeast to Beaufort Inlet on the southeast. Three undeveloped barrie ...

, which extends for 56 miles from Beaufort Inlet to

Ocracoke Inlet Ocracoke Inlet ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

. There are no bridges from the mainland to the site where Diamond City was located or any other part of the

. Visitors must ride a private boat or a passenger ferry to reach the undeveloped Shackleford Banks site.Cape Lookout National Seashore - Plan Your Visit (U.S. National Park Service)
/ref>

Whaling

Cape Lookout and the Shackleford Banks in North Carolina were the sites of the only shore-based

whaling station Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry a ...

s on the

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

south of New York. These locations were ideal for whaling because they were close to the

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Current, North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida a ...

, which was near the migration path of North Atlantic right and

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...

s. Between Cape Lookout and Shackleford Banks was the settlement of Diamond City, the largest town in the area with a permanent population of around 500.

References

Geography of Carteret County, North Carolina Ghost towns in North Carolina Whaling stations Whaling in the United States {{CarteretCountyNC-geo-stub

Whaling

Further reading

References