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In the center of Yancey County, sitting 2,800 feet above the sea, four hundred miles from the coast, is the small mountain town of Burnsville. The town is named to honor Otway Burns, eminent privateer from Swansboro and resident of Beaufort, who spent his last years on the island of Portsmouth as keeper of a lighthouse. Burns lost his local support and his seat in the Senate when he voted to give the western counties greater representation in the state's General Assembly.



In short, the Bankers were frequently more attuned to mountain culture and needs than to their much closer neighbors of the Piedmont and coastal plains. The geographical separation from the mainland is only part of the answer. The two cultures shared a mindset shaped and nurtured for centuries by a harsh environment that rendered all life uncertain and temporary.

On the other hand, Bankers do not think of themselves as isolated from or on the fringes of the modern world. They are very aware of their unique cultural heritage and are not averse to promoting its more obvious aspects before outlanders. As the modern world continues to intrude on the Outer Banks and their unfettered life rhythms, to the tune of a million visitors a year, that heritage may be the only common bond left to the islanders.