Barbara Pardue is a local historian and runs a Facebook page called, Northern Outer Banks History. Her blood lines run deep on the Northern Outer Banks and her passion for the history is unmatched. She was first bitten by the history bug by a grandfather who shared numerous stories and this led to her own, personal research. She started the Facebook page to share this knowledge and research with her family.

In this interview, Barbara shares stories of murder, gold bars, brothels, a Revolutionary hero, Blackbeard, the Ash Wednesday Storm, and more. Before we sat down and recorded, Barbara was nice enough to give me a quick tour of the area where she lives in Swan Beach. She showed me where the Currituck Inlet used to be, where the L.R. White Summer Hotel once stood, and where she lives when she’s in town. These places are located on private property so I was privileged to see them in-person.

Funny side note: Before Barbara and I started the recording we were getting to know each other and we found out we both used to live in the same area of Prince George’s County in Maryland. As I was walking out of the restaurant the manager said he heard me talking about Prince George’s County and he told me he was from Bowie, which is also in PG County. I should mention we were the only three people in the restaurant when we showed up. And we’re all from PG County. What are the chances?

Big thanks to Barbara Pardue for sitting down with me. You can find her on Facebook at Northern Outer Banks History.