Due to its remote location on the Currituck Outer Banks, the Whalehead Club has been used in various ways for national defense. Shortly after Ray T. Adams purchased this property, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) and the U.S. . . . — — Map (db m82188) HM
With its gracious proportions, unusual pink color, and sloping rooflines, the Corolla Island boathouse built by Edward Collings Knight Jr. and his wife complemented their main house.
Even more than the main house, the boathouse was the center . . . — — Map (db m10433) HM
On Corolla Village Road, on the left when traveling north.
Currituck Outer Bankers depended on the land and the water for their livelihoods. Besides waterfowl hunting and fishing, the Sound provided an important transportation route to and from the Currituck mainland and up and down the Banks. The first . . . — — Map (db m91802) HM
On Corolla Village Road at Persimmon Street, on the left when traveling north on Corolla Village Road.
Historic Corolla Chapel
In 1885, the Corolla community formed an inter-denominational congregation in Corolla Village and built the original one-room chapel. Circuit-riding preachers were sent to the Village by horse and buggy by way of the . . . — — Map (db m91795) HM
On Corolla Village Road at Schoolhouse Lane, on the left when traveling south on Corolla Village Road.
Twiddy & Company began preservation in Corolla Village in 1986. The first effort was the Kill Devil Hills Lifesaving Station built in 1878. Relocation from the original oceanfront site was a requirement of the sale, so the station was moved to . . . — — Map (db m76660) HM
Near Ocean Trail (State Highway 12) near Club Road.
When Edward Collings Knight Jr. and his wife, Marie-Louise leBell, purchased this property in 1922, the Lighthouse Club, a hunting club, already existed on land just to the south. After the Knights completed a new private residence in 1925, they . . . — — Map (db m10437) HM
On Schoolhouse lane at Corolla Village Road, on the left when traveling west on Schoolhouse lane.
Restoration began in the fall of 1999, revealing wonderful insights into life in this isolated coastal village.
Upon raising the building to repair rotten sills, workers discovered ship timbers in the foundation that were salvaged from . . . — — Map (db m10434) HM
On Corolla Village Road at Schoolhouse Lane, on the left when traveling south on Corolla Village Road.
Establishing the First Unified Corolla School
The Corolla Schoolhouse was built circa 1890 by residents Sol Sanderlin and Val Twiford and established as the first unified Corolla school in 1905. The County's one-room schoolhouse accepted . . . — — Map (db m76658) HM
On Corolla Village Road, 0.1 miles west of Ocean Trail (North Carolina Highway 12), on the right when traveling west.
On December 1, 1875, the beacon of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse filled the remaining "dark spot" on the North Carolina coast between the Cape Henry light to the north and Bodie Island to the south. To distinguish the Currituck Beach Lighthouse . . . — — Map (db m114514) HM
On Village Lane, 0.2 miles north of Club Road, on the left when traveling west.
A Working Lighthouse
On December 1, 1875 the beacon of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse filled the remaining "dark space" on the North Carolina coast between the Cape Henry Lighthouse to the north and Bodie Island Lighthouse to the . . . — — Map (db m114498) HM
When the last inlet to Currituck Sound closed in 1828, the water began to change. As rain, rivers, and streams poured in to the sound, the water became less salty and tall-grass marsh and wild celery attracted large flocks of migratory waterfowl in . . . — — Map (db m10686) HM
The Whalehead Club has always been associated with wealth and leisure pursuits. When Edward Collings Knight Jr. and his wife, Marie-Louise LeBel, built their residence here in the 1920s, they made it as opulent as possible. The estate included the . . . — — Map (db m10687) HM
On Corolla Boulevard (State Highway 12) at Schoolhouse Lane, on the left when traveling north on Corolla Boulevard.
The Kill Devil Hills Life Saving Station was built in 1878, one of 11 stations erected along the Outer Banks at the turn of the century. At that time, the lifesaving service relied on members of the local community to bravely respond to the frequent . . . — — Map (db m91796) HM
Near Ocean Trail (State Highway 12) at North Beach Access Road, on the left when traveling north.
Brackish Marsh
According to the description found in William Byrd’s diary from 1728, Currituck Banks was a wind-swept, overwash island that was sparsely vegetated with low shrubs and salt-tolerant red cedar. At that time, inlets opened . . . — — Map (db m79866) HM
When Ray T. Adams bought this estate for just $25,000 in 1940, he dreamed of opening a hunt club and selling parcels of land for real estate. He changed the name to the Whalehead Club and invited potential investors, politicians (including Dwight . . . — — Map (db m10688) HM
Architectural drawings suggest that the caretaker's residence dates to the 1920s and was designed to house two families who worked for the Knights. Cleveland lewark, chief hunting guide and superintendent of the property, lived in one side of the . . . — — Map (db m10689) HM
Due to excellent wildfowl hunting conditions in the second half of the 19th century, private hunt clubs owned most of the land on the Currituck Outer Banks. In 1874 a group of wealthy Northeaster industrialists build the Lighthouse Club just south . . . — — Map (db m10690) HM
Near Ocean Trail (State Highway 12) near Club Road.
Constructing the Residence
In 1922, Edward Collings Knight, Jr. and Marie-Louise LeBel Knight purchased this property for its access to excellent waterfowl hunting and to entertain guests. They named the property "Corolla Island" due to the . . . — — Map (db m79260) HM
On Ocean Trail (State Highway 12) at Club Road on Ocean Trail.
After second owner Ray T. Adams died in 1957, the Whalehead Club was used as a summer boy's school, housed a rocket fuel testing facility, and was proposed for resort development. With restoration in mind, Currituck County purchased the club in . . . — — Map (db m10691) HM
Near Village Lane, 0.3 miles west of Ocean Trail (State Highway 12), on the left when traveling west.
Waterfowl hunting is an essential piece of Currituck history and culture. Hunting accelerated rapidly during the 19th century and is a proud tradition carried on by many Currituck natives.
Market Hunting
In the mid 19th . . . — — Map (db m114497) HM
The Knights did not choose this location for their hunting retreat randomly. It sits on the Atlantic Flyway, a primary migratory route for waterfowl. Currituck, as in Currituck County, comes from the Native American work carotank or "land of the . . . — — Map (db m10719) HM
On Corolla Village Road, 0.1 miles west of Ocean Trail (North Carolina Highway 12), on the left when traveling west.
Where land and water meet.
Once considered worthless, North Carolina’s wetlands are now recognized as priceless resources for their roles in conserving water and providing habitat for wildlife.
What good is a Wetland? . . . — — Map (db m76669) HM
