The Town of Corolla

Soft sand on wide beaches, an occasional shipwreck half buried in the sand, a lighthouse and a picturesque early 20th century village are part of the magic of Corolla. Extending north from its border with the village of Duck, this is one of the most popular places to visit on the Outer Banks.

Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Currituck Sound to the west, the Algonquin Indians were the first residents of the area, giving the northern most Outer Banks sound its name. The word Currituck is a derivation of “coratank,” meaning wild goose.

Located in the heart of the Atlantic flyway, Currituck Sound has always been a place of extraordinary abundance. The waters attract thousands of migratory waterfowl every year., and it was that bounty of duck, geese and swan that first brought the Corolla area to the nation’s attention. There were at one time as many as 50 hunt clubs dotting the shoreline of Currituck Sound, beginning in 1857, when the Currituck Club, just north of Duck was founded.

The hunt clubs are almost all gone now—there are, perhaps, two or three left; migratory waterfowl still flock to the waters of the sound, but not at all in the number they once did. Although overhunting played a role in their decline, it was just one of a number of factors that led to the end of the hunt club era.

The area got its name from an 1895 US Postal Service request that local residents come up with a name for a new post office. The Currituck Beach Lighthouse had been illuminating the sea for 20 years, the Jones Hill Lifesaving Station at its base was well-established, and what had been barely a hamlet had become a very small, but thriving, village.

Currituck Beach was suggested, but rejected because there was a Currituck Post Office on the mainland. Jones Hill was also submitted. No on knows why it wasn’t accepted. Finally, hoping to make the area seem more enticing, the petal of a flower was suggested and the Corolla Post Office came into existence.

There were at one time a number of small communities dotting the Currituck Banks.

The communities were centered around the five Lifesaving Service Stations that offered regular jobs to the local watermen. North of Jones Hill there was Wash Woods and Penny’s Hill. To the south was Poyner’s Hill and Caffey’s Inlet at the north end of Duck.

The Lifesaving Service was the predecessor of the US Coast Guard.

Corolla—How to get here

There is only one way to get to Corolla—go north. After crossing one of the three bridges that connect the Outer Banks with the mainland—the Wright Memorial, Virginia Dare or William Umstead Bridge—go to the intersection of US 158 and NC 12 and head north.

Most people arrive on the Outer Banks using the Wright Memorial Bridge. There is a very small private runway, but there are no regularly scheduled flights to it.