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–Not graded
History · Rodanthe

1 of Rodanthe’s places is on the National Register

Its Register listing is the Chicamacomico Life Saving Station. Most of Rodanthe was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1861 on.

1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Rodanthe’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Rodanthe’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rodanthe’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rodanthe’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCapture of the United States gun-boat F…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Rodanthe, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rodanthe yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Rodanthe ( roh-DAN-thee) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 213. Rodanthe, along with Waves and Salvo, are part of the settlement of Chicamacomico. Rodanthe includes the original Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station, decommissioned in 1954, but now a museum. Rodanthe is served by North Carolina Highway 12, which runs north–south through town. The Chicamacomico area is bordered to the north by Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and to the south by Cape Hatteras National Seashore, a situation which limits pote…

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 261 to 213 (-18%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Rodanthe, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Capture of the United States gun-boat Fanny at Chicamacomico, North Carolina by three rebel tug-boats1861Capture of the United States gun-boat Fanny at Chicam…
Today5 recent
Nights in Rodanthe house north side 20092009Nights in Rodanthe house north side 2009Nights in Rodanthe house foundation 2-20092009Nights in Rodanthe house foundation 2-2009Nights in Rodanthe house foundation 1-20092009Nights in Rodanthe house foundation 1-2009Despair - Flickr - smkybear2008Despair - Flickr - smkybearMirloBeachSign2007MirloBeachSign
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Capture of the United States gun-boat Fanny at Chicamacomico, North Carolina by three rebel tug-boats
Retake this viewCapture of the United States gun-boat Fanny at Chicamacomico, North Carolina by three rebel tug-boats, 1861

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Rodanthe’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Rodanthe

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Chicamacomico Life Saving Station
Chicamacomico Life Saving Station
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Shingle Style1
Chicamacomico Life Saving StationShingle Style

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
South RodantheUncle Jimmys Landing

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

WavesIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rodanthe’s history

What is on the National Register in Rodanthe?

One place: the Chicamacomico Life Saving Station (listed 1976).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.