NORTH CAROLINA REGISTER OF HISTO

NORTH CAROLINA REGISTER OF HISTORIC VESSELS

In 1993 the Council established the North Carolina Register of Historic Vessels to recognize historically significant extant North Carolinian watercraft. The Register is operated by the North Carolina Maritime Museum and administered by the Council.

To be considered historically significant, a vessel must: -

A. Be associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of the history of North Carolina; or

B. Be associated with the lives of persons significant in North Carolina's past; or

C. Embody characteristics that:

are distinctive of a type, period, or method of construction in North Carolina; or

represent the work of a North Carolina master; or possess high artistic value attributable to North Carolina artisans or traditional practices; or

represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction but have significant North Carolina associations; or

D. Have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in North Carolina's prehistory or history.

The above criteria are adapted from the Secretary of the Interior's "Standards for Historic Vessel Preservation Projects" (May, 1990). In their original form they are meant to apply to vessels of national historical significance and are treated in more detail in National Register Bulletin #20, "Nominating Historic Vessels and Shipwrecks to the National Register of Historic Places." The wording of the criteria for historical significance has been modified to restrict the criteria to vessels associated with North Carolina.

Special Cases

The criteria under "C" above should be understood to be applicable to vessels built in North Carolina for owners and/or service outside the state. Likewise, vessels with origins outside North Carolina may be eligible if they meet at least one criterion in either "A" or "B" above.

Replicas and Historical Reconstructions

Vessels of this type may be eligible for listing on the North Carolina Register of Historic Vessels. They will be evaluated on the basis of what they are intended to represent, using the eligibility standards for historic vessels, and on the research upon which the reconstruction was based.