Ben Dixon MacNeill Photographs, AV.5182

394 black and white photographic prints, 8 x 10, plus two binders of negatives.

Prints were made from original negatives in August and September of 1997. Subjects include, but are not limited to The Lost Colony, including cast and crew, Paul Green, Coast Guard, Manteo, including the 1939 Manteo fire.

Ben Dixon MacNeill was a newspaper correspondent, photographer, and writer active in North Carolina in the first half of the 20th century.. He served as the publicist for Paul Green's outdoor drama, The Lost Colony, and resided on the Outer Banks for the latter part of his life. His 1958 book, "The Hatterasman," won the Mayflower Cup. This collection consists of photographs MacNeill captured in the Outer Banks region prior to the end of World War II. Subjects include, but are not limited to The Lost Colony, including cast and crew, Paul Green, Coast Guard, Manteo, including the 1939 Manteo fire.

Ben Dixon MacNeill was born near Laurinburg, North Carolina, 21 November 1889. After a brief tenure as a teacher, he joined the Wilmington Morning Star as a reporter. After spending three years as a machine gun instructor during World War I he became city editor of the Morning Star. In 1920 MacNeill took a job with the News and Observer in Raleigh, covering state government, the General Assembly and other assignments. Impressed with his skill of enlivening the tedious, News and Observer editor Josephus Daniels assigned MacNeill as a roving state correspondent. He remained with the News and Observer writing his popular column "Cellar and Garret" until 1931, when, after the death of his father, MacNeill returned home to assist with the family business. After that, he wrote special features for the People's Advocate in Fayetteville. In 1937 MacNeill became the publicist for Paul Green's The Lost Colony. Operating from the John White Cottage at the Old Fort Raleigh complex, he wrote numerous articles that have been attributed to the play's early success. During the Colony's wartime hiatus, MacNeill returned to the Army as a public relations officer at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He resumed his duties with the Lost Colony in 1946, the first postwar season. Soon afterwards he retired to Hatteras Island to write. In 1958 his book, "The Hatterasman," won the Mayflower Cup. He died in his Buxton cottage 26 May 1960.

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