Beaufort ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1709, Established in 1713 and incorporated in 1723, Beaufort is the third oldest town in North Carolina (after Bath, New Bern). The population was 4,464 at the 2020 census.

Beaufort is located in North Carolina's "Inner Banks" region. The town is home to the North Carolina Maritime Museum, the Duke University Marine Laboratory (Nicholas School of the Environment), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research. It is also the location of the Rachel Carson Reserve, part of the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve system. It is sometimes confused with a city of the same name in South Carolina; the two are distinguished by different pronunciations. In June 1718, Blackbeard the pirate ran his flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge and his sloop Adventure, aground near present-day Beaufort Inlet, NC. The Queen Anne's Revenge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 with the reference number 04000148. Thirty-two years later, in August 1750, at least three Spanish merchantmen ran aground in North Carolina during a hurricane. One of the three, the El Salvador, sank near Cape Lookout. In the colonial period, Port Beaufort exported tar, pitch, turpentine, crafts of wood, and corn, especially to the West Indies.

Geography

Beaufort is located south of the center of Carteret County. It is located near Beaufort Inlet, a channel leading south to the Atlantic Ocean. To the west is the tidal Newport River, separating the town from Morehead City. To the east is the unincorporated neighborhood of Lenoxville, extending to the North River<!-- *not* North River (North Carolina) or North River (Albemarle Sound) -->, another tidal river.

U.S. Route 70 passes through Beaufort, leading west across the Newport River to Morehead City and northeast to its end in the town of Atlantic.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Beaufort has a total area of , of which is land and , or 17.75%, is water.

Demographics

thumbnail|Carteret County Courthouse in Beaufort

2020 census

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"

|+Beaufort racial composition

!scope="col"| Race

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Percentage

|-

!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)

| 3,608

| 80.82%

|-

!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

| 499

| 11.18%

|-

!scope="row"| Native American

| 7

| 0.16%

|-

!scope="row"| Asian

| 44

| 0.99%

|-

!scope="row"| Pacific Islander

| 4

| 0.09%

|-

!scope="row"| Other/Mixed

| 181

| 4.05%

|-

!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino

| 121

| 2.71%

|}

As of the 2020 census, Beaufort had a population of 4,464. The median age was 51.6 years. 13.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 28.8% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 83.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 81.1 males age 18 and over.

98.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.9% lived in rural areas.

There were 2,273 households in Beaufort, including 1,071 family households. Of all households, 17.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 35.5% were married-couple households, 19.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 39.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 42.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. – There is also a former Beaufort Elementary Campus.

  • Beaufort Middle School
  • Beaufort students attend East Carteret High School, – located north of town

Charter schools include:

  • Tiller School
  • Middle school
  • High school

Higher education

  • Nicholas School of the Environment Marine Lab

Transportation

Highways

  • US 70
  • NC 101

Airport

  • Michael J. Smith Field

Culture

thumb|A horse-drawn carriage in front of the North Carolina Maritime Museum

Beaufort hosts several annual events, including:

  • Beaufort Music Festival
  • North Carolina Maritime Museum Wooden Boat Show
  • BARTA Fishing Tournament
  • Beaufort Pirate Invasion
  • Beaufort Wine and Food Festival

Beaufort is also home to the Carteret County main public library.

Honors and designations

  • On February 1, 2012, Beaufort was ranked as "America's Coolest Small Town" by readers of Budget Travel Magazine.
  • Beaufort NC was named a 2015 Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation in honor of its commitment to effective urban forest management.

Sister cities

According to Beaufort Sister Cities, Inc., the city of Beaufort has 19 sister cities:

  • Beaufort, Victoria, Australia
  • Beaufort, Haute-Garonne, France
  • Beaufort, Hérault, France
  • Beaufort, Isère, France
  • Beaufort, Jura, France
  • Beaufort, Nord, France
  • Beaufort-Blavincourt, France
  • Beaufort-en-Argonne, France
  • Beaufort-en-Santerre, France
  • Beaufort-en-Vallée, France&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
  • Beaufort-sur-Doron, France
  • Beaufort-sur-Gervanne, France
  • Chapdes-Beaufort, France
  • Montmorency-Beaufort, France
  • Beaufort, County Kerry, Ireland
  • Beaufort, Luxembourg
  • Beaufort, Sabah, Malaysia
  • Beaufort West, Western Cape, South Africa
  • Beaufort, Wales, United Kingdom

See also

  • Beaufort Historic Site
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Carteret County, North Carolina

References

  • Beaufort, NC info on InsiderInfo.Us
  • NOAA Beaufort Laboratory