The Pea Island Preservation Society, Inc. created "Freedmen, Surfmen, Heroes" as a dynamic educational initiative featuring a live, engaging presentation that brings this history to life. The program highlights the heroic role of surfmen on the Outer Banks and the remarkable unity that existed between Black and white surfmen at a time when such cooperation was rare in American history. It is a story the community, the state, and the nation can be proud of.

For the past year, we have shared this presentation with 4th graders in Dare County and with locals and visitors at the North Carolina Aquarium. Our goal is to make this unique chapter of Outer Banks history widely known across North Carolina and beyond.

A Story Rooted in Freedom and Community

The story of Pea Island begins long before the lifesaving station was built. It begins with the people of Roanoke Island—men and women who emerged from the Civil War determined to build new lives, new communities, and new futures. Many were part of the Freedmen’s Colony, a remarkable Reconstruction-era settlement where formerly enslaved families established schools, churches, and a self?sustaining community rooted in resilience and hope.

From this environment came a generation of skilled watermen who knew the sounds, tides, and storms of the Outer Banks better than anyone. Their knowledge of the sea, combined with the discipline learned through military service and community leadership, shaped the men who would later serve at the Pea Island Lifesaving Station.

A New Kind of Service

When the U.S. Life-Saving Service appointed Richard Etheridge as Keeper in 1880, it marked a turning point. Etheridge—born enslaved on Roanoke Island and later a sergeant in the U.S. Colored Troops—brought a level of training, order, and professionalism that transformed the station. But the strength of Pea Island did not rest on one man alone. It rested on the surfmen who served beside him.

These were fishermen, boatbuilders, farmers, and laborers—ordinary men who performed extraordinary work. Their days were defined by drills, patrols, and constant readiness. Their nights were spent scanning the horizon for ships in distress. They worked in isolation, far from towns or crowds, relying on one another with absolute trust.

Courage in the Most Dangerous Waters

The waters off Pea Island were unforgiving. Storms could rise without warning, and shipwrecks were common along the Graveyard of the Atlantic. The surfmen launched into the breakers with only oars, strength, and skill to guide them. Their rescues demanded precision, endurance, and a willingness to risk their own lives for strangers.

The most famous of these rescues occurred in 1896, when the crew saved all nine people aboard the schooner E.S. Newman during a violent storm. It was one of many acts of bravery carried out by the Pea Island surfmen—acts that often went unrecognized during their lifetimes.

A Legacy Carried Forward

After Etheridge’s death in 1900, the station continued to be manned by African American Keepers and surfmen for nearly half a century. Their names—Bowser, Wescott, Irving, Pruden, Berry, Collins, and many others—represent generations of service shaped by discipline, community, and deep knowledge of the sea.

These men were not only lifesavers. They were descendants of the Freedmen’s Colony, stewards of their community, and carriers of a legacy that blended freedom, skill, and courage in a way unmatched in American maritime history.

Why Their Story Matters

The Pea Island surfmen stood at the intersection of Reconstruction, racial history, and maritime tradition. Their service challenged expectations, defied prejudice, and demonstrated what excellence looks like when people are given the opportunity to lead.

Their story is not just a chapter in local history—it is a national story of resilience, leadership, and the enduring strength of a community shaped by freedom.