Came across a great article in the Virginia Pilot about a little piece of Dare County that was once a major hub in the moonshine making business in North Carolina.
Little is left of this former logging town on the Dare County mainland, which was born in Civil War times and morphed decades later into a haven for bootlegging moonshine makers. Its legacy survives in the aging memories of long-ago residents and a dusty gravel road through the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge that bears its name. Otherwise, Buffalo City today belongs to the swamp.
But while there are still memories to preserve and artifacts to collect, staff at the wildlife refuge are working to ensure that Buffalo City does not disappear altogether. At a new visitors center set to open next year, refuge officials plan to build a theater reminiscent of the general store where Buffalo City residents once shopped.
Its history dates from the mid-1800s through the 1950s, when the last Buffalo City residents deserted the town, about 20 miles west of Roanoke Island.In its heyday, Buffalo City boasted multiple logging companies, a hotel, a post office, railroad service and its own currency. It was once Dare County’s largest community.
By the late 1920s and early 1930s, however, with the logging industry losing steam, residents began making moonshine to survive. The illegal liquor was transported north by boat to places such as Elizabeth City.
Wildlife and habitat are the primary focus of the new visitors center that will soon be under construction on the northern end of Roanoke Island, near the entrance to Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. The Gateway Visitor Center, expected to open in spring or early summer next year, will introduce people to 11 refuges in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, including Buffalo City.
I feel an Outer Banks Treasure video in the works here. 
