An Outer Banks Vacation Tradition - A short history lesson
# 371 - Blue Tomatoes II
You may notice as you look through our selection of vacation homes that a good number of them have a gray-toned, weathered look to them. Some folks think this means the homes are old, but that is not always the case. Many new homes have been built with a deep sense of tradition and nostalgia in mind and they are most certainly some of the most well-equipped and modern vacation homes on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Let’s take a brief look at the history of our area to get a better idea of why homes are still built using these exteriors.
By the time North Carolina became a sovereign state in 1789 about 1,000 permanent residents made their homes on the Outer Banks. Most sailed south from the Tidewater area of Virginia or came from the Carolina mainland. These settlers lived primarily in two-story wooden structures with outdoor kitchens and latrines.
In the early 1800s malaria was common among mainland settlers along Carolina's coast. Physicians recommended escaping to the seaside for brisk breezes and salt air as a cure. People flocked to the area during the summers to rid themselves of “the fever”. That is how Nags Head became a resort destination in the early 1830s. In 1838 the first hotel was built near what is now Jockey's Ridge State Park. Guests arrived at the 200-room Nags Head Hotel from across the sounds on steamships and spent weeks enjoying the beaches and the hotel's formal dining room, ballroom, tavern, bowling alleys, and casino.
Wealthier visitors who wanted to stay the whole summer built their own vacation cottages on the barrier islands' central plains and eventually on oceanfront property. Since wood was readily available the walls of the cottages were constructed of 1 x 6 tongue-in-groove yellow pine, covered with heavy tar paper and finished mostly with red cedar shake. The qualities of cedar are numerous. It has lots of natural preservatives, natural insect repellants, has exceptional strength, a low ratio of expansion and contraction, is highly impermeable to rain and is low maintenance, characteristics that are hard to beat. Additionally, cedar shake perform exceptionally well in hurricane force winds and provide a high degree of thermal insulation. The shake turns its distinctive color very quickly, sometimes within just a year! That is why this gray weathered wood look is most commonly referred to as “the traditional Nags Head architectural style”.
Because these homes exude the essence of the rich and deep history of our area, they remain some of the most popular homes for vacationers to the Outer Banks. Examples of some of these fine “traditional style” homes are: 023, 025, 035, 072, 103, 135, 178, 186, 190, 341,343, 352, 371, 391, 408, 427, 469, 601, 612, 615, & 637. Visit the home page and click on the vacation search tool to view these homes and check for availability.
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