Take a Walk Through Historic Beaufort, NC

ARCHITECTURAL TREASURES

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From the beginning, Beaufort was affected by those who traveled the seas. An international network of trade and communication provided a cultural influence unlike that of inland North Carolina—thus the growth of not only a unique maritime heritage but also an unequaled collection of architectural treasures.

Please scroll to VIEW IMAGES AND SNAPSHOTS OF HISTORIES. Expanded histories are included in Porchscapes, The Colors of Beaufort. Histories are also included on the backs of Warshaw's note cards. See Mary Warshaw Art Prints for these and other images.

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ARENDELL HOUSE circa 1847 - In 1828 Belcher Fuller willed lot #75 Old Town to his daughter Mary Leecraft. Thomas Noe sold it to the Guthrie family in 1874. From that time to the present, members of, or descendants of, the Guthrie family have occupied the home. Mildred Holland lived in this home for many years, until her death. Her husband was well-known Sheriff of Carteret County and the son of Mrs Hannah Guthrie Holland. In the late 1800’s, there was a millinery shop on the east side. Built exclusively with wooden peg construction, the structure retains the original stairs and variable width pine floors.

GIBBLE-DELAMAR HOUSE circa 1866 - Built in the Greek Revival style, this was the home of lumber dealer Jacob Gibble. He died in 1926 and left the house to his daughter Helen. She married William Delamar and the home became known as the Gibble-Delamar House, remaining in the family for 106 years. The artist’s recent correspondence with a descendant who revealed that both her grandmother and mother were both born in the front northeast room—both named Helen like so many before. For years it was the Delamar Inn. It is now the Old Seaport Inn.

ALLEN DAVIS HOUSE circa 1774 - The only double plaqued house in Beaufort, this home is named for Allen Davis, and Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, the Union commander of North Carolina troops during the Civil War. Burnside may have used it as his headquarters during the Federal occupation from 1861-1873. The home has been described as a Greek Revival enlargement of a smaller cottage, with decorative Gothic Revival porches.

BUCKMAN HOUSE circa 1848 - This home, with its long deep double porches, was said to have been a hotel during the Civil War--run by then owners Susan and David Wharton. It underwent dramatic changes during its long history--and eventually deteriorated into what appeared to be a state of disrepair. It was, however, rescued and has been beautifully restored to its original facade.

BELCHER FULLER HOUSE circa 1851 - This house, next door to the 1768 William Borden House (owned for years by the Fuller family) was perhaps built by Belcher Fuller, Jr., son on Belcher Fuller 1777-1828, and grandson of Nathan Fuller. Nathan Fuller, 1750-1800, served in the Revolutionary War as an ensign in the Carteret County Militia. Belcher Fuller, Sr. was a North Carolina state Senator from Carteret County for several years in the early 1800s. He was also a notary public, justice of the peace, and lieutenant colonel of militia in 1823.

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HATSELL HOUSE circa 1827 -At sunrise on April 25, 1862, it is said that Charity Hatchel and her 16 year old daughter Julia stood with Emmeline Pigott, a confederate spy, on the south end of her upper porch to watch the shelling at Fort Macon. Charity's son was helping to defend the fort. Belcher Fuller either built this house for his daughter, Charity, for a wedding present when she married Andrew Hatchel, or willed it to her at his death in 1828.

HAMMOCK HOUSE circa 1700 - If this porch could talk, it could bring to light much of the mystery and hauntedness that has surrounded it for over 300 years. At high tide, boats were tied to the front columns of this porch—towering on a hillock, twelve feet above sea level. The Hammock House was noted on many old maps as the “White House,” and stood as a landmark to guide mariners into the inlet.

WHEATLEY HOUSE circa 1891 - It is interesting to imagine sitting on this charming little cottage porch in the early 1900's--witnessing the train which used to run down Broad Street--as it first brought the outside world to Beaufort. This cottage was built by Charley Wheatley and his wife Emily Noe after Emily's father, Benjamin R. Noe, sold them some of his adjacent property for $75.

EASTON-HENRY HOUSE circa 1771 - Although the 1960s plaque identifies this wharf-front home as the Easton House, deed research indicates that the house was built for Jacob Henry about 1800. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic sites. Jacob Henry, an elected member of the NC Legislature in 1808, is well known for a speech he gave which helped lead the American fight for Constitutional religious freedom. Col. John Easton was a delegate to the Provincial Congress at Hillsboro in 1775, served in the American Revolutionary army, and led the town forces at the time of the British landing in 1782.

DUNCAN HOUSE circa 1817 - Although plaqued 1728, this gabled-roof Caribbean-style home was built by James Davis about 1817. With its unique position on the west end of Front Street it has had a front-row seat to much Beaufort history. After 1832 the west end was added when Thomas Duncan III bought this house from his father-in-law, Benjamin Tucker Howland. The lower level was used as a ship chandlery and the upper level added much needed living space for Thomas and Elicia Duncan’s thirteen children.

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OWINS-BEDFORD HOUSE circa 1730 - This very early cottage, built in New Town Beaufort, gets a lot of its charm and quaintness from having been built by "rack of eye" with no use of levels or squares. William Owins, a tailor, and Thomas Bedford, a carpenter, lived and worked here. At that time there was an unobstructed view of the water, except for the long-established camellias, pomegranates, and tamarisks shrubs.

JAMES NOE HOUSE circa 1828 - This home is a wonderful example of loving, documented restoration. The natural wood of the porch railings continues inside with the original pine floors, which span the 26-foot width of the home. The original chimney, old beams, and windows all accentuate the charm of this sea lovers’ retreat.

MASON COTTAGE circa 1904 - This charming "fisherman's cottage" is typical of the style that was built in Beaufort in the early 1900's. Although the home was actually constructed in 1904 by Joseph Mason, the porch columns and balustrades were "found objects" and added at a later date.

LEECRAFT HOUSE circa 1850 - This Greek Revival style home has features taken from books on architecture by Asher Benjamin. His influence is seen in its wide hall, broad staircase, large rooms with high ceilings, and distinctive woodwork.

REV. JOHN JONES HOUSE circa 1840 - This federal style home was built in 1840 by the Rev. John Jones. He lived there with his wife, Susan Bell Jones, and their seven children, until he sold it for $600 in 1874 to his second son Benjamin Leecraft Jones and his wife Orpha Gibbs Jones. Benjamin Jones was a captain in the Civil War, when it is said the home was used as a hospital.

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JOHN E. IRELAND HOUSE circa 1887 - Born in 1837 on Portsmouth Island, NC, Ireland came from a family of mariners. It is believed he built the two story house in 1887 on a section of the lot on the corner of Broad and Orange Streets, facing Broad Street, but later moved it to face Orange. In July of 1893, The New Bern Weekly Journal reported that Captain Ireland was feared lost with his ship, in a tremendous gale.

WATSON HALL - St. Paul’s School circa 1905 - This restored building was originally a part of St. Paul’s School on Ann Street in Beaufort, North Carolina. St. Paul’s School, whose cornerstone was laid in 1900, ceased operation in 1937 following the death of its founder/head mistress, Mrs. Nannie P. Geffroy. In the mid-1940’s when some of the school buildings were demolished, this building and two other buildings were moved to nearby locations and converted to private residences.

WARD-HANCOCK HOUSE circa 1726 (?) - Richard Rustull, Sr. was born in 1669 to William and Ann Austin Rustull, who had settled in Bath County in the early 1700’s. Richard married Margaret Bell. In 1720 Rustull purchased 780 acres from Robert Turner for 150 pounds. This acreage extended from North River to the Newport River and included the Beaufort land, platted in 1713. Rustull or a descendant may have built this house for his family. It became known locally as the Ward-Hancock.

ANN WADE HOUSE circa 1831 - The original part of this Beaufort cottage was known as a “story and a jump” - presumed to have been moved to this lot. It consisted of the entrance hall, a front room, and an attic. For its first hundred years, mostly women owned it. Although plaqued as being built in 1831, continued research on this home seems to point to its actually being much older.

DAVID RUMLEY HOUSE circa 1843 - This quaint, typical 1800’s cottage was moved from Shackleford Banks in 1943. The porch boasts round porch rails and chamfered posts. The wealth of original woodwork, beams, and hardware, found during restoration, creates strong suspicion that the house is much older than the date indicated.

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J.E. & E.C. WHITEHURST HOUSE circa 1892 - This home was built by a Whitehurst father and son. James E. Whitehurst, born circa 1831, was a house carpenter. In 1855 James married Frances A. Duncan. Their only son, Edward C. Whitehurst, was born in 1859 was noted in 1880 as a huckster, or peddler, living with his parents. Edward married Mary Noe in 1882.

JAMES H. POTTER (Jr.) HOUSE circa 1910 - James Hollister Potter, Sr. and Nannie Murray Potter built this home as a wedding present for one of their sons, James Hollister Potter, Jr., and his bride Ada Matilda Rhodes. James Jr. owned and operated Potters Grocery on Front Street for 70 years. Potters Emergency Hospital was above the grocery store in the 1930’s.

NELSON HOUSE circa 1790 - In 1875 Thomas Duncan sold this house and lot to John Hancock Nelson for $2000. John Hancock Nelson, born in 1814, was a direct descendant of Captain John Nelson, Jr., who was one of the first permanent settlers in what was to become Carteret County. John Hancock Nelson inherited Garbacon Plantation and was living there before he bought this house in Beaufort. After the death of his first wife, John Hancock Nelson married Mehitable Mason of Adams Creek. They decided to move to Beaufort in order to provide educational opportunities for their children.

JOHN M. WOLFE HOUSE circa 1895 - John M. Wolfe was born in 1861 to Johann Gottlieb Wolf and Alice Wolf. The elder Wolf, born in 1816, a baker by trade, emigrated from

Germany

in 1853. Their oldest son, John M. Wolfe, was a jeweler who repaired watches, turned barber with a barber shop. John Wolfe died in 1948 at the age of 87 after living over a half century in this Orange Street house. Many Beaufort locals, however, remember this home as the “Swain house” due to Mamie Wolfe’s marriage to Lynn Swain.

JAMES DAVIS HOUSE circa 1829 - James Davis and Elizabeth Adams were married in 1803 and had 12 children, many of whom were born in their 1817 house on Ann Street. In 1829 James Davis built this saltbox-style home on Moore Street. It is unique in Beaufort with its center chimney, five fireplaces, and full above-ground basement that Davis used as his workshop.

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CAPT. PEPPER STYRON HOUSE circa 1900 - With Viking roots, the Styron family was established in Colonial America in the late 1600s. George Styring, who had first settled in Virginia, made his way to Carteret County. Harry Vernon Styron was born in Carteret County on July 26, 1875 and married Pheraby Ann Dickenson in 1897 in Russell’s Creek. They had nine children. Their simple cottage still sits just across from Taylor's Creek. For over 50 years it conveniently served "Captain Pepper"- providing for his family and continuing the legacy of the seafaring Styrons.

FRANKLIN MASONIC LODGE circa 1866 - What is now known as The Pecan Tree Inn sits on a lot deeded to the Franklin Masonic Lodge in 1866 by Rebecca Piggott. After his marriage to his cousin Annie Leecraft Jones in 1897, Hugh Cole Jones acquired the property in 1900 and converted the lodge into a private residence. Jones added five bedrooms and three beautiful Victorian porches. It is believed that the Jones house was the first in Beaufort to have gas lighting, indoor plumbing and a telephone.

OLD INLET INN circa 1850s - This now charming home is the only remaining part of the Old Inlet Inn that once stood on Front Street. Fresh water was pumped by windmills. Before the 1906 train came to Beaufort, hotel guests came by boats that ferried them across the Newport River from Morehead City. In 1967, before preservation guidelines were in place, most of the building was torn down.

WILLIAM J. POTTER HOUSE circa 1832 - Potter came to Beaufort in 1827 to work as a brick mason during the construction of Fort Macon. It was there that he met James Davis, a Beaufort builder, who was also doing brick work at the fort. A year later, in 1828, William Jackson Potter married James and Elizabeth Adams Davis’ daughter, Elizabeth Harris Davis.

JOHN BENNERS JONES HOUSE circa 1885 - Thomas Redding Jones was born about 1820. As noted in the Heritage of Carteret County, Captain Redding Jones was lost at sea about 1860 while returning to Beaufort from a trip to the West Indies. He was survived by two sons, John Benners Jones, Sr. and David H. Jones. The house is a two-story, five-bay, side-gable house with three-bay front-gabled porch and molded eave returns. The porch has chamfered posts, turned railing and Doric pilasters.

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COPES HOUSE circa 1847 - Captain Parker Copes bought half of lot no. 138 from Moses W. Jarvis for $37.50 and built a typical 1 ½ story Beaufort cottage with two rooms downstairs and a loft above. In the late 1800’s an addition was added to the rear of the house. The front room contains a Federal-period Beaufort mantle, with sunbursts and “S” curves, similar to one found in the Easton-Henry House at the corner of Front and Orange Streets.

JAMES S. WHITEHURST HOUSE circa 1901 - James, born in 1869, was the son of fisherman Samuel Whitehurst. James S. Whitehurst’s great great great grandfather Samuel was part of the 1747 Beaufort militia that defended the town against Spanish attacks.

DR. JOSIAH B. DAVIS HOUSE circa 1854 - This house is believed to pre-date the Civil War. It was possibly used at that time as an infirmary. It was home to Dr. Josiah Benjamin Davis. About 1864, Dr. Davis bought the Apothecary Shop where he had his office and drugstore. Son, Dr. George Davis, who also lived in the house, later joined the practice in 1902 and eventually added an office to the rear portion of the Apothecary.

WILLIAM VAN BUREN POTTER HOUSE circa 1903 - Grandson of William Jackson Potter, William Van Buren Potter 1875-1962 was the son of James Hollister Potter, Sr. and Nannie Murray Potter. Like two of his brothers, William Van Buren Potter was in the wholesale fish business. James Hollister Potter, Sr. built this home for his son as a wedding present when William married Zylphia Cox Darden in 1903.

CHADWICK HOUSE circa 1858 - Descendant of an early eighteenth-century whaler, Robert Withers Chadwick was born to Gayer Chadwick and Caroline Hellen. On November 14 1854, Robert Chadwick married Mary Elizabeth Potter, daughter of William Jackson Potter and Elizabeth Harris Davis. In 1870, twelve years after he built the Chadwick House, Robert had a residence in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he was customs officer. The Chadwicks kept their Beaufort residence as a second home.

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GIBBLE HOUSE circa 1772 - One of Beaufort’s earliest settlers, Dedrick Gibble, Sr. and wife Hannah had two sons and a daughter—Dedrick, Fredrick and Susannah. Susannah married Thomas Duncan about 1768. In 1747 the senior Dederick Gibble was one of the soldiers gathered into a local militia under Colonel Thomas Lovick, responding to attacks by Spanish Privateers. This house was built by Gibble Sr.'s two sons - Dedrick and Fredrick.

ROBERT WALPOOLE HOUSE circa 1778 - Shortly after the lords’ proprietors appointed Beaufort as an official port, Walpoole, a shipwright, purchased the land on which this home now sits. At that time the water of Gallants Channel came up to the back of the lot.

PAUL JONES HOUSE circa 1913 - Although built by C.C. Guthrie, the home is still known today as the Paul Jones House. Jones managed C.D. Jones Company from 1931 to 1960 and was one of the founders of the Beaufort Historical Association.

"I'm Home"-Beaufort Waterfront

There is no better way to portray Beaufort than from the sea - the same view boaters see today that ship captains hundreds of years ago saw when they sailed into one of North Carolina's oldest towns.

THE MEKA II, built and launched in 1967 by Capt. Horatio Sinbad, is a 54' half-scale replica of a 17th century two masted pirate brigantine armed with six cannons. It has a beam of twelve feet, a draft of seven feet and a displacement of eighteen tons. Capt. Sinbad has lived aboard the Meka II for four decades in Beaufort, where residents take pride in ongoing efforts to preserve its maritime heritage.

OUR STATE MAGAZINE

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The HAMMOCK HOUSE circa 1700 - Beaufort, NC

Art of the Porch

Inspired by Beaufort’s architecture, artist Mary Warshaw documents the history and hospitality of the coastal seaport town with a paintbrush.

By Misti C. Lee

The white wicker rocking chairs waiting on the porch of Beaufort’s historic Hammock House invites passer-by to slow down and enjoy the breeze blowing through this tiny seaport village.

The tranquil scene, familiar to visitors of North Carolina’s third oldest town, is one of many that Beaufort artist Mary Warshaw is re-creating on canvas from her bungalow a block or so from the water’s edge. With Beaufort’s beautiful old home providing plenty of inspiration, Warshaw is using her paintbrush and acrylics to recreate Beaufort’s finest feature—its porches.

“People have said to me that [my] porches make them want to walk up and sit down,” says Warshaw, 59, sipping coffee at her kitchen table in Beaufort. “I want the viewer to want to step up. You can almost feel yourself walking inside the gate and up on the porch. It’s an inviting thing.”

Warshaw, who has grown to love the town’s relaxed, peaceful pace and its beautiful old homes since moving here about five years ago, finds the seaport village’s porches intriguing. Beaufort’s 12-block historic district is filled with more than 100 old homes, most of them over a century old and fronted by covered porches. Many Homes feature large double porches stacked one on top of the other, providing porch access on the first and second floors.

“I’m documenting history,” Warshaw says, leaning back in her chair, hugging her knee. “The doors of the porches have kind of been flung open to me—the present and the past.”

Comings and goings

The town was first settled in 1709 as an outpost on the southern end of the Outer Banks. After the town was incorporated in 1723, settlers began building town homes in Beaufort to handle their shipping and trading businesses. Through the years, Beaufort’s porches have witnessed history-in-the-making, as sailors, merchants, Civil War soldiers, pirates, and spies shaped the area’s history. Lesser-known settlers—businessmen, housewives, servants, and children—made their mark, too, using the porches to watch nearby ships, to entertain family and friends, to do household chores, or to play childhood games. Porches took on a variety of roles depending on the owner’s need, particularly for homes that were used as ships’ stores, taverns, inns, or boarding schools.

“A lot of history had taken place on these porches,” says Patricia Suggs, executive director of the Beaufort Historical Association. “Mainly the porches have watched as the town grew from its small beginnings to what it is now. There were some houses with double porches that were hospitals during the Civil War, so the porches saw everybody coming and going.”

Many Southern coastal settlers built homes to fit the climate in which they lived, and Beaufort’s early inhabitants were no exception. The earliest homes were built with steep-pitched roofs that covered full-length porches.

“Architecturally, Beaufort is well known for its porches, with the porches providing sea breeze and as large a view of the water as possible,” Suggs says. “This was the Bahamian and West Indies influence. Everything architecturally came to us by people traveling by water. The water was the superhighway.”

Perhaps the best feature of Beaufort’s porches is that they are a place for family and friends to visit: It’s that feeling of warmth that Warshaw hopes to capture through her paintings. “People don’t respond to a painting unless they sense that warmth,” Warshaw says.

“One of the most interesting things that is still common today in Beaufort is that sitting on your porch is a sign that you are ready to receive visitors, “Suggs says. “My next-door neighbor, who is 100 years old but you would think she’s 70, she’ll sit on her porch, and she’ll welcome you in. It won’t be like ‘oh, come sit on my porch.’ It’s like ‘come sit inside with me.’ Almost every house in Beaufort has some kind of porch.”

When Suggs’ neighbor, Theresa Hill, holds court on her porch, you want to join her, Suggs says. “Your day can be hectic and busy, but you relax. It’s the simplicity of it, sitting in a rocking chair on a front porch.”

Warshaw’s paintings were featured on a special poster for Beaufort’s Annual Homes and Gardens tour, held the last full week in June for the last 44 years. “I think Mary tries to capture the inviting aspect of ‘welcome to my home from my porch,’” Suggs says. “I think really it takes you back to a slower, quieter time. You think of sitting on the porch and drinking iced tea or lemonade. Instead of rushing in and out of the house, it’s a time to linger.”

Connecting with the past

The pinewood paneling, hardwood floors and arched doorways of Warshaw’s two-bedroom bungalow provide a warm setting for Warshaw to paint. As she walks over to an easel in a corner by her work area, Warshaw points to the painting of the James Davis House, which was built in 1829. The saltbox-style home boasts a center chimney, five fireplaces, and a full basement, which was used as a workshop.

“That painting is one of my favorites so far because it almost painted itself,” Warshaw says, looking at the portrait of the tan house with its white and pink wave petunias spilling through the picket fence in front of the home. “It’s something you can’t push. I add and build with the paints but also change and edit because maybe a roofline isn’t right or I’ve got to move that beam. I may have gotten carried away in painting one area and then have to reposition something.”

The Monroe native began painting the coastal town’s famous porches soon after she moved to the area in 1998. Warshaw, who already loved painting ocean and sand scenes, was looking for a new subject to paint when she became intrigued with the town’s porches. With more than 100 homes more than a century old, many of them built in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, Beaufort provided plenty of material for Warshaw to choose from.

“I was looking through a book on Beaufort, and I had been painting seascapes and sand dunes, small projects. But I was attracted to the light and the contrast, the dappled light of the porches, so I did a painting from a picture in the book, and thought ‘I feel something here,’” Warshaw says.

Warshaw loves the stories that spill from these porches and hopes to compile the stories and history she’s gathered about each of the homes into a book. When choosing a new porch to paint, Warshaw enjoys searching for lesser-known nuggets of information, like stories long-ago residents may have passed on to family members or friends.

“For instance, a friend told me her grandmother in 1926 or so had one of the only cars in town,” Warshaw says. “She and a doctor had cars. They were afraid of the gas--that it would explode or something, so they kept the gas over on Carrot Island. They’d get in a boat and row over and get some gas when they needed it.”

Heeding the call

Finally reaching a point in her life when she can immerse herself in art and paint all day is sweet. Like many mothers, Warshaw’s focus in her earlier years shifted from painting to her family. She whetted her creative appetite by running Applause, a card and gift shop in Winston-Salem, for several years until 1997 when, eager for a change, she closed the shop and moved to the coast. She discovered she felt most at home in Beaufort. “The people here are just wonderful as far as really caring and listening and becoming involved, and it’s from their hearts,” she says.

As happy as she seems talking quietly in her cozy home, her bare feet tucked beneath her, Warshaw had doubts early on about staying in Beaufort and pursuing her dream of painting.

“I was thinking about moving back inland to the Raleigh area at one point before I really started painting. I came back down here, and was walking on Front Street. An ibis walked across in front of me. I thought ‘I can’t move away from here,’” she says, laughing.

Soon after, she had another moment of clarity while looking toward Carrot Island, a narrow strip of land across the waterway, which let her know she was where she needed to be.

“There were two dolphins in the creek, and on the island were several feeding horses. On the backs of the horses were white egrets,” Warshaw says. “I kid you not. They do that two or three times a year. The horses allow the egrets to eat the bugs from their coats. It was so funny to see it all in one vision.”

The relaxed feeling that comes with living along Beaufort’s narrow streets and waterways and its historic district are conducive to a life of painting. Finding beauty in a tuft of grass, the pitch of a roof, the color of a shadow is part of the process of recording and documenting Beaufort’s history.

“It’s a fantastic avenue for giving and making people happy with something that I’m able to do,” Warshaw says. “It’s not a job. It’s doing what I love to do and learning and growing. I’m the luckiest person in the world.”

September 2004

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