Northern Outer Banks
Carova NC
2021

1660s - A small group of North Carolina and Virginia settlers discover and settle in the Corolla and Carova region. 1728 - As state lines become established amidst heated arguments, a "line in the sand" is drawn in northern Carova Beach, marking the Virginia / North Carolina border.

https://www.carovabeach.info/history.html

Carova's history is unique along the Outer Banks. The 4WD region was one of the first areas of North Carolina to be explored by European settlers, but remained one of the least developed regions during the centuries that followed.


Historians estimate that Spanish ships began cruising past the northern Currituck Banks as early as the late 1400s, and set foot on the barrier island coastline in the 1500s. This presence led directly to the establishment of the famed Corolla Wild Horses, as many experts believe that the herd was either left behind during an ill-fated settlement attempt led by Spanish explorer Lucas Vasquez de Allyon, and / or were thrown overboard during treacherous sailing conditions.

Regardless of their exact roots, the wild horses survived and thrived in the centuries that followed, with a population of hundreds of wild horses recorded over the years.

In fact, the wild horse population was arguably larger than the local human population for much of the Currituck Banks' early years. Hardy settlers first started appearing along the Northern Outer Banks shoreline as early as the 1660s, but the population rarely grew over the next several centuries.

The Carova region finally experienced a minor boost during the mid-1800s, however, when five Lifesaving Service Stations were established to guide and assist mariners travelling offshore, and the 1876 Currituck Beach Lighthouse was constructed and completed.

Visiting hunters and fishermen began to discover the region as well, and by the early 1900s, a number of locals were making money by serving as area guides to the new influx of sportsmen. Unfortunately, as legislation was enacted to restrict hunting and fishing, and the Lifesaving Stations were no longer needed, the population in Carova began to taper off slowly, but noticeably, in the early to mid-1900s. By the 1960s and 1970s, an estimated 15 residents lived in the rugged area north of Corolla.

This all changed in 1984, when paving began on the new NC Highway 12. This road, which led all the way to northern Corolla, introduced a while new crop of visitors to the area, and developers began to take notice.

While plans were initially in the works to develop Carova to be similar to Corolla, (which was exploding with new homes and businesses), locals weren't pleased with the idea of turning the region into a busy beach town, and the government and concerned community members stepped in to restrict new building.

Two new wildlife refuges were established in the mid-1980s, the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge and the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve, which effectively made it impossible to extend the paved road past the Corolla border.

The remaining herd of wild horses, which was now in danger due to the massive influx of traffic, was also shuttled north to live in Carova where development was minimal at most.

As more vacationers discovered the 4WD area, a burst of new vacation rental homes began to pop up along the shoreline in the 2000s. These properties were among the biggest vacation rentals on the Outer Banks, and featured 10, 12, or even more than 20 bedrooms. Even so, thanks to building restrictions that forbid commercial businesses, and roughly 5,000 acres of protected government land, Carova still remains isolated and unpopulated, and is heralded as one of the most pristine and unspoiled regions of the Outer Banks.

Carova Beach, North Carolina has a rich history that includes Spanish exploration, the establishment of the Corolla Wild Horses, and the development of the community.