When you next pass through or near Wilmington, North Carolina, look on your map and find Maco, a little whistle stop 20 or 30 miles west of the coast. Stop for a cup of coffee and ask about the Maco Light.   Story is that the light is really Joe Baldwin just looking for his head!

     Legend has it that sometime in the 1860s, a railroad man named Joe Baldwin was hit by a train and decapitated.  Not long after, a light began to appear along the tracks at Maco Station.  It would sway back and forth, and then it would drop into the swamp and glow.

     Back around 1969 or 70, I was passing through the area and having lived in Raleigh a few years earlier and knowing something about the legend, made it a point to stop and look for the light.  We pulled off the road about a half mile from town and stood at the railroad crossing and looked back towards town.  It wasn't very long before a fairly strong light appeared in the distance and began swaying back and forth, just as the story told.

     We watched for awhile and then began to walk down the tracks towards the light.  After we walked 20 or 30 yards it disappeared.  We walked in the other direction towards the crossing and it reappeared.  Anytime we walked towards it, it would disappear again.  No way was we going to get close to it.

     After awhile we grew tired of the game and left.  But we had seen the Maco Light and were now believers.  If you have seen the light and would like to tell others of your experience please write to:

Pete Jefferson

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