In 1874, Cape Hatteras became the location of the second North Carolina Coastal weather station. After being housed in a myriad of locations, Hatteras Weather Bureau Station was officially commissioned on January 1, 1902 and moved into the newly built station on the same day. Hatteras Weather Bureau Station suffered through extensive damage to the storm warning tower in 1933 from a Hurricane. In 1946, the station was decommissioned.

In the ensuing years, the building has seen many different sorts of activities, including spending time as a US Coast Guard location, a site for a Marine Biology lab and even a residence for staff of the National Park Service-Cape Hatteras National Seashore. In 1999, Hurricane Dennis swept through Cape Hatteras and damaged the remaining pieces of the storm warning tower. The Hatteras Weather Bureau Station now stands as a landmark to the history of Cape Hatteras with its new purpose as a Visitor’s Welcome Center, operated by Outer Banks Visitors Bureau in conjunction with the National Park Service.

As the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau and National Park Service were working to restore the 1901 building to usable conditions, a piece of history came to light. This piece of history, had it been followed up on, could have changed a significant event in the history of the world.

Ever wondered where all those CQD calls from the Titanic went?

CQD stands for Come Quickly Distressed, the term used in the past as an SOS call. In fact, the CQD sent by the Titanic on April 14, 1912 was the last time this specific call was used. Shortly thereafter, the CQD was changed to SOS.

What does this have to do with the Hatteras Weather Bureau Station?

As one of the Weather Bureau Stations along the East Coast, the Hatteras Weather Bureau Station picked up the CQD call. Richard Dailey, the agent on duty, recorded the wireless telegraph in his daily log. Although accounts state Daily did all he could to rouse his superiors to respond, it is said they naysaid him and sent him home to bed. The truth is lost somewhere in history, just as the CQD call was until one day in 2005.

During renovations, the building crew came across piles of papers and newspapers in the walls. In the early 1900s, it was common to use papers and newspapers as insulation in the walls to keep the interior temperature at a comfortable level. During examination of these papers and newspapers, Richard Dailey’s daily log was unearthed and there, in black and white, was an entry of enormous historical import.

The CQD from the Titanic.

It has been little more than a century since the sinking of the Titanic. On April 8, 2012, the MS Balmoral set sail following the same course as the RMS Titanic on a Titanic Memorial Cruise. During the cruise, Balmoral was scheduled to hit the exact spot of the Titanic‘s collision with an iceberg at 11:40 pm on April 14, 2012 – exactly one hundred years later. At 2:20 am on April 15, 2012, a memorial service for the 1,517 lost lives was held at the exact time the ship went down. Following the memorial service, Balmoral continued its cruise to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to the Fairview Lawn Cemetery where 121 victims of the Titanic are laid to rest.

Until May 31, 2012, the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras, North Carolina, has on display a piece of the historic sinking of the Titanic:

Richard Dailey’s daily log book excerpt with the CQD from the Titanic.

Known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the Hatteras Weather Bureau Station’s location and importance in Atlantic maritime events at the time of the Titanic sinking meant it could have directly impacted the events of that night. It is entirely possible the passing on of this information could have potentially saved many of the victims on the Titanic. By ignoring the CQD call, the superiors of Hatteras Weather Bureau Station helped play a hand, however small, in the fate of the Titanic.

During your stay on the Outer Banks, take a day trip to Hatteras Island. Stop by the Hatteras Weather Bureau Station, now open as an Outer Banks Welcome Center. Swing by the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station. And if you’re on the Outer Banks in May of 2012, don’t forget to visit the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum for a look at a piece of history which could have changed the world, if only it hadn’t been ignored.