. . . The townscape of Beaufort is a straightforward expression of its history: since the early eighteenth century Beaufort has been a small, unpretentious, and rather isolated maritime village, depending upon the sea for its livelihood from fishing, shipbuilding, shipping, resort trade, and marine research. The most striking element of the sea-oriented town is its waterfront with its impressive rows of houses, its wharves and boats. . . . Fortunately avoiding rapid growth or decay as well as the twentieth-century temptation of quaintness, Beaufort has a picturesqueness made the more valuable by its honest simplicity. The town is a unique and important part of the history and architectural character of America's eastern seaboard. . . .
