Northern Outer Banks – History of Corolla

Corolla (pronounced Kuh-RAH-Luh) is a small town on the northern tip of the Outer Banks. With such a unique name, many wonder what it means and where it came from. Pilotonline.com is offering some help to these questions. So, what’s in a name?

Corolla is a destination for tens of thousands of vacationers every year, but it hasn’t always been such a vacation mecca. It is believed that the town was a sort of whaling community some 200 years ago. For more than a hundred years, residents made their living through hunting and gathering. By the late 1800s, wealthy businessmen from the north would pay locals to show them the best hunting spots in the area. The Currituck Lighthouse was constructed in 1875, and soon after The United States Lifesaving Service built stations along the beaches to help spot ships that were in trouble. At this time in Corolla’s history, only 150 people lived there, according to “The Heritage of Currituck County” published by the Albemarle Genealogical Society.

The town officially took the name Corolla in 1895 when a post office opened in the community. The name was chosen to refer to the botanic term for the petals of a flower.

The area remained sparsely populated until 1984 when the state began to pave the existing roads. After that it was only a matter of time until construction took off, and the town grew from a few dozen homes to 3174 homes…and the rest is vacation memory history.

Corolla is an exceptional vacation destination with wide, clean beaches and a great balance of peaceful relaxation and fun local activities/attractions, including wild horses, lighthouse tours, quaint boutiques, great local dining, and much more.