Museum of the Albemarle
Chris Barber’s recently published book, “When Ghosts Made Moonshine: Prohibition in the Albemarle,” uses newspaper articles to tell the stories of area moonshiners and bootleggers who violated the National Prohibition Act that went into effect in January 1920.
The Prohibition Act — informally known as the Volstead Act, after U.S. Rep. Andrew Volstead, R-Minnesota, who introduced it — prohibited the production, manufacture, and sale of intoxicating liquors. The federal agents hired to enforce the law gathered in Elizabeth City, the largest city or town in the region, to organize raids in the area.
Prohibition meant little to people who were struggling to feed their families on the heels of a depression that followed World War I. They saw an opportunity and took it. From 1920 until Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the secretive underground industry, aided by a network of clever, canny spies, presented a huge challenge for revenue agents. Moonshiners often received a tip that agents were on their way. Agents destroyed the stills but were not always able to arrest anyone.
Because the region is half land, half water, the Albemarle’s rivers and sounds served as highways of the day. Vessels of all sizes picked up supplies at Elizabeth City and carried them to moonshiners in surrounding counties.
Buffalo City, in East Lake, was the largest settlement on the Dare County mainland. Accessible only by boat, the area had more than a few moonshiners who ordered yeast, grain, sugar and five-gallon glass demijohns, sent boats to pick them up, and then sent boatloads of liquor out again. Some of these boatloads of liquor went to customers in Norfolk, or as far away as New York City.
East Lake liquor had come to the attention of agents in the early years of Prohibition. Several bootleggers were caught hauling East Lake whiskey through or around Elizabeth City, usually at night, often with a bit of moonlight.
Large amounts of moonshine meant there had to be several stills at that distant, isolated place. In a single raid in 1926, agents had 31 arrest warrants but captured no one. Spies in fast gas boats had raced ahead to warn moonshiners who then evaporated into the surrounding swamps like ghosts. During the Prohibition years, agents arrested fewer than a dozen men at East Lake.
Estimates in the latter years of Prohibition indicate that agents intercepted only a tenth of the moonshine that passed through the area. Vast amounts of East Lake liquor that reached customers in the north earned it a reputation as “sterling on silverware.”
Not all of East Lake’s customers were in the north. A load of that special brew in 131 five-gallon jugs was intercepted at Pea Ridge in Washington County early one morning in late November 1928. One customer had driven from Asheville, 376 miles away, to buy it.
The economic woes caused by the Great Depression led to stiff competition for moonshine customers. In Perquimans County, this struggle led to murder. Nearby, an agent was shot near Berea Church in Pasquotank County.
The tone of Prohibition had changed from the days when some men made liquor to feed their families. The economy had to be addressed. Prohibition’s days were doomed. Prohibition officially came to an end on Dec. 5, 1933, when the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect, repealing the 18th Amendment that had imposed Prohibition.
Looking for a fun moonshine experience in Elizabeth City? Join Elizabeth City Downtown, Inc., Visit Elizabeth City, Museum of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City Historic Neighborhood Association, Arts of the Albemarle, downtown businesses, and citizens for “Legends & Lore Moonshining in Elizabeth City” on Friday and Saturday, June 7-8, the Bourbon, Beer & Experience Event on Friday, June 7, and the thrilling Elizabeth City Moonshine Run on Saturday, June 8!
The Elizabeth City moonshine-themed scavenger hunt will incorporate elements of local lore, prohibition history, and interactive clues leading participants through the moonshine-making process. Both events are ticketed.
To purchase tickets for “Legends & Lore 2024 — Moonshining in Elizabeth City” visit TicketLeap: https://www.ticketleap.events/.../legends-lore-2024.
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