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District Facts
- The district spans from Currituck, the most northeastern part of North Carolina, down to Onslow County. According to the American Community Survey, the 3rd District is home to over 686,863 North Carolinians.
- Camp Lejeune, located in Onslow County, is home to 40,000 Marines and Sailors. In total, the installation surrounding community is home to an active duty, dependent, retiree and civilian employee population of approximately 180,000 people. Cherry Point, in Havelock, North Carolina, is home to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and houses 7,500 Marines.
- The Outer Banks of the 3rd District is also an area of immense historical significance. It is where, in 1903, the first powered flight took place in Kitty Hawk by Wilbur and Orville Wright. More historical importance lies on Roanoke Island in Dare County, where the colony of English settlers, famously called 'The Lost Colony', mysteriously disappeared in the late 16th century. Over 400 years later, their fate still has yet to be uncovered.
- New Bern, North Carolina, where Pepsi Cola was created in 1898, is home to many historical landmarks. Most notable of these is Tryon Palace which was built for the Royal Governor William Tryon in 1770. It was the location of the first sessions of the general assembly for the State of North Carolina following the revolution and housed the state governors until 1794. Author Nicholas Sparks resides in New Bern and also uses the city as the settings of his nationally bestselling books and movies.
- The biggest university in the 3rd district is East Carolina University, located in Greenville, North Carolina. It spans 1,600 acres and is where over 27,000 students are currently receiving their education.
- Cape Hatteras National Seashore, established 1934, comprising Hatteras, Bodie, and Ocracoke islands. One of the largest stretches of undeveloped seashore on Atlantic Coast. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which stands at 208-feet, is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. Built originally in 1803, it was removed in 1936 due to beach erosion and later relocated farther inland.
- Wild ponies still run wild along the coast of North Carolina. These are the descendants of Spanish Mustangs which survived early shipwrecks. Historical research records the horses here as early as 1523.
- The coast of the Outer Banks is a graveyard for over 500 shipwrecks, including a German U-85 submarine from World War II. Also laid to rest is the ironclad warship known as the Monitor, which is best known for its battle with the Confederate ironclad Virginia in the Battle of Hampton Roads in March of 1862. Pirate history and lore plays a prominent tale in the history of eastern North Carolina, where Edward Teach (or more infamously known as Blackbeard the Pirate) lied, pirated, and died.
