Henry Pigott House

Portsmouth Village

Cape Lookout National Seashore

Historic Structure Report

December 2015

for

Cape Lookout National Seashore Southeast Region, National Park Service

by

JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN–ARCHITECT, P.A. 

539 N. Trade Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 

www.jkoa.net | office@jkoa.net | (336)721-1711
ii Henry Pigott House HSR
Henry Pigott House

Portsmouth Village

Cape Lookout National Seashore

Historic Structure Report

December 2015

for

Cape Lookout National Seashore Southeast Region, National Park Service

by

JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN–ARCHITECT, P.A. 539 N. Trade Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 

www.jkoa.net | office@jkoa.net | (336)721-1711
The historic structure report presented here exists in 

two formats. A traditional, printed version is available 

for study at the park, at the Southeast Regional 

Office of the NPS (SERO), and at a variety of other 

repositories. For more widespread access, the historic 

structure report also exists in digital format through 

the IRMA Portal, Integrated Resource Management 

Applications, including the NPS Data Store, accessed 

at <https://irma.nps.gov/App/Reference/Welcome>, a 

website of the National Park Service.

Cultural Resources, Partnerships, 

 and Science Division

Southeast Region

National Park Service

100 Alabama St. SW

Atlanta, GA 30303

(404) 507-5847

2015

Historic Structure Report

Henry Pigott House

Portsmouth Village

Cape Lookout National Seashore (CALO)

Henry Pigott House

 LCS#: 012520

 CALO ID#: 511

Kitchen Building

 LCS#: 091747

Cool House

 LCS#: 091748

Storage Shed

 LCS#: 091750

Privy

 LCS#: 091751

Cover image: Joseph K. Oppermann, 2013
Henry Pigott House 

Portsmouth Village 

Cape Lookout National Seashore 

Historic Structure Report 

2015 

Approved by: 

Date 

Recommended by: ,~_"; ~ ~ ~.kl? 

Deputy Regional Director, Southeast Region 

Approved by: 

Date 
 Henry Pigott House HSR
We are pleased to make available this Historic Structure Report, part of our ongoing effort to provide 

comprehensive documentation for the historic structures and cultural landscapes of National Park 

Service units in the Southeast Region. A number of individuals contributed to the successful completion 

of this work, but we would particularly like to thank the JKOA Project Team who authored the report. 

The authors would like to thank the staff at Cape Lookout National Seashore who assisted with the 

project, especially Patrick Kenney, Superintendant; Jeri L. DeYoung, Chief of Resource Management, 

who provided helpful comments; and Karen L. Duggan, park ranger, who provided CALO photographs. 

Dr. Ali Miri, historical architect with the National Park Service’s Southeast Regional Office, also provided 

helpful comments as part of his technical review and project oversight. The authors extend special 

appreciation to the Friends of Portsmouth Island and the many volunteers and descendants who readily 

provided information and interviews. We hope that this study will prove valuable to park management in 

ongoing efforts to preserve the church and other Portsmouth buildings, and to everyone in understanding 

and interpreting these unique resources.

Dan Scheidt, Chief

Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science Division

Southeast Regional Office

2015

Foreword
 Henry Pigott House HSR
Table of Contents

Project Team ................................................................................................................................................. vii

Management Summary ................................................................................................................................ 1

Administrative Data ................................................................................................................................... 11

Part I - Developmental History

A. Historical Background and Context .................................................................................................. 15

B. Chronology of Development and Use .............................................................................................. 27

 Timeline ................................................................................................................................................. 55

C. Physical Description ............................................................................................................................ 59

General Description .............................................................................................................. 59

Locale ................................................................................................................ 59

The Architecture .............................................................................................. 64

Construction Characteristics ................................................................................................ 63

Structural Systems ............................................................................................ 64

Exterior Features .............................................................................................. 66

Interior Features ............................................................................................... 70

Room-by-Room Descriptions .............................................................................................. 72

Outbuildings, Ancillary Structures and Site Features ........................................................ 83

Character-Defining Features ................................................................................................ 92

Summary of Concerns ........................................................................................................... 94

Part II - Treatment & Use

A. Ultimate Treatment & Use .................................................................................................................. 97

B. Requirements for Treatment ............................................................................................................. 101

C. Alternatives for Treatment and Use ................................................................................................. 105

D. Recommendations for Treatment & Use ........................................................................................ 107

Bibliography .....................................................................................................................117

Appendix

Documentation Drawings

 First-Floor Plan

 Second-Floor Plan

 North and South Elevations

 East Elevation

 West Elevation

 Outbuildings

 Details

National Park Service i 
ii Henry Pigott House HSR
Project Team

National Park Service – Southeast Regional Office

 Laurie Chestnut, Contracting Officer

 Dr. Ali Miri, Historical Architect and Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative

National Park Service – Cape Lookout National Seashore

 Patrick Kenney, Superintendent

 Jeri L. DeYoung, Chief of Resource Management

Joseph K. Oppermann–Architect, P.A. (JKOA)

 Joseph K. Oppermann, FAIA, Historical Architect

 Langdon E. Oppermann, Architectural Historian

 Rebecca L. McCormick, AIA

 Christopher M. Woollard, Associate AIA

National Park Service iii 
iv Henry Pigott House HSR
National Park Service 1

MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

The purpose of this report is to document the 

development, use, and current condition of the 

Henry Pigott House in the Portsmouth Village 

Historic District at Cape Lookout National 

Seashore. The National Park Service (NPS) will 

use this report to inform and guide its stewardship 

of this historic structure. 

The house and its outbuildings are part of a group 

of historic structures that provide what is perhaps 

the iconic image of Portsmouth. Anchored by 

the Methodist church, this concentration of 

residences, outbuildings, community buildings and 

cemeteries provides visitors a sense of the village 

in the early twentieth century when it was still 

a thriving community. Treatment and use of the 

Pigott complex should be predicated on preserving 

its place in that ensemble of buildings.

The present study first provides historical 

background and context for Portsmouth Village 

based on a series of studies, interviews, and 

reports developed by NPS since the 1970s. 

Portsmouth’s history has been well documented; 

this Historic Structure Report includes no 

additional archival research on the larger 

community, but does include substantial research 

and historical documentation regarding the house 

and outbuildings.

Determination of the physical evolution of the 

house and outbuildings is based primarily on early 

photographs combined with building investigation 

and extensive dating of building fabric, a process 

sometimes called “building archaeology.”

The report is divided into two major segments, 

Part I: Developmental History and Part II: Treatment 

& Use. Part I is organized into three sections that 

address in sequence the historical background 

and context of Portsmouth; a chronology of 

development and use of the Pigott complex 

specifically, including a timeline; and a physical 

description of the outbuildings and the house’s 

exterior and interior on a room-by-room basis. 

This last section also includes an assessment 

Management Summary

of condition and a listing of character-defining 

features. A bibliography concludes Part I.

Part II presents the recommended “ultimate 

treatment and use,” and also examines alternatives 

for treatment and use as well as requirements 

that guide the treatment and use. A bibliography 

follows.

The Appendix contains scaled drawings of floor 

plans, exterior elevations, and selected details of 

the existing building.

Historical Overview

Established in 1753 by an act of the colonial 

legislature of North Carolina, Portsmouth is 

located on the south side of Ocracoke Inlet, which 

was the principal access into Pamlico Sound and 

North Carolina’s seaports until a storm opened 

competing Hatteras Inlet in 1846. The community 

flourished in the late eighteenth century and by 

1800 was the largest on the Outer Banks with 

a population between 200 and 250. Because 

Portsmouth was a center of maritime trade, the 

Federal government established a customs house 

there in 1806, a marine hospital in 1827, and a 

post office in 1840. The town reached its peak 

population in 1860 with more than 600 residents.

Evacuated during the Civil War, Portsmouth 

recovered neither its population nor its economic 

vitality, and the customs house was abolished in 

1867. As the inlet shoaled up and the population 

declined, the number of houses in the town 

dwindled as well, falling from 109 in 1860, to 

59 in 1870, and to 44 in 1880. Many buildings 

must have sat abandoned in the late nineteenth 

century, including the marine hospital, which 

burned in 1894. Of those that survived hurricanes 

and the generally harsh environment, most were 

dismantled or relocated as the village slowly 

contracted along with the local economy. After 

1883, the shifting sands of the Outer Banks closed 

Ocracoke Inlet to shipping.
2 Henry Pigott House HSR 

The village got a boost in 1894 when the U. S. 

Life-Saving Service built a station at Portsmouth. 

Over the next four decades, a number of 

Portsmouth residents found employment there. 

Others made a livelihood in commercial fishing or 

catering to the wealthy sportsmen who frequented 

the Outer Banks to hunt and fish.

The island was regularly inundated by tidal surges 

accompanying tropical storms and hurricanes; 

these often caused more damage than the wind. 

In September 1913, for example, a relatively 

weak hurricane blew across Portsmouth, but 

the accompanying storm surge destroyed both 

the Primitive Baptist and Methodist churches, 

the only buildings of worship on the island. The 

community was still strong enough, however, to 

support construction of a new church.

In 1933, a strong hurricane hit the village with 

sustained winds of 100 mph and torrential rain that 

flooded most of the island and destroyed many 

houses. Many residents moved to the mainland.

In 1937, the Coast Guard Station (former LifeSaving Station) was closed, further diminishing the 

town’s vitality, until by 1940 only 42 permanent 

residents remained, and after another devastating 

hurricane in 1944, the number dwindled further. 

By the 1950s, Portsmouth had only fourteen yearround residents.

Several unused buildings were adapted for use 

by sport fishermen, especially after World War 

II, including the Coast Guard Station, which was 

declared surplus property in 1946 and used as 

a sportsmen’s clubhouse. The post office was 

discontinued in 1959, and by the time the Cape 

Lookout National Seashore was authorized in 

1966, only a handful of permanent residents 

remained.

With the death of Henry Pigott, the village’s last 

surviving male resident in 1971, the two remaining 

residents moved to the mainland. Portsmouth 

Village became uninhabited, without permanent 

residents for the first time since the eighteenth 

century. A number of buildings continued to be 

occupied seasonally as private residences through 

an NPS lease program that only recently ended. 

Other buildings, such as the Methodist Church and 

Coast Guard Station, are open year-round to the 

public. In all but the coldest months Portsmouth 

Village is a popular destination for day-trippers 

arriving by small boat from Ocracoke. 

The House

Historical documentation of the house prior to 

its transfer into Park ownership in 1976 is scarce. 

Early histories rely on a few remaining historic 

photographs and several oral histories. In contrast, 

from 1976 onward, this house is one of the best 

photo-documented structures in Portsmouth 

Village. The existing photographic record of the 

house was invaluable to the understanding of its 

history and the physical changes it has undergone.

The name Henry Pigott House reflects its last fulltime resident. The house was passed down through 

three generations of the Pigott (formerly Pickett)

family, who lived there for nearly seven decades. 

Constructed in 1902 by local carpenter Harmon 

Austin, the house was acquired by Rosetta (Rose) 

Pickett (ca. 1838-1909), a former slave and house 

servant of the Ireland family. Ownership of the 

house then passed to Rosetta’s daughter Leah 

(1867-1922). Leah Pigott in turn passed the house 

to her son Henry Pigott (1896-1971).

No major changes were made to the house until 

Henry set about making it his own in the early 

1930s. He raised the house to lower the risk of 

flooding, added a second story above a pre-existing 

rear ell, and rebuilt the front and side porches. He 

also added the kitchen building to the property. 

Oral histories explain that in about 1934, Henry 

ordered paint from a Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog; 

however, due to a mistake with the order the paint 

that arrived was pink. Being pragmatic, he decided 

to use the paint anyway, and painted his house, 

kitchen building, and cool house pink. 

Henry lived in the house with his sister Elizabeth 

(Lizzie) Pigott (1889-1960). Neither married or 

had children. The house experienced no further 

alterations, though several stories recount Henry’s 

great pride in his house and loving maintenance 

through the years. 

In 1968, Henry, like many Portsmouth owners, sold 

his house and land to the State of North Carolina 

for the recently authorized National Seashore, but 

retained a life estate that allowed him to remain 
National Park Service 3

MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

in the house until his death. Shortly thereafter, 

He grew ill and moved to nearby Ocracoke to live 

with his friend Junius Austin, spending only a few 

months a year at Portsmouth. Henry died in 1971, 

prompting the remaining two elderly residents of 

the island to leave for the mainland, and marking 

the end of the period of habitation for Portsmouth 

Village.

Upon creation of the Cape Lookout National 

Seashore, the house was brought under National 

Park Service stewardship in 1976. Beginning in 

1978, NPS spent the next five years completing 

work ranging from structural stabilization to 

routine maintenance. Rotten foundation posts 

were replaced, both porches were largely rebuilt, 

roofing was replaced, the cistern adjacent to the 

house was entirely rebuilt, the fence was repaired, 

damaged siding and trim were replaced, and the 

house and outbuildings were painted. 

In January 1990, Charles Jackson Gilley and Jacob 

Eli Fisher, Jr. entered into a twenty-year lease of 

the house as part of the NPS leasing program. 

The agreement required maintenance and 

improvements for the term of the lease. However, 

the only work recorded in park files was that done 

by NPS. 

Hurricane Isabel caused significant damage to 

the property in 2003. While the house received 

only minor damage, all of the outbuildings were 

significantly impacted, most being torn from 

their foundation posts. Funding for repairs was 

requested in 2004 with most repairs completed by 

2008.

At the end of the twenty-year lease in 2010, the 

local preservation group, Friends of Portsmouth 

Island, was given a special use permit to manage 

and maintain the Pigott property as a house 

museum. The Friends volunteers have done 

a significant amount of work to the property 

including repairing and replacing damaged 

siding and trim, rebuilding much of the fence 

and the dock, and painting the house. The house 

museum was dedicated at the 2012 Portsmouth 

Homecoming, and repairs continue.

Statement of Significance

The Portsmouth Historic District was listed in the 

National Register of Historic Places in 1978 for its 

significance to the state’s early maritime history 

and as the only remaining village on Core Banks. 

As the park’s Long-Range Interpretive Plan (2011) 

points out, “the park contains cultural resources 

rich in the maritime history of human-kind’s 

attempt to survive at the edge of the sea.”1

1. NPS,Cape Lookout National Seashore Long-Range 

Interpretive Plan (2011), p.11.

Figure 1. Portsmouth Village viewed from Ocracoke Inlet, 2013. (JKOA)
4 Henry Pigott House HSR 

The 1978 National Register nomination identifies 

thirty-one historic structures and sites that 

contribute to the district’s historic character, one 

of which is the Henry Pigott House. Unfortunately, 

several of those structures were already in ruins 

when the nomination was written, and others have 

since been lost to storms and decay. No eighteenthcentury buildings remain, and only a handful of 

nineteenth-century buildings have survived into 

the twenty-first century.

The nomination identifies no period of 

significance; it was written before these were 

included in nominations. More recently, 

the Cultural Landscape Report (2007) has 

recommended a period of significance ending 

in 1971, when the island lost its last permanent 

residents. The authors of this report agree with that 

recommendation. 

The house and its four extant outbuildings 

continue to contribute to the historic character 

of Portsmouth. They are historically significant 

for associations with the Pigott family, especially 

Henry Pigott. The Pigott family was the only black 

family to return to Portsmouth after the end of 

the Civil War, led by their matriarch Rosetta, a 

former slave on the island. Henry Pigott, Rosetta’s 

grandson, was the last remaining male resident of 

Portsmouth Village. His death in 1971 prompted 

the departure of Portsmouth’s last year-round 

residents.

The house is architecturally significant as an 

excellent local interpretation of a cottage with a 

typical North Carolina triple-A roofline. Henry 

Pigott’s pride of ownership and continual 

maintenance of the property, even as Portsmouth 

was in decline, illustrates the resilience of 

Portsmouth and its residents.

Methodology

The objectives of this Historic Structure Report 

(HSR), which complies with the guidelines 

at NPS-28 (Cultural Resource Management 

Guideline), are to research and prepare a 

comprehensive and scholarly assessment of the 

building’s history and fabric and its existing 

physical conditions, and to recommend treatment 

for preservation.

The findings and recommendations made in this 

report rely on the combined research of primary 

and secondary sources, early photographs, oral 

histories, and the physical investigation of extant 

building fabric.

The Scope of Work prescribed by NPS for this 

HSR specifies “limited” historical research 

as defined by Director’s Order #28: Cultural 

Resources Management Guidelines. Nevertheless, 

some additional research was necessary for an 

adequate understanding of the context and history 

of the site. Information gathered comes primarily 

from local records, park research and careful 

study of historic photographs and oral histories. 

The Scope of Work also specifies “limited” 

physical investigation of the buildings to determine 

their evolutionary histories; however, given the 

lean archival information, investigation of the 

building fabric was a large component of the work. 

Investigations involved a close look at architectural 

features and details such as framing materials and 

methods; the relationship of finish treatments; 

and the variety of siding, ghost marks, and nail 

types. Together these research efforts, both 

documentary and physical building fabric, provide 

a dual, coordinated approach to determining 

how the building was used and adapted over the 

progression of its history.

The firm of Joseph K. Oppermann –Architect, 

P.A., prepared this HSR. The team for the work 

was led by Joseph K. Oppermann, FAIA, historical 

architect and principal-in-charge; Rebecca L. 

McCormick, AIA, and Christopher M. Woollard, 

Associate AIA, assisting architects; and Langdon 

Edmunds Oppermann, architectural historian. 

The team conducted historical research and 

building investigation, documented the buildings 

with photography and measured drawings, 

and authored the HSR. This interdisciplinary 

approach improves understanding of the buildings’ 

histories and present conditions, both necessary 

prerequisites for the development of appropriate 

treatment recommendations.

An initial multi-day visit to the site and the archives 

was made in September 2013 with follow-up visits 

in April and October 2014. Measurements were 

compiled using manual measuring tape, carpenter 

ruler, digital cameras, and digital recorder, a Leica 

Disto laser distance meter. Photography was 

completed for both building exteriors and interior 

spaces. Detailed field drawings were made and 

used to create digitized AutoCAD drawings of 
National Park Service 5

MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

floor plans and elevations. The initial digitized 

drawings were the base document on which final 

recordations and assessed conditions were made 

during the subsequent return trips.

During these subsequent trips, a standard 

assessment methodology was used for the 

condition survey of each exterior feature and each 

interior room, itemizing features and elements 

and correlating with research findings. Detail 

photography was conducted. Visual observation 

of surface conditions, supplemented by a 

20-power magnification loupe and Protimeter 

BLD 2000 moisture meter, was the basis for 

assessing the physical condition of building 

materials. In accordance with the NPS Scope 

of Work, no building system components were 

tested, and no invasive methods of investigation 

were employed.

Unique to these field visits was the necessity of 

wearing hooded net suits while on Portsmouth 

Island. Present for most of the year, the mosquitoes 

can be so thick at times that the tour boats cease 

operation. It is not uncommon for visitors and 

work crews to don mosquito suits while on the 

island.

Findings

The present house appears much as it did when 

first constructed in 1902. Changes in the early 

1930s modified aspects of the design, but not the 

overall character of the house.

The house was raised several inches to lessen the 

risk of flooding. The chimney was rebuilt and a 

second story added above a pre-existing rear ell, 

enlarging a rear dormer window on the main block 

to become a doorway to a new second-floor back 

bedroom. A new roof was framed over the ell 

creating a cross-gable level at the same level as the 

ridge of the main roof. The shed-roof front porch 

was replaced with a full-width hipped-roof porch, 

and the uncovered side deck was roofed.

Also at this time, Pigott added the kitchen building 

to the property. The bricks of its chimney match 

the bricks of the rebuilt chimney of the house. 

The house complex remains almost entirely intact 

to its appearance after the 1930s remodeling, 

with the major exceptions being the absence of 

the net house, destroyed by storms in 2003, and 

the present yellow paint color of the house and 

outbuildings.

Existing Conditions 

House

Poor drainage is characteristic of most of 

Portsmouth. The natural process of decay of 

vegetation and generation of new humus has 

created bowl-like depressions beneath many of 

the houses. This traps water and remains damp 

for extended periods of time, which not only 

exacerbates rotting of wood posts, but also creates 

conditions conducive to termites, all conditions that 

are typical of most of the structures at Portsmouth. 

The lattice apron of the house and the skirt board 

of the kitchen building conceal the foundation 

posts, preventing a noninvasive inspection during 

investigations.

Like the foundation, the wood framing is 

concealed from view by floorboards and wall and 

ceiling cladding. From all outward appearances 

the framing seems to be in generally fair condition; 

ridge lines remain straight and floors level. The 

house, like many others of the period, may be 

under-structured by modern standards, especially 

in terms of the sizing and spacing of framing 

members, but there is no apparent systemic 

failure. However, the ferrous nails used in framing 

have inevitably corroded in the damp, salty 

environment, making the building more subject to 

wind damage and other stresses.

The house is finished with materials typical of the 

early twentieth century. The NPS and the Friends 

of Portsmouth Island preservation group have 

replaced in-kind a significant amount of exterior 

wood siding and trim elements. 

Most of the house’s exterior woodwork is in 

good condition. Painted finishes are recent and 

remain intact. Documentary evidence indicates the 

exterior color of the house was almost certainly 

never yellow until painted by NPS in 1979. 

The exterior doors remain in generally good 

condition. Screen doors, opening to the interior in 

the traditional Portsmouth manner, are installed 

to both exterior doorways. The wood-framed 

screen doors remain in good condition. Early, if 

not original door hardware remains in place and 

operable.
6 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Early if not original sash remain in all window 

openings and are in good to fair condition. Painted 

finishes are in good condition; however, there is 

visible staining from rusting nails. Window glazing 

is in generally good condition. Many windows have 

wood-framed single-sash screens; those present 

are in fair condition. Window shutters are missing 

from first-floor windows on all but the south 

side (front) of the house where the windows are 

protected by the porch. 

The roofing is in good condition with no apparent 

leaks. No shingles appear to be missing or loose. As 

with most of the historic structures in Portsmouth, 

no gutters are present.

The front and side porches are in good condition, 

having had their foundations, floor joists, 

floorboards, railings, and steps replaced in 1978. 

Portions of the railings were again replaced after a 

2003 storm. Paint coats are recent and intact.

The interior of the house is in generally good 

condition. The first floor is interpreted as a house 

museum under the direction of the Friends of 

Portsmouth Island and as such has seen a greater 

degree of maintenance than the second floor. The 

second floor remains off-limits to the public due to 

the steep staircase that poses an undue safety risk; 

the second-floor rooms remain storage areas.

Aside from minor aesthetic issues, the interior of 

the house has no major issues. A door matching 

others of the first floor was removed from the 

doorway between Rooms 101 and 103 and is now 

stored in the kitchen building.

The house holds a large collection of furnishings 

and decorative objects, but the provenance of most 

is unknown or otherwise unrecorded. According to 

the Friends of Portsmouth Island, some furnishings 

and objects belonged to Henry, while others have 

been acquired from other sources to fill out the 

collection. 

The flooring is in fair condition throughout the 

house. There is water damage from flooding 

that has occurred periodically throughout the 

structure’s history, but no major damage is 

apparent. Varnished finishes in the house are scant. 

A hole in the floor in the northwest corner of 

Room 202 was cut for installation of a ventilation 

stack for a chemical toilet in Room 102. The 

toilet was installed by NPS before 2003 and later 

removed by the Friends of Portsmouth Island. The 

hole is temporarily patched with a plank board.

First-floor walls have recent paint coats and are in 

good condition. The paint finishes of second-floor 

walls are failing. Documentary research shows that 

the color scheme of the first floor is not historically 

accurate.

While the ceilings of the house are generally sound, 

there are two areas of deteriorated condition. Paint 

coats on the ceilings of Room 103 and throughout 

the second floor are failing. There is an open hole 

in the ceiling of Room 102 and a poorly patched 

hole in the northeast corner of the ceiling of Room 

202 where the ventilation stack for the chemical 

toilet was installed.

Water damage from periodic flooding is visible 

on baseboards and lower sections of door casings 

throughout the first floor, most significantly in 

Room 103. Nails used to attach these trim pieces 

show significant oxidation; rust stains mar the 

varnished finish of the woodwork.

Fence

Though not an outbuilding or ancillary structure, 

the fence is an integral component of the 

architectural integrity of the Henry Pigott building 

complex. Unlike most fences on Portsmouth 

Island, there is an ample photographic record. 

Understandably, the fence has required significant 

repair and replacement over the years as it is 

susceptible to storms. However, since NPS began 

maintaining the property in 1978, many non-historic 

alterations have been made to the fence design.

Kitchen Building

With the exception of the collapsed chimney, the 

kitchen building appears to be in good condition. 

Given the building’s proximity to the ground, 

deterioration of the inaccessible sills and floor 

joists can be expected. 

The wood entrance steps are recent replacements.

The board-and-batten exterior door has extensive 

damage near the doorknob. The interior screen 

door has been removed.

The upper half of the chimney collapsed during 

Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and remains on the 

ground adjacent to the kitchen building. This poses 
National Park Service 7

MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

a trip hazard, and the open flue on the building 

poses a water and vermin infiltration threat. A great 

many bricks remain on the site.

Documentary research indicates the current 

yellow exterior paint color of the kitchen building 

is non-historic. The interior was painted and 

furnished and in active use as a kitchen during 

Henry and Lizzie Pigott’s time there. The painted 

interior is in deteriorated condition. 

The kitchen building is presently being used as a 

storage shed. Photographs of the interior taken in 

1980 show both the kitchen’s cast iron stove and 

screen door stored there at that time. It is possible 

that they remain among the architectural salvage 

material presently stacked inside the building. 

The stored materials are presently blocking the 

window on the north side of the building. Because 

the window is shuttered on the exterior, it is not 

known whether the sash is still present. 

Cool House

Though recently rebuilt, the dimensions of 

the present cool house are noticeably larger 

than those of the cool house seen in historic 

photographs. Documentary research indicates 

the current yellow paint color of the cool house is 

non-historic.

Net House

The net house was destroyed by Hurricane Isabel 

in 2003. Subsequently its foundation posts were 

reconstructed and the remaining wood entrance 

step was retained in place. 

This is the only documented building of this 

typology at Portsmouth Village.

Storage Shed

The storage shed is in fair condition, and its 

foundation posts were replaced after 2003 storm 

damage. Documentary research indicates the 

current yellow paint color of the storage shed is 

non-historic.

Privy

The privy was largely rebuilt using salvaged 

material after being structurally compromised in 

the 2003 hurricane, and is in fair condition. The 

window opening on the south side is missing its 

sash, leaving the building exposed to water damage 

and infiltration by vermin. Documentary research 

indicates the current yellow paint color of the 

privy is non-historic. The interior is used to store 

architectural salvage materials. 

Cistern

The existing cistern near the house is in good 

condition, having been rebuilt after 2003 storm 

damage.

General Threats

Barrier islands, such as Portsmouth, will be 

especially vulnerable to the effects of climate 

change and sea-level rise, which may negatively 

affect cultural resources on these islands. 

It must be noted that as buildings age, they tend to 

be less able to stand the stress of constant exposure 

to the harsh marine environment. The maintenance 

of a protective exterior paint layer on exterior 

wood elements is difficult but critical. Unpainted 

wooden surfaces are eroded by UV sunlight. 

Termites and wood rot attack and weaken wood 

framing, and blasts of wind-driven sand abrade 

exterior surfaces.

The nailed connections that hold the house 

and outbuildings together are susceptible to the 

inevitable oxidation of nails and other ferrous 

materials, a condition that may not be readily 

evident. While wood framing that uses mortiseand-tenon joinery, such as the nearby Washington 

Roberts House, may withstand high winds and 

storm surge with minor damage, aging balloon or 

stick frames with severely corroded nails are less 

likely to do so.

Recommendations for Treatment 

and Use

The Recommended Ultimate Treatment for 

the house is Preservation of the exterior of the 

house as a major feature in the district’s cultural 

landscape and Preservation of the interior to 

accommodate modern use as a house museum. 

The Recommended Ultimate Treatment for the 

cool house is preservation. The Recommended 

Ultimate Treatment for the kitchen building 

and privy is interior and exterior restoration. 

The Recommended Ultimate Treatment for the 

storage shed is exterior restoration. And finally, 

the Recommended Ultimate Treatment for the 

net house is reconstruction.
8 Henry Pigott House HSR 

General Recommendations for Portsmouth Village

• Consult with Janet Cakir PhD, NPS 

SER Climate Change, Socioeconomics, 

and Adaptation Coordinator to guide 

management policies.

• Use results from the climate change study 

“Identify Cultural Resources Sites Affected 

by Sea-Level Rise at Cape Hatteras National 

Seashore” to guide management policies. This 

study is also applicable to Portsmouth Island.

• Prepare or update a Topographic Survey for 

the site.

• Prepare a Log of Flood Occurrences. Record 

at a minimum the dates of occurrences and 

approximate extent and severity (e.g. depth at 

specific locations). Correlate recordings with 

Topographic Survey. Maintain data so that 

they can be correlated with conditions such 

as tide, moon phase, etc.

• Evaluate site for flood avoidance potential 

including the introduction of dams and/or 

swales to divert or direct flooding waters.

• Evaluate each building, structure, and 

significant site feature for flood avoidance 

potential and/or enhancement potential for 

better withstanding the projected threatening 

events.

• Identify critical services (fresh water supply, 

waste disposal, energy sources, etc.), evaluate 

options and develop a contingency plan for each. 

• Strive to maintain for all buildings a sound 

structural system and a weather-tight exterior 

envelope, especially the roof.

• Use maintenance activities as opportunities 

to enhance the resistive capacities of the 

buildings and structures whenever feasible.

• Prepare minimum level of record 

documentation (overall view photographs 

and text descriptions) for all undocumented 

cultural resources in the community 

that are at risk; prepare more extensive 

documentation (including scaled record 

drawings with descriptions) for the more 

significant resources at risk.

House Site

Recommendations – General

• Investigate need for and feasibility of 

establishing drainage swales.

• Investigate need for and feasibility of partial 

or complete filling of any existing depression 

beneath the house.

• Raising the house should be considered; a 

significant change in elevation could affect 

the house’s character-defining features. 

• Conduct rigorous annual inspections for 

termite infestation and treat accordingly.

• When fence repairs are needed, return to 

historic design (see page 10). 

• Secure clearance from an archaeologist 

before commencing work that might require 

ground disturbance.

House Exterior

Recommendations for Foundation Posts

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts on a regular basis.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they fail. 

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Install termite shields wherever possible.

Recommendations for Wood Framing

• Conduct annual inspection for the presence 

of wood-damaging plants and insects and 

treat accordingly.

• Conduct routine inspections, some during 

rainstorms, to inspect for evidence of water 

intrusion and instances of damage. 

• Periodically review for evidence of deflection 

across planes of framing, framing members 

out of square or plumb, or heightened 

vibration in framing members. 

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Provide additional post-and-beam supports 

for the floor joists to maintain sound 

structural system.

Recommendations for Doors

• Ensure all hardware remains operable.

• Apply lubricant on a regular basis. 

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Recommendations for Windows

• Ensure all sash are in working order, repair 

and repaint as necessary using historically 

accurate colors. 

• Repair existing and consider replacing 

missing wood-framed screens.

• Reconstruct missing first-floor window 

shutters using existing as a template.

Recommendations for Roofing

• Routinely inspect for missing or loose 

shingles; repair or replace as needed.
National Park Service 9

MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

• Routinely inspect for roof leaks, especially at 

flashing 

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Recommendations for Siding and Trim

• Repair trim, renailing loose pieces as needed. 

• Replace/repair wood lattice apron in-kind as 

necessary.

• Monitor regularly for open joints, displaced 

or loose elements, or other evidence of 

movement; renail loose pieces.

• Monitor checking, splitting, and instances of 

rot, and plan remedial actions accordingly. 

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Recommendations for Exterior Finishes

• Maintain protective finish coat for all 

exposed elements of the building’s exterior 

envelope.

• Conduct paint analysis on exterior wood siding 

and trim elements, and establish database for 

the period of Henry Pigott’s occupancy.

• Prepare and repaint siding the historically 

accurate color in use during Henry Pigott’s 

occupancy.

Recommendations for Front and Side Porches

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly.

• Replace posts in-kind as they fail.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Install termite shields wherever possible.

House Interior

General Interior Recommendations

• Reinstall door, now stored in the kitchen 

building, in the doorway between Rooms 

101 and 103.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Recommendations for Furnishings Collection

• Prepare an Historic Furnishings Plan (HFP) 

that evaluates the furnishings and objects 

exhibited as well as any others in hand.

• Base curation and interpretation of the 

house museum’s collection on the findings 

of the HFP.

Recommendations for Flooring

• Apply natural oil on a regular basis to renew 

the wood finish (no urethane).

• Use a Dutchman repair to patch the hole in 

wood floor of Room 202, matching the existing 

dimension, species, and graining pattern.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction.

• Consider recreating the floral-patterned 

painted linoleum “rugs” found in all 

rooms based on the 1980 documentary 

photographs.

Recommendations for Interior Walls and Ceilings

• Conduct paint analysis on interior walls and 

ceilings and establish database for the period 

of Henry Pigott’s occupancy.

• Use a Dutchman repair to patch hole in 

wood ceilings of Rooms 102 and 202, 

matching the dimension of existing V-groove 

boards. Paint.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction.

• Prepare and repaint walls and ceilings in 

historically accurate colors.

Recommendations for Trim

• Apply natural oil on a regular basis to renew 

the wood finish (no urethane).

Recommendations for Utilities

• Ensure all window sash are operable.

• Though the cast-iron stove in Room 101 is now 

intended to be decorative, consider retrofitting 

and using the stove for special events.

Kitchen Building

Recommendations 

• Conduct annual inspection for the presence 

of wood-damaging plants and insects and 

treat accordingly.

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they 

fail and install termite shields wherever 

possible.

• Investigate the current condition of 

floorboards of the kitchen building; repair 

with in-kind Dutchman repairs and add 

supports as necessary.

• Repair damaged door batten with in-kind 

Dutchman repair.

• Restore the kitchen building, including the 

chimney, north window sash, screen door, 

and historic paint scheme. 

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.
10 Henry Pigott House HSR 

• Interpret and curate interior as part of the 

house museum.

• Conduct paint analysis on exterior and 

interior surfaces and establish database for 

the period of Henry Pigott’s occupancy. 

Repaint accordingly.

Cool House

Recommendations 

• Conduct annual inspection for the presence 

of wood-damaging plants and insects and 

treat accordingly.

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they 

fail and install termite shields wherever 

possible.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Base all future work on the cool house on the 

ample documentary evidence of its historic 

appearance.

• Prepare and paint the historically 

accurate pink color documented in early 

photographs.

Net House

Recommendations 

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly, especially for the presence of 

wood-damaging plants and insects, and treat 

accordingly.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they 

begin to fail.

• Consider full reconstruction based on 

historic photographs.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Storage Shed

Recommendations 

• Conduct annual inspection for the presence 

of wood-damaging plants and insects and 

treat accordingly.

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they 

fail and install termite shields wherever 

possible.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Conduct paint analysis on exterior surfaces 

and establish database for the period 

of Henry Pigott’s occupancy. Repaint 

accordingly.

Privy

Recommendations 

• Conduct annual inspection for the presence 

of wood-damaging plants and insects and 

treat accordingly.

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they fail 

and install termite shields wherever possible.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Remove architectural salvage material from 

the interior.

• Conduct paint analysis on exterior and 

interior surfaces and establish database for 

the period of Henry Pigott’s occupancy. 

Repaint accordingly.

Fence

Recommendations 

• Investigate the condition of the fence posts 

regularly.

• Replace fence posts in-kind as they fail.

• Base all future work on the fence on the 

ample documentary evidence of its historic 

appearance.

• Reinstall the north fence gate in its historic 

location east of the cool house, and 

reconstruct the historic west gate.

• Using the historic gate design, reconstruct 

historically accurate gates and install at the 

three original gate locations

• Reconstruct the historic plank baseboard 

with molded cap detail and install on the 

outer face of the fence as shown in the 

documentary photographs.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Cistern

Recommendations 

• Conduct annual inspection for the presence 

of wood-damaging plants and insects and 

treat accordingly.

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they fail.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs. 
National Park Service 11

ADMINISTRATIVE DATA

Administrative Data

Locational Data

Building Name: Henry Pigott House

Location: Portsmouth Village, Cape Lookout National Seashore

County: Carteret County

State: North Carolina

Real Property Information

Acquisition Date: 1976

Numbering Information

CALO ID: Henry Pigott House, 511

LCS ID:

 Henry Pigott House: 012520 

Kitchen building: 091747

Cool House: 091748

Storage Shed: 091750

Privy: 091751

Size Information

Henry Pigott House

Total Floor Area: 780 square feet ±

Roof Area: 1100 square feet ±

Number of Stories: 2

Number of Rooms: 6

Number of Bathrooms: 0

Kitchen Building

Total Floor Area: 143 square feet ±

Roof Area: 300 square feet ±

Cool House

Total Floor Area: 5.5 square feet ±

Roof Area: 10 square feet ±
12 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Storage Shed 

Total Floor Area: 77 square feet ±

Roof Area: 100 square feet ±

Privy

Total Floor Area: 18 square feet ±

Roof Area: 40 square feet ±

Cultural Resource Data

National Register Status: Contributing structure in Portsmouth Village Historic District,

 Listed November 29, 1978. 

Period of Significance: No period of significance included in the National Register nomination; 

 it was written before these were included in nominations. 

 

Proposed Treatment 

House

Preservation of the exterior. 

Preservation of the interior for museum interpretation.

Outbuildings

Preservation of cool house.

Restoration of the interior and exterior of kitchen building and privy.

Restoration of the exterior of storage shed.

Reconstruction of net house.
National Park Service 13

ADMINISTRATIVE DATA

Related NPS Studies

 Bemisderfer, Tim and Rene Cote. “Portsmouth Village Storm Damage Assessment 

Report,” November 27, 2012.

 Cape Lookout National Seashore. Master Plan, Cape Lookout National Seashore. 

Harkers Island NC: Cape Lookout National Seashore, 1971.

 Cape Lookout National Seashore. Final Environmental Impact Statement on 

General Management Plan / Development Concept Plan, December 1982.

 Cape Lookout National Seashore, Foundation Document, October 2012.

 Cape Lookout National Seashore, Long-Range Interpretive Plan, June 2011.

 Cape Lookout National Seashore, “Portsmouth Village, Historic Structures 

Management Recommendations,” August 1984.

 Cape Lookout National Seashore. Resources Management Plan and 

Environmental Assessment, 1984.

 Cote, Rene. “Narrative Report on the Findings of Historic Structures 

Examination; Preliminary Test of Historic Structures Survey, Portsmouth Village,” 

1984.

 Denver Service Center. General Management Plan/Development Concept Plan, 

Cape Lookout National Seashore. Finalized 1982, approved 1983.

 Ehrenhard, John E. Cape Lookout National Seashore: Assessment of Archeological 

and Historical Resources. SEAC, NPS, 1976.

 Holland, F. Ross. A Survey History of Cape Lookout National Seashore. 

Department of History, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, NPS, 1968.

 Impact Assessment, Inc. Ethnohistorical Description of the Eight Villages adjoining 

Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Interpretive Themes of History and Heritage. 

Final Technical Report, Vol. 2. Atlanta: National Park Service Southeast Regional 

Office, November 2005.

 Jones, Tommy. George Dixon House Historic Structure Report. Atlanta: National 

Park Service Southeast Regional Office, 2004. 

 _______ Wash Roberts House Historic Structure Report. Atlanta: National Park 

Service Southeast Regional Office, 2003. 

 _______ Portsmouth Life-Saving Station Historic Structure Report. Atlanta: 

National Park Service Southeast Regional Office, 2006. 

 _______ Ed Styron House Historic Structure Report. Atlanta: National Park Service 

Southeast Regional Office, 2004. 

 Life-Saving Station Logs, excerpted by Tommy Jones, NPS.

 National Park Service. “List of Classified Structures Park/Region Report,” 

March 11, 1987.

 National Park Service, Office of Policy. “NPS-28: Cultural Resource 

Management,” June 11, 1998. 
14 Henry Pigott House HSR 

 NPS files including drawings, maps, memos, images and administrative files.

 Olson, Sarah. Historic Resource Study, Portsmouth Village, Cape Lookout National 

Seashore, North Carolina. Denver, Colorado: U.S. Department of the Interior, 

National Park Service, Denver Service Center, March 1982.

 Olszewski, George J. Historic Resource Study for History of Portsmouth Village, 

typewritten draft for NPS, September 1970.

 VanBeck, Sara L. Cape Lookout National Seashore, Archives and Records 

Management Review. NPS, 2000.

 Whisnant , David E., and Anne Mitchell Whisnant. Cape Lookout National 

Seashore Historic Resource Study, prepared for the Organization of American 

Historians under Cooperative Agreement with the National Park Service, Draft, 

January 14, 2010.

 Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. Portsmouth Village, Cultural Resources 

Report. Atlanta: National Park Service Southeast Regional Office, 2007. 
PART I.A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

National Park Service 15

 “Just think, Portsmouth in 1815 or 150 years 

ago was the largest seaport in North Carolina 

and now there are just four people who live 

there year around. Oh! what changes have 

come about or taken place in 50 years in my 

lifetime and remembrance. What will happen 

in the next 50 years? God only knows.”

 --Ben B. Salter, 19622

From the early days of the eighteenth century, 

North Carolina was dependent on ocean trade 

2. Letter to editor, Carteret News Times, 1962, printed in 

Ben B. Salter, Portsmouth Island: Short Stories & History, 

1972, p. 47.

with other colonies and with the West Indies and 

Europe, exporting pine products–lumber, tar, 

pitch–and importing foods and manufactured 

goods. But access to its ports was not direct; the 

colony’s coastal geography made shipping difficult. 

With the single exception of Wilmington, North 

Carolina’s ports fronted not the ocean but the 

waters of Pamlico Sound, separated from ocean 

trade by the long stretch of the Outer Banks. 

Several inlets spaced along the Banks allowed 

seagoing traffic to reach mainland ports, but by the 

1730s most of these inlets were unusable as storms 

I.A Historical Background and 

Context

Figure 2. Detail of the 1770 A Compleat Map of North-Carolina from an actual Survey by Capt’n Collet, Governor 

of Fort Johnston. Engraved by I. Bayly, London. The map shows Portsmouth just south of the winding channel 

of the inlet. 
16 Henry Pigott Housee HSR 

closed or shoaled them. Ocracoke Inlet remained 

navigable and was to become the principal ocean 

passage.3

In 1753, the colonial legislature of North Carolina 

established Portsmouth Village on the south side of 

that inlet. The town was a planned community, the 

act specifying “fifty acres of land on Core Banks, 

most convenient to the said harbour, adjoining the 

said Banks, for a town, by the name of Portsmouth, 

into lots of half an acre each, with convenient 

streets, as they may think requisite.”4 John Tolson 

bought the first lot in 1756. Buildings were to be 

substantial; purchasers were required to build a 

frame or brick house or warehouse, specified to be 

not less than twenty feet long by sixteen feet wide.5

Portsmouth quickly became the largest settlement 

on the Outer Banks, and was soon the largest English 

port south of Virginia.6 A 1770 Survey Map shows 

Portsmouth and Ocracoke Inlet with the essential 

outline of its twisting underwater channel (Fig. 2).

Ocracoke Inlet provided the principal access 

for shipping trade. However, the underwater 

geography of the inlet was precarious, with a 

sandbar at the inlet's entrance and a shoal within. 

Because the waters were too shallow for large, 

heavy-laden ships to navigate, cargo was offloaded 

onto lighters, small boats suited to the shallow 

waters of the inlet, and taken to Portsmouth's 

warehouses while the ships passed through the 

inlet.7

This practice, known as lightering, was the reason 

for Portsmouth’s establishment and for its success. 

At Portsmouth were built the warehouses, wharves, 

and boats needed for the lightering business, 

as well as structures for its residents. The town 

was home to the many pilots and crew, mariners, 

3. Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., Portsmouth Village, 

Cultural Resources Report (Atlanta: National Park Service 

Southeast Regional Office, 2007), p. 17.

4. David Stick, The Outer Banks of North Carolina, 1584-

1958 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 

1958), p. 40, quotes the act.

5. Sarah Olson, Historic Resource Study, Portsmouth Village, 

Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina (Denver, 

Colorado: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park 

Service, Denver Service Center, March 1982), p. 17, citing 

State Records of North Carolina, Vol. 25, pp. 252-54.

6. Pat Dula Davis and Kathleen Hill Hamilton, eds., 

The Heritage of Carteret County North Carolina, Vol. 1

(Beaufort, NC: Carteret Historical Research Association, 

1982), p. 63.

7. Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., Portsmouth Village, 

Cultural Resources Report, p. 17. 

channel markers and boat builders. Related 

businesses developed, in addition to those needed 

to support a growing population. Five years after 

Collet, Henry Mouzon’s 1775 map of the two 

Carolinas shows Portsmouth as a developed town 

with buildings delineated. The inlet is marked as a 

ship passage (Fig. 3).

Census data give a picture of the village, although 

the listings for Portsmouth are not precise and 

Figure 3. A portion of Henry Mouzon’s 1775 An 

Accurate Map of North and South Carolina, showing 

the lower part of the Outer Banks with Portsmouth 

on the south side of Ocracoke Inlet. Ships are shown 

passing through the inlet at Portsmouth. (North 

Carolina Collection, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill) 

Figure 4. Nautical chart of 1806 shows the inlet's 

bar and shoals in detail. Skilled local pilots were 

required to navigate the channel, which changed 

with tides, time, and storms. “Ocracock [sic] Bar 

including Shell Castle,” A Chart of the coast of North 

Carolina between Cape Hatteras and Cape Fear from 

a Survey Taken in the Year 1806, Thomas Coles and 

Jonathan Price.
PART I.A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

National Park Service 17

result in differing interpretations. Nevertheless, the 

figures show the healthy growth of the settlement 

and the importance of slaves to the enterprise. The 

white population in 1800 was 165; slaves numbered 

98. The total of 25 families gives an indication of 

the number of houses in the village. By 1810 the 

white population had increased to 226, the slave 

population to 121. 

As expected, the census reveals that over eighty 

percent of workers engaged in some aspect of 

maritime activity.8

 Portsmouth’s life depended on 

the inlet; residents made their living from trade 

through the passage, working as pilots, lighter 

captains, mariners, ship owners. Some were 

customs agents who sailed out to collect duties. 

Others had occupations necessary to support the 

town: teachers, merchants, doctors, and fisherman. 

Supporting all were the slaves, whose labor kept 

the enterprise a success. Slaves were involved 

in most activities of the village. They loaded and 

unloaded cargo, but also operated a dolphin fishery 

and served the critical roles of pilots, who manned 

all types of vessels.9 David Cecelski reports, "At 

Portsmouth Island, slave crews piloted vessels 

through Ocracoke inlet, lightered their cargoes, and 

then guided them to distant seaports of the other 

side of Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds."10

Portsmouth continued to grow, with almost 400 

people by 1830. Two years earlier, Currituck Inlet 

farther north had closed, leaving all shipping 

dependent on Portsmouth’s help at Ocracoke Inlet. 

The community was robust; more than 1,400 vessels 

passed through the inlet in 1836-37.11 Recognizing 

Portsmouth’s importance to commerce, the federal 

government established a customs house there in 

1806, and in 1827 provided for a marine hospital. A 

U.S. post office was established in 1840, and in 1842, 

Congress appropriated funds to buy land and build 

a new marine hospital, which when completed was 

the largest structure ever built in Portsmouth.12

8. Olson, Portsmouth HRS, p. 68. 

9. David E. Whisnant and Anne Mitchell Whisnant, 

Cape Lookout National Seashore Historic Resource Study

(prepared for the Organization of American Historians 

under Cooperative Agreement with the National Park 

Service, Draft, January 14, 2010), pp. 121, 137-138.

10. David Cecelski, The Waterman’s Song: Slavery and 

Freedom in Maritime North Carolina (Chapel Hill: University 

of North Carolina Press, 2001), p. xiii.

11. Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., Portsmouth 

Village, Cultural Resources Report, p. 24, cites Stick, The 

Outer Banks, p. 306.

12. Tommy Jones, Portsmouth Life-Saving Station Historic 

Structure Report (Atlanta: National Park Service Southeast 

Portsmouth is considered today remote and isolated, 

but in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth 

centuries it was a bustling commercial center with 

direct contact with European and Atlantic trade 

and culture, far less isolated than most of North 

Carolina.13 In 1842 the U.S. House Committee on 

Commerce stated, “Ocracoke Inlet is the outlet for 

all commerce of the state of North Carolina, from 

the ports of Newbern [sic], Washington, Plymouth, 

Edenton, and Elizabeth City...more than two thirds 

of the exports of the State of North Carolina pass 

out to sea at this point.”14 

An event four years later would change the shipping 

industry in North Carolina. In 1846, a hurricane 

created an inlet at Hatteras, about twenty miles 

north of the Ocracoke Inlet. This was the undoing 

of Portsmouth. Where Ocracoke Inlet was tricky 

and required lightering, the new Hatteras Inlet 

was deep and navigable. By 1850, Portsmouth’s 

population reached 463—Hatteras had grown to 

661.

Portsmouth depended on its lightering and piloting 

jobs. The 1850 census recorded 27 pilots, 37 

mariners, 7 boat men, 3 fishermen, 5 merchants, 

4 carpenters, 2 farmers, and a teacher with 77 

students.

Portsmouth, with its facilities well established, 

grew in the next ten years to more than 600 and the 

census reported 109 dwellings. This was its peak, 

not only in population but in importance.

The growth of railroads also affected trade, not only 

at Portsmouth but on the ports facing the sound, as 

they strengthened easier north-south travel to the 

port of Wilmington over the east-west trade to the 

sound.15

Portsmouth was still operating as a lightering port 

in 1860 when, during Edmund Ruffin’s visit, he 

explained,

The village of Portsmouth owes its existence 

to the fact of its adjoining the nearest water of 

Pamlico sound, where vessels must anchor and 

wait for fair winds and tides to cross the shallow 

and dangerous bar of Ocracoke inlet—and 

Regional Office, 2006), p. 17.

13. Whisnant, Cape Lookout National Seashore Historic 

Resource Study, pp. 81-82.

14. Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., Portsmouth 

Village, Cultural Resources Report, p. 25, cites Stick, Outer 

Banks, pp. 87-88.

15. William S. Powell, North Carolina through Four 

Centuries (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 

1989), pp. 261-63.
18 Henry Pigott Housee HSR 

after passing outward, as usual but partly laden, 

to wait to receive the remainder of the cargo, 

carried across the bar by lighters.16 

Ruffin also described the village:

The occupations of the whole resident 

population of Portsmouth are connected with 

the vessels which have to wait here. Pilots, 

and sailors, or owners of vessels, make up the 

greater number of the heads of families and 

adult mails—and the remainder are the few, 

who as shopkeepers, &tc, are necessary to 

minister to the wants of the others.17

Ruffin’s description then became a forecast:

If Ocracoke inlet should be closed by sand 

(which is no improbable event) the village 

of Portsmouth would disappear—or (like 

Nagshead) [sic] remain only for its other use, as 

a summer retreat for transient visitors, sought 

for health and sea-bathing.18

Ruffin’s forecast was timely. The shoals of 

Ocracoke Inlet were spreading into the inlet, no 

longer the easiest access to mainland ports. The 

steady withdrawal of shipping traffic continued and 

Portsmouth lost its strategic importance. Hatteras 

with its favored inlet surpassed Portsmouth.19

The Civil War brought changes to Portsmouth as 

it did throughout the South. Residents fled for the 

mainland as the Union Army advanced down the 

Outer Banks. Many chose not to return; among 

the former slaves and free blacks, only one family 

returned to the island. After the war, the town’s 

decline spiraled. By 1870, the number of houses 

fell from 109 to only 59, and then to 44 in 1880. 

By 1883, the inlet was no longer navigable for 

lightering. Many more left, or turned to fishing as 

occupation.

Other means of livelihood sustained the village. In 

1894 the U.S. established a Life-Saving Station in 

16. Edmund Ruffin, Agricultural, Geological, and 

Descriptive Sketches of Lower North Carolina, and the 

Similar Adjacent Lands. (Raleigh: Printed at the Institution 

for the Deaf & Dumb & the Blind, 1861).

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.

19. Impact Assessment, Inc. Ethnohistorical Description 

of the Eight Villages adjoining Cape Hatteras National 

Seashore and Interpretive Themes of History and Heritage. 

Final Technical Report, Vol. 2 (Atlanta: National Park Service 

Southeast Regional Office, November 2005), pp. 408-410. 

http://www.nps.gov/history/ethnography/research/docs/

caha_ethno_v2.pdf.

Portsmouth that provided jobs for some residents 

as cooks, surfmen, or mechanics. Others worked 

for the several hunting clubs that opened nearby in 

the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 

Wealthy northern sportsmen formed clubs near 

the flocks of water fowl that wintered on the warm 

waters of Pamlico Sound. One was the Pilentary 

Club, built by wealthy New Yorkers about ten 

miles from Portsmouth Village and among seven 

similar gun clubs in Carteret County. Despite its 

isolation, the elegant club was visited by prominent 

figures, including Franklin D. Roosevelt while he 

was Assistant Secretary of the Navy. The clubs 

provided jobs for both men and women as hunting 

guides, cooks, maids and laundresses.

Hurricanes were a constant threat to Portsmouth. 

The “Great Hurricane of August 1899” brought 

winds that reached 140 miles per hour at Hatteras 

Figure 5. Duck hunter with live decoys near 

Portsmouth, December 1915. (CALO Coll. a33)

Figure 6. FDR travelling by oxcart on a visit to the 

Pilentary Club while Assistant Secretary of the Navy. 

(CALO Coll. a55)
PART I.A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

National Park Service 19

before the anemometer blew away, and submerged 

Portsmouth and Ocracoke under ten feet of 

water in some places.20 The storm destroyed a 

Methodist church. Two churches were destroyed 

in a 1913 storm, though the community was still 

strong enough to support construction of a new 

Methodist Church in 1915-16. 

Many left Portsmouth after the devastation of 

another hurricane in 1933. The last general store 

closed its doors. The force of the hurricane 

opened a new inlet through the Core Banks south 

of Portsmouth, creating an island thereafter called 

Portsmouth Island. Until then, as seen on the old 

maps, Portsmouth had been a town at the north 

end of Core Banks, not its own island.21 

Life on the island in the first half of the twentieth 

century was far different from its prosperous and 

bustling earlier years. Older methods of living 

and housekeeping were rarely updated. Cooking 

stoves were fueled with kerosene for decades after 

electricity was common elsewhere. Heat from the 

stoves dictated summer kitchens, outbuildings 

more typical of the nineteenth and early twentieth 

centuries. Refrigeration was not available, either 

from ice or fuel. Instead, small screened houses, 

known as dairy houses or milk houses but more 

akin to a small compartment, were used for shortterm storage, sheltering the food from the sun 

while welcoming ocean breezes. Electricity from 

generators came late to Portsmouth, after World 

War II, and only to a few houses.

Drinking water was not taken for granted. There 

was only one deep freshwater well on the island, 

and that eventually became brackish. Residents 

depended on rainwater collected from roofs into 

cisterns built adjacent to the houses. These were 

carefully designed and regularly cleaned. Special 

preparations were made before hurricanes to 

prevent infiltration of salt water.22

Years later Ada Roberts Styron visited the island 

and recalled aspects of life there. 

20. Tommy Jones, George Dixon House Historic Structure 

Report (Atlanta: National Park Service Southeast Regional 

Office, 2004), p. 10.

21. The inlet later closed, then reopened. Today the sand 

between Portsmouth and the Core Banks is more often 

above water than below.

22. Delores Gaskins interview, April 26, 2014 Homecoming 

(Babb descendant).

"Usually two of our cows would come up 

from the range at night, to nourish their 

penned-up calves and supply us with milk, 

cream and butter. For them we drew 

brackish water from a shallow well. We 

drank rain water from our large juniper 

cistern. There was only one deep well of 

good, fresh drinking water on the island. It 

was on land Up-the-Banks."23 

Essential to the island were provisions from 

Ocracoke across the inlet, and especially from the 

mainland. The mailboat Aleta served multiple 

functions. Officially the ferry to Ocracoke across 

the inlet, it also came out to the inlet to serve 

Portsmouth. In the 1930s, the Aleta made a round 

trip to the mainland every day, leaving Ocracoke 

at 6 am for Atlantic, then leaving the mainland at 

1 pm for a stop at Cedar Island and a second stop 

at Portsmouth. A designated resident took a small 

boat over the shallow waters to meet the mailboat 

and pick up or deliver items. From the Aleta came 

mail, groceries and provisions from general stores 

in Atlantic. It also served as a passenger ferry.

24

In 1937, the Coast Guard's Life-Saving Station 

was closed, further diminishing the town's vitality. 

The population by 1940 dropped to 42 people 

and continued its rapid decline. There were two 

students in the school when it closed in 1943 (Fig. 

10). Families still lived on the island, but their older 

children went to school off the island, probably in 

Ocracoke.25 

23. Ada Roberts Styron recalling 1968 visit to Portsmouth, 

Ocracoke Newsletter, February 21, 2011, http://www.

villagecraftsmen.com/news022111.htm.

24. Charles S. Killebrew, Raleigh News & Observer, February 

1, 1948, quoted in "Doctor's Creek Journal," Summer 2015 

newsletter of Friends of Portsmouth Island, p. 11.

25. Lynn Salsi and Frances Eubanks, The Crystal Coast.

(Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2000), p. 90.

Figure 7. The mailboat Aleta. (NPS photo gallery 

website)
20 Henry Pigott Housee HSR 

A year later the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944 

flooded Portsmouth and caused great damage to 

buildings, causing yet more residents to relocate 

to Ocracoke or to the mainland. Families with 

young children had no choice but to leave.26 The 

Coast Guard reactivated the station during World 

War II, but in 1945 closed the station, taking 

more jobs from the island. The church was next; 

it ended services in 1956. Thereafter, a minister 

26. By 1950 the youngest resident was 28; NPS exhibit at 

Portsmouth Visitor Center (Dixon-Salter House).

from the mainland visited congregants at their 

houses once a month. Finally, the mailboat made 

its last Portsmouth stop in the late 1950s and the 

Portsmouth Post Office closed in 1959. The former 

Life-Saving Station (Coast Guard) was used as a 

lodge by a hunting and fishing club.27

In the 1950s while Portsmouth institutions were 

closing their doors, individuals began buying 

abandoned houses for use as summer cottages, and 

the State of North Carolina began purchasing land 

on Core Banks, including properties in Portsmouth 

Village, for the purpose of preserving the natural 

barrier islands.

When the Cape Lookout National Seashore was 

authorized in 1966, the State of North Carolina 

began acquiring buildings in Portsmouth for 

eventual transfer to the National Park Service. 

Most owners who used the properties seasonally 

sold outright, but the remaining residents were 

granted life estates allowing them to live in their 

houses until their deaths. The state transferred all 

27. Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Portsmouth Village 

Cultural Landscape Report, pp. 43-44.

Figure 8. Carl Dixon taking mail from the mailboat to 

the Post Office by wheelbarrow, ca 1930. (CALO c29, 

Aycock Brown Coll.) 

Figure 9. Only three people on Portsmouth owned 

automobiles, among them Walter Styron's 1929 

Chevy shown in 1931 on a barge at Portsmouth, 

heading for Atlantic on the mainland. (CALO a15, 

Sarah Roberts Styron Coll.)

Figure 10. Teacher Mary Dixon with two of her last 

students. (CALO Coll. b04)
PART I.A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

National Park Service 21

properties to the Park Service in 1976 when the 

National Seashore was established.28 

Although Portsmouth houses continued in 

seasonal use, in 1950 only fourteen residents 

remained, and only four were living year-round on 

the island in 1962. Soon there were three, a man 

and two women, all elderly. By the late 1960s, all 

spent their winters at Ocracoke or on the mainland 

but the majority of the year at Portsmouth.29 In 

1970 the man, Henry Pigott, became ill and moved 

to Ocracoke to live with a friend.30 After his death 

in 1971, the women agreed reluctantly to move to 

Beaufort. Those were the island’s last year-round 

residents. Marian Babb retained a lifetime right to 

her house and continued to return to Portsmouth 

in the summers.31

In the 1970s, the Park Service was juggling life 

estates, special use permits, and a court judgment 

for a 25-year lease.32 It began a successful leasing 

program for several Portsmouth houses. The longterm agreements, generally twenty years, required 

leaseholders to maintain and improve the buildings 

following the Secretary of the Interior's "Standards 

for Rehabilitation" and specific conditions of the 

lease, including a requirement for a compost toilet 

if a flush toilet was not installed.33 A typical rental 

amount was about $5,000 per year.34 Some were 

leased to fishermen and many to families with a 

connection to Portsmouth, who used the houses 

for weekends and summer vacations. The program 

was successful for many years in putting the houses 

to use and helping with their maintenance.35 

NPS Planning Efforts

The first planning document for the park that 

addresses Portsmouth is the 1971 Master Plan, 

compiled from studies carried out from the 1966 

28. George J. Olszewski, "Historic Resource Study for 

History of Portsmouth Village," typewritten draft, 

September 1970, p. 73.

29. Olszewski, "Historic Resource Study,"pp. 70, 72.

30. Rudy and Celestine Carter of Hampton, Virginia, 

interview, April 26, 2014 Homecoming. Pigott was Rudy 

Carter's uncle.

31. Salsi and Eubanks, Crystal Coast, p. 86.

32. Site map, "Special Use Permits," showing categories of 

agreements, June 24, 1976.

33. Ellen Fulcher Cloud interview, April 26, 2014 

Homecoming.

34. For example, the lease of January 3, 1990 made to 

Charles Jackson Gilley and Jacob Eli Fisher, Jr., for the Henry 

Pigott House.

35. Cloud interview, 2014 Homecoming.

authorization of the park to 1970.36 One of the 

studies for the plan was a preliminary Historic 

Resource Study (HRS), produced by NPS historian 

George Olszewski in a 1970 draft "to satisfy the 

research needs specified in the Historical Resource 

Study Proposal CALO-H-1, Historic Resource 

Study, Portsmouth Village." The area's historic 

sites were identified, evaluated, and plotted on an 

historical base map.37 The HRS examined a large 

number of primary documents not previously 

researched, and may be the first academic study of 

the island's history. 

The Study recommended the "theme" that 

should guide the National Seashore's treatment 

of Portsmouth. The village "should be restored 

to accent the cultural and economic life of the 

Bankers. At Portsmouth the story could be 

told of how the people lived, earned their daily 

bread, raised their children and adapted to their 

environment. Economic activity centering around 

Ocracoke Inlet should be emphasized since it 

relates so closely to the life of the Portsmouthers."38

36. Cape Lookout National Seashore, Master Plan, Cape 

Lookout National Seashore (Harkers Island NC: Cape 

Lookout National Seashore, 1971).

37. Olszewski, "Historic Resource Study," p. 1.

38. Ibid., p. 77.

Figure 11. View of the village from the Coast Guard 

tower ca 1928, when wild cattle grazed the island. 

(CALO c19, Aycock Brown Coll.)
22 Henry Pigott Housee HSR 

The 1971 Master Plan repeated earlier informal 

proposals in focusing on the natural environment. 

It introduces historic resources only generally, 

loosely stating an intention to “restore the 

historical scene” at Portsmouth Village.39

The Park Service did address immediate issues 

at Portsmouth. Vegetation had grown up on the 

island since the 1950s when the state of North 

Carolina outlawed free-range grazing on the Outer 

Banks (Fig. 11). In the following years, trees and 

low vegetation took over much of the open land in 

the village when only a tiny and elderly population 

lived on island. In the late 1970s and early 1980s 

after the Seashore was established, NPS began 

clearing the trees and overgrown brush and began 

an as-needed program of repair to buildings.

In response to requirements of the National Parks 

and Recreation Act of 1978, NPS completed a more 

comprehensive General Management Plan (GMP) 

in 1982 (printed in 1983).40 The plan reflects 

additional research on Portsmouth, for which a 

National Register nomination had been completed. 

The plan incorporated historic resources planning 

and introduced interpretive themes for the village, 

39. Master Plan,1971, p. 81.

40. General Management Plan / Development Concept 

Plan, 1982-83

mostly taken from Ross Holland’s 1968 Survey 

History of Cape Lookout National Seashore. 

The GMP was preceded by a draft released in 

August 1978. Work at this time is explained in an 

undated article:

According to its proposed management plan, 

released in August of 1978, the National 

Park Service intends to preserve the exterior 

of the buildings remaining on Portsmouth. 

Work has already started on some of the 

buildings. The Coast Guard Station has been 

reshingled and both the church and the post 

office-general store have been painted. 

The Park Service hopes to provide 

transportation to the island for 150 visitors a 

day. These visitors will receive guided tours 

during the busy season and may go on selfguided tours in the off-season. Also planned 

for the village is a dock, water and sanitation 

facilities, a ranger station, and a maintenance 

area.

According to Portsmouth district ranger 

Kevin Kacer, in The News-Times, a halfmillion dollars has been appropriated by 

Congress for restoration of the buildings over 

the next five years. However, it will be ten 

years before restoration is finished.41

41. Caroline Smith, "Historic Portsmouth,” undated article 

in SHPO files.

Figure 12. Path through the overgrowth to the church. Undated. (CALO Coll. 04847)
PART I.A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

National Park Service 23

The early history of Portsmouth is compelling, and 

is reflected in planning documents as it supersedes 

the more recent history of the town. Economics 

and hurricanes destroyed all eighteenth century 

and all but two nineteenth-century buildings, yet 

the documents do not address an interpretive plan 

for the buildings actually on site. 

In 1982 the park finalized the Historic Resource 

Study on Portsmouth Village, many years in the 

making. The 1970 draft was delayed by the park’s 

work on the 1976 American Bicentennial. When 

picked up again it was revised and updated by three 

other historians before its 1982 publication.42

The park completed a Resources Management 

Plan and Environmental Assessment in 1984 

that more explicitly addresses historic resources. 

This was the first indication of a systematic 

look at cultural resources by the park, mainly 

to comply with Section 106 of the National 

Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Its emphasis 

is on preventing deterioration; the plan places 

historic resources as the park’s third priority, 

behind recreation and natural resources. 

Recommendations for cultural resources 

management, focus largely on Portsmouth and the 

42. Olson, Portsmouth HRS, preface.

Cape Lookout Light Station (because both were 

listed in the National Register), the park museum, 

archives, and archaeological sites. 43 Portions of 

this plan apparently were written some years earlier 

and state in one place that Portsmouth was not yet 

listed in the National Register, though the listing 

was effective in 1978.44

The Resources Management Plan recommended 

detailed HSRs, necessary to conduct proper 

stabilization as well as management of rampant 

overgrowth around the buildings of the village. At 

that time, work in the village was unprogrammed 

and reactive, without benefit of historic research 

to guide decisions. No interpretive themes were 

proposed in the plan, but the report recommended 

hiring a full-time park historian.45 

In December 1983, NPS staff led by Rene Cote, 

Southeast Region Historical Architect, inspected 

the buildings of Portsmouth and prepared a 

report in January 1984, its purpose “to establish 

areas of priority which can later be systematically 

43. Resources Management Plan and Environmental 

Assessment, (Cape Lookout National Seashore, 1984), 

pp. 8-9, 115-16; the plan includes a chronology of 

archaeological work in the park.

44. Ibid, Archaeological Data Section.

45. Ibid, pp. 162-72, 173-74.

Figure 13. The marsh at Doctor's Creek, looking out to the sound. (JKOA, 2013)
24 Henry Pigott Housee HSR 

programmed into budget proposals.” The report 

first recognizes the inalterable geographical 

conditions of Portsmouth that affect its buildings: 

the limited natural horizontal drainage, the 

aggressive marine environment (wind, salt, sun, 

flooding, humidity), the high water table, and the 

saline soil.46 

The geography of the waterways surrounding the 

island was also noted as a preservation issue, their 

shallow channels limiting the size of boats and 

transport of equipment, materials and crews to 

the buildings. The shoaling that contributed to 

Portsmouth's economic decline was now affecting 

its preservation.

After their inspections, Cote and his team 

addressed factors that could be improved. 

• crews (carpenters, painters, roofers) who 

had conducted repairs and maintenance 

were not adequately qualified;

• crews were using incompatible paints on 

structures, applying oil-based primer coat 

and one latex finish coat;

• water was ponding under and around 

structures, and sand buildup had caused 

some structures to sit below grade, leading to 

moisture deterioration and insect infestation;

• these conditions were causing structural 

settlement, in turn restricting the operation 

of windows and doors for interior 

ventilation.

NPS completed Structure Survey forms in the field 

to assess conditions at Portsmouth’s buildings. 

These are dated 1984 in CALO files, but are more 

likely the field notes that Cote’s team made in 

December 1983 to create the January 1984 report 

cited above. 

A management plan completed in 1990 includes 

brief historical information on Portsmouth. A 1997 

plan addresses interpretive themes, not mentioned 

in the 1984 plan, but a repeat of the “sea” theme 

in the General Management Plan. The focus for 

Portsmouth was its early development associated 

with shipping at Ocracoke Inlet. The plan gave 

some emphasis to the need for in-depth historical 

study of Portsmouth's buildings.47 

46. Rene Cote, “Narrative Report on the Findings of 

Historic Structures Examination; Preliminary Test of Historic 

Structures Survey, Portsmouth Village,” 1984.

47. Resources Management Plan, pp. 31, 42, 50. 

In the early and mid-2000s, four Historic Structure 

Reports (HSRs) were completed by Tommy Jones of 

the NPS Southeast Regional Office. These in-depth 

studies of the physical histories of buildings are 

invaluable to the park's decisions for repair.

The park’s first comprehensive study of Portsmouth 

was not until 2007, when the Cultural Landscape 

Report provided a lengthy history of the island and 

specific recommendations. The CLR endorsed the 

finding of the 1978 National Register nomination 

that Portsmouth was over 200 years old, and "the 

only existing village on the Core Banks south of 

Ocracoke Inlet.” It recommended an extension 

of the period of significance to the 1971 end of 

permanent residency.48

In 2010, David and Anne Whisnant submitted their 

excellent draft Historic Resource Study for CALO, 

which includes a comprehensive history of the 

lands within the park, including Portsmouth, and 

recommendations for interpretation.

The Long-Range Interpretive Plan of 2011 

addresses the difficulties of providing adequate 

sanitary facilities for leasing Portsmouth's buildings 

for residential use. Other daytime, administrative 

uses might be found, since such facilities for nonresidential uses may be feasible. Compost toilets can 

be housed in the village's outbuildings with minimal 

impact on historical fabric.

Hurricanes have continued to flood and damage 

Portsmouth's buildings during NPS ownership. 

During Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, the 

village was flooded by storm tides. The Post Office 

received approximately eight inches of water and 

the Portsmouth School lost some windows. The 

Methodist Church was damaged by the heavy 

winds, loosing roof shingles and developing a 

significant structural tilt.49

Documented changes in climate are projected to 

produce larger and more violent storms. Sea levels 

are rising as predicted, and the dangers affecting 

the buildings of Portsmouth Village are expected 

to increase. Faced with these threats, the National 

Park Service (NPS) recognized the need to record 

the buildings of the village. The impact of sea level 

rise is addressed in the Foundation Document of 

2012. Eight properties are extensively documented 

48. Wiss, Janney, Elstner. and John Milner Associates, Inc., 

Cultural Landscape Report, .

49. NPS press release, "Historic Portsmouth Village 

Methodist Church is Damaged by Hurricane Sandy," 

November 16, 2012.
PART I.A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

National Park Service 25

in HSRs; NPS selected thirteen other building 

complexes to be documented in a new approach to 

create a permanent visual and descriptive record of 

the buildings. The Portsmouth Village Documentation 

Project was completed in August 2015, with thirteen 

stand-alone reports bound in two large volumes.

Portsmouth is celebrated and not forgotten. In 

1992 the first Portsmouth Homecoming was held, 

and has continued to be held in April every other 

year. In 2000, only nine people were living who 

were born on Portsmouth; two of them attended 

the homecoming, including Jesse Lee who was 

reputedly the last baby born on the island.50 

50. Village Craftsman, Ocracoke Newsletter, May 4, 2000.

The 2014 Homecoming was held on April 26. Over 

400 people attended, arriving over several hours 

in small groups as shallow-draft boats made 

the rounds from Ocracoke, Core Banks, and 

Cedar Island. From many states and as far away 

as California, nineteen Portsmouth families 

were represented by their descendants, many 

of whom had spent summers and vacations in 

Portsmouth houses through NPS leases. The 

Homecomings are important to the people 

and beneficial to the village, helping retain an 

attachment to place. Planning for the 2016 

Homecoming is underway.
26 Henry Pigott Housee HSR 

MAP OF PORTSMOUTH VILLAGE

OCRACOKE

INLET

N

Map of Portsmouth Village showing location of the Henry Pigott complex. (CALO base map)
National Park Service 27 

The Henry Pigott House is a quaint one-and-ahalf-story cottage that sits on the west bank of 

Doctor’s Creek near its mouth at Ocracoke Inlet. 

The name Henry Pigott House reflects its last fulltime resident. The house was passed down through 

three generations of the Pigott family, who lived 

there for nearly seven decades. 

Harmon Austin

The house was built ca. 1902 by a Harmon 

Austin, though accounts differ on his first name, 

using “Harmon,” “Harem,” and “Harmin” 

interchangeably. Research indicates that two men 

I.B Chronology of Development 

and Use

named Harmon Austin, born ten years apart, both 

in Hatteras, and both with ties to Portsmouth, may 

have been the Austin in question.51 

The first Harmon Austin was Captain Harmon 

Dudley Austin. Born on January 22, 1858, he is 

believed to have served at the Portsmouth Coast 

Guard Station. He married Betty Elizabeth Stowe 

(1851-1922) in Portsmouth in 1877, and together 

they had six children, including a grandson who 

51. Harmin in NPS map and Cultural Landscape Report map 

(CLR fig. 17), Harem and Harmon in 1978 NPS records. Rebecca 

Harriet, “Henry Pigott Cottage Biography” (NPS, 1978).

Figure 14. Henry and his sister Lizzie Pigott in front of their fence. (CALO, Jessie Lee Dominique Coll.)
28 Henry Pigott House HSR 

was a close friend of Henry Pigott. Austin died 

February 15, 1939 in Hatteras.52

The more likely of the two, Harmon Jones 

Austin, was born a decade later on March 9, 

1868. He married Cynthia Wade and had at least 

one daughter, Pearlie, born in Portsmouth.53

Portsmouth residents in interviews recalled that 

Austin was a carpenter, and it was he who built the 

Pigott House. Some remember that Austin lived 

in the house with his family for ten years; however, 

the more frequent report is that the house was built 

about 1902 and sold to Rosetta Pickett in 1904.54

It seems that Austin built at least two houses, 

probably more, and may indeed have lived in one 

while Rosetta lived in another. A conjectured ca. 

52. Austin Families Association, http://www.afaoa.org/

db_files/Hatteras_Austins_NC/Individuals/I23.html.

53. He died in Hatteras March 20, 1954. Pearlie Austin 

Obituary, The Coastland Times, Manteo, October 12, 1995. 

He is listed on death certificate as a retired carpenter.

54. Harriet, “Cottage Biography.” Independent interviews 

with former residents E.D. Wilis, Elma Dixon, and Jesse Babb 

Dominique.

1900 map of the village shows not only today's 

Pigott House, but another house farther south also 

on the west bank of Doctor’s Creek. This house 

is labeled Harmin Austin. Although the map's 

locations and identifications are conjectured, they 

support recollections that Austin built more than 

one house.55

More compelling are two early images that show 

a house markedly similar to today's Pigott House 

(Figs. 15-16). A photograph taken about 1940 

shows the "new" house that the Dixon siblings 

moved to its site behind the Methodist church in 

1939. Clearly visible to the northwest is a house 

that appears to be the Pigott House, with similar 

design and proportions. However, the angle of the 

photograph and its close proximity to the Dixon 

house confirm that this is a different house. It 

seems likely that it was also built by Austin, and 

may be the house he lived in for those ten years. 

55."Historic Base Map--1900," CALO. The information 

is repeated on a conjectured ca. 1910 map in the 2007 

Cultural Landscape Report, Fig. 17, which used the 1900 

base map as a source. 

Figure 15. Ca. 1940 photograph of Ed, Nora, and Elma Dixon's house behind the church. The house in the 

background is strikingly similar to the Pigott House, and is far to the east of the Pigott House. The photograph 

shows the fence with its solid base. (CALO Coll. b13)
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 29

An earlier photograph, though less clear, shows 

what appears to be the same house, again easily 

mistaken for the Pigott House (Fig. 16). Identified 

as a carpenter on his death certificate, Austin likely 

built several houses in the village, including that on 

the conjectured map just south of the Pigott House 

and labeled with his name. 

No primary record nor any of the many secondary 

sources provide a conclusive history of the Pigott 

House, but it is clear that within a few years after 

Harmon Austin built that house, it came into the 

possession of Rosetta Pickett.

Rosetta “Rose” Pickett

Rosetta, called “Rosa” or more often “Rose,” 

was born into slavery on Portsmouth. Her date 

of birth is unknown, perhaps even to her, as 

census records exhibit great variation. Even her 

last name is in question, appearing with equal 

frequency as “Ireland,” “Abbot,” and “Pickett.” 

No marriage records have been found to clarify 

names, but it was not unusual for a slave to carry 

the name of an owner. Her tombstone gives the 

surname Pickett and places her birth in December 

1838.56 By all accounts, Rose was a formidable 

woman who lived and raised her family in the face 

of adversity. 

56. Portsmouth genealogy website.

As a flourishing port town in the late eighteenth 

and early nineteenth centuries, Portsmouth 

depended on a large number of slaves, many 

serving as stevedores who provided the manual 

labor for ship lightering. The percentage of slaves 

was high for a town not explicitly associated with 

agrarian enterprise. By 1850, Portsmouth had 

a population of 463, a quarter of whom were 

slaves, most working in the shipping and fishing 

industries.57 Many others worked as household 

servants, and those domestic roles increased as 

jobs shifted with the decline of Portsmouth’s 

economy.58 

Rosetta was apparently born into slavery in the 

household of Earls and Matilda Ireland, a wealthy 

family by Portsmouth standards. The Irelands were 

among the few to return to Portsmouth after the 

Civil War, accompanied by their domestic servant 

Rose with her children in tow.59 Researchers have 

suggested that Rose was the daughter of Earls Ireland, 

a reason hers was the only black family to return.60

She is first found in public records in the 1870 

census, shown as a domestic servant in the 

57. Tommy Jones, Washington Roberts House HSR, p. 3.

58. Whisnant, HRS 2010 draft, pp. 56, 85.

59. 1870 census, Portsmouth genealogy website. Whisnant, 

HRS 2010 draft, p. 290.

60. Cloud. Portsmouth: The Way it Was (Print Shop, 1996), 

pp. 98-100, Whisnant, HRS 2010 draft, and others.

Figure 16. The same house is seen from a greater distance in this pre-1928 photograph. The house in foreground 

is shown before Harry Dixon’s changes of 1928. (Dorothy Byrum Bedwell Coll.)
30 Henry Pigott House HSR 

household of the Irelands under the name Rosa 

Ireland. Her five children are under the same 

name.61

Rosa Ireland is again listed in 1880, but this time 

as head of household, her occupation as “keeping 

house,” and her marital status as single.62 Author 

Ellen Fulcher Cloud reports that by then, Rose had 

two more children and was living in a house next 

door to the Irelands.63 Whether the house was 

part of the Ireland property is not known, nor the 

location of the Ireland house itself. 

Recorded as single in 1880, Rose is listed in 1900 

as a widow with surname Pickett and mother 

of eleven children, eight living. She is head of 

household, her occupation “laundry work,” and 

her age fifty-three.64

61. Portsmouth genealogy website.

62. Ibid.

63. Cloud. p. 100.

64. Portsmouth genealogy website. Her birth in census 

records varies from 1835 to 1847. The 1890 census is 

Earls and Matilda Ireland had left Portsmouth 

around 1895, most likely depriving Rose of her 

most steady source of income.65 In addition to 

laundry work and forced to adapt, she worked for 

a period of time in the island’s gristmill, fished, 

oystered, and served as the island midwife and 

nurse. She was known as Aunt Rose.66

Though there is no record of a husband, a 

traditional story recounts that before the Civil 

War, Rose married a slave named Isaac who was 

later sold and sent away.67 He may have been the 

father of her first child, Harriet, who was born in 

the 1850s. Her next child was born in about 1860. 

Other children were born during and after her 

listings as single and widowed, when only white 

men lived on Portsmouth.68

Rose’s children bear the surnames Bragg, Ireland, 

Abbot or Abbott, Pickett, Pigott, and Willis, the 

names of the white families of Portsmouth and 

nearby, and several are listed as mulatto in the 

1910 census, the first year that categories of 

“color of race” were expanded.69 Rose’s greatgranddaughter believes “there was an invasion into 

her life from the men on the island.”70 

As they grew up, most of her children left 

Portsmouth for the opportunities of the mainland, 

especially to New Bern. Two who chose to stay 

were Leah (1867-1922) and Joe (1870-1948).71

Leah Pigott was born in 1867, listed in the 1870 

census in the Ireland household and with the 

Ireland surname. In 1880 she is again named 

Ireland, even listed as a granddaughter as well as a 

servant living in the household of Matilda Ireland, 

though by then her mother Rose was living next 

door. In the 1900 census, Leah is listed with the 

surname Pickett, living with Rose, and is single but 

with five children, one of them Henry Pigott.72

missing.

65. Cloud, p. 100.

66. NPS brochure, http://www.nps.gov/calo/planyourvisit/

upload/Henry2000.pdf. Cloud, p. 100.

67. Cloud, p. 98.

68. Portsmouth genealogy website.

69. Ibid. D’vera Cohn, “Race and the Census: The ‘Negro’ 

Controversy,” Pew Research Center, January 21, 2010. Eight 

of her children, in order of birth: Harriet “Hattie” Bragg, 

Sarah Ireland, Dorcas Martin [née Ireland], Leah Pigott, 

Joseph “Joe” Abbot, Henry Willis, Nettie Pickett, and 

Edward Pickett.

70. Letter from Dorcas E. Carter to a Mr. Harris, April 25, 

1991.

71. Death certificates and Portsmouth genealogy website.

72. Whisnant, HSR 2010 draft, p. 290.

Figure 17. Henry at age 14 in his Sunday suit. (CALO 

Coll. a19).
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 31

Joseph Abbot (also spelled Abbott) was Leah’s 

younger brother, born in 1870 and, like Leah, listed 

with the Ireland surname in the 1870 and 1880 

censuses. In 1900 he is listed as Pigott, a common 

surname in Beaufort at that time, but by 1910 

and thereafter he is again recorded as Abbot.73 

The only other Abbot known on the island was 

Jeremiah Abbot, a white man who operated a 

grocery store from the late 1860s to the early 

1880s. There is no known connection between the 

families.74

In 1900 Joe was employed as a cook and likely 

living with his mother Rose and sister Leah Pigott 

and her children. They are believed to have moved 

into today’s Henry Pigott House in 1904, only 

a few years before Rose's death in March 1909. 

According to former islander Mattie Daly Gilgo, 

“Rose went outside to roast oysters, caught her 

clothes on fire and burned to death.”75

In 1910 Joe was again employed as a cook, likely at 

the nearby Pilentary Hunting Club (Fig. 18), and 

almost certainly remained in the house with Leah, 

but it is she who is listed in the census as head of 

household, employed as an oysterman. 

In the 1920 census, Leah remains in the house, 

but in this listing her son Henry Pigott is head of 

household.76 His uncle Joe Abbot is listed without 

occupation but also as head of household. This 

73. Portsmouth genealogy website; spellings vary.

74. Jones, Washington Roberts House HSR, p. 11.

75. Cloud, p. 101. Portsmouth genealogy website. She is 

buried in Keeler-Styron Cemetery on Portsmouth.

76. Jones, Washington Roberts House HSR, p. 11. 

Portsmouth genealogy website.

suggests he no longer lived with Leah, though the 

record is imprecise.

Leah, apparently a large woman, died two years 

later in March 1922. Her funeral was remembered 

by Cecil Gilgo:

There was eight of us that were pallbearers. 

And when we went to the gate they couldn’t 

get it out of the gate and had to lift it over, over 

the fence. We had sheets around underneath 

the casket you know and wrap around your 

hands the way they had to carry it. They didn’t 

have handles on in them days. And somebody 

dropped the front end of it. And I see it right 

now how it went down in that dirt and they 

got it up and they got the mud off it. And we 

had to carry from Henry Pigott’s up to Abner 

Dixon’s place where she’s buried. That’s how 

far we carried it. You talk about somebody 

worn out. There was eight of us. She was a 

great big woman. A great big one.77

The gate and fence are those around the Henry 

Pigott House. Others remembered the difficulty 

of carrying her down the steep staircase from her 

bedroom.

Though the house had been in Rose’s family since 

1904 and passed from Rose to Leah and now from 

Leah to Henry, as yet there was no known record 

of ownership. Henry and his sister Lizzie were 

living there in 1930. In that census, both Joe Abbot 

and Henry Pigott are listed as head of household, 

again suggesting that Joe, by this time a cook at 

the Coast Guard Station, was living elsewhere. 

Nevertheless, his living arrangements would soon 

change. In the 1930s, possibly 1933, he moved to 

his friend Washington Roberts’ house.78

“Wash” Roberts was Earls Ireland’s nephew, a 

close friend of Joe Abbot and possibly related. 

When Roberts and his wife left Portsmouth in the 

1930s, they “allowed their dear friend Joe Abbot to 

move in...as a gesture of affection, and apparently 

left much of their furniture for Joe.”79 Joe is said 

to have “taken tender care” of the Roberts house 

during his tenure. When he moved to New Bern 

in 1946-47, Henry moved some of his uncle’s 

furniture to his and Lizzie's house.80 

77. CALO, Final Oral History Excerpt Script, “Track 89: Burial 

on the Island.” 2011.

78. http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022111.htm, p. 

10-11.

79. Jones, Washington Roberts House HSR, p. 10, cites 

Dominique and Dixon interview, 1979.

80. Ibid., p. 11, cites Marion Gray Babb to Pam Stuart, 

January 20, 1982, transcript of telephone conversation in 

Figure 18. Joe Abbott with members of one of the 

hunting clubs on the island. (CALO Coll. b85)
32 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Henry Pigott (1896-1971)

Henry Pigott was born on May 10, 1896, the 

youngest of Leah’s children.81 Little is known of 

his early life on Portsmouth besides his occupation 

as fisherman and oysterman. As a child he moved 

with his mother and four siblings into the house 

that would become his own.82

Henry’s had been the only black family on 

Portsmouth for decades, and in general was fully 

part of the community. Virtually unmentioned in 

the many fond remembrances and accounts of his 

life is his lack of education, a result of segregation 

laws prohibiting black children from attending 

white schools. Despite the fellowship of the 

community, he received no outside instruction and 

was never taught to read or write.

An islander remembered Henry:

[He] was not dark in color, he was like 

an Indian in appearance.... We never 

heard about a color barrier in those days. 

There was no need; we were all in the 

work together.... The Pigotts attended the 

Methodist Church that we did. They visited 

with us and lived among us... [A] finer man I 

never knew.83

Similar descriptions of Henry’s character are found 

repeatedly in primary and secondary source material. 

park files.

81. Carteret County death certificate, Vol. 54, p. 211.

82. Portsmouth genealogy website.

83. Whisnant, HRS 2010 draft, p. 289.

Henry and the Mail

The familiar image of Henry is on his skiff, poling 

out into Pamlico Sound to meet the mail boat. 

Mail, groceries and provisions from Ocracoke and 

the mainland, as well as passengers, were delivered 

to coastal and island communities by the mail 

boat, especially after the 1933 hurricane forced the 

general store to close. 

As Portsmouth’s population declined, the route 

no longer included the village; however, the boat 

continued to make deliveries and stopped in the 

sound. For many years Henry had the contract to 

pole out into the sound to meet the mail boat on 

Figure 19. Henry and Lizzie Pigott with other 

Portsmouth families in front of the Portsmouth 

Methodist Church, ca. 1949. (CALO Coll. b30)

Figure 20. Henry Pigott poling his skiff, 1955. (Mike Riddick Photo Collection, http://villagecraftsmen.blogspot.

com/2014_09_01_archive.html)
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 33

its course (Fig. 21).84 Deliveries were transferred 

to the skiff, outgoing mail and a list of orders from 

Portsmouth were given to the captain, and the 

skiff returned to Portsmouth where the deliveries 

were taken to the post office via wheelbarrow. 

After the post office was decommissioned in 1959, 

mail was delivered individually.85 Several residents 

performed this job over the years. Henry took over 

the task of poling the skiff from Ernest Salter and 

Carl Dixon and continued for many years.86 

The daughter of a mail boat captain recounts her 

childhood memory of joining her father on the mail 

boat Aleta, which he ran from Ocracoke to Atlantic. 

“I never remember having to wait for [Henry]. 

He timed it just right, so that when the mail boat 

arrived he would be right there to grab the side of it 

and hold while supplies were loaded in his skiff.”87

Former resident Lionel Gilgo remembered Henry 

and his skiff as something of a landmark: 

Now, when you take the ferry to Ocracoke, 

you look for the lighthouse. Back then in 

those days, when we took the mailboat to 

Portsmouth, you watched for Henry poling 

his boat out to meet you halfway.88

When Henry retired, two men, Junius Austin and 

Lum Gaskill, took over mail responsibilities, with 

Austin also assuming the role of caretaker of the 

84. Carl Goerch, “Where the Mailman Comes by Boat,” 

Raleigh News and Observer, 8 September 1957.

85. Cloud, pp. 92-94.

86. Eubanks and Salsi, p. 85.

87. Cloud, p. 97.

88. Taylor, “Transformed,” p. 43.

Figure 21. Henry Pigott poles out to greet Captain 

Fulcher and the Aleta off Portsmouth Island, ca. 

1953. (Friends of Portsmouth Island)

Figure 22. Lizzie Pigott swimming with friends, ca. 

1916. (CALO Coll. a34)

island until Cape Lookout National Seashore was 

formed.89

Henry’s Siblings

Henry had at least four brothers and sisters, 

Rachel, Isaac, Lizzie, and Georgia. Rachel in 

her youth on Portsmouth was an oysterman; she 

later moved to Hampton, Virginia where she was 

employed as a maid, but returned to Portsmouth to 

live in the house with Henry and Lizzie when she 

became ill later in life.90

Isaac was also an oysterman when young, but little 

is known of his life. He apparently remained on 

Portsmouth where he died a widower in 1939.91 

Georgia is shown only in the 1900 census when she 

was a child.92

Henry’s sister Elizabeth Pigott (1889-1960), known 

as Lizzie, never married or had children. From the 

age of fifteen she lived in the Henry Pigott House 

with Henry.93 Lizzie was known for her flowers and 

their well-kept yard and house, and served as the 

town barber, giving haircuts on the front porch to 

men, women, and children. An islander recalled. 

I remember her cutting my hair many, many 

times. Nothing but a comb and scissors, that 

was all she had, there weren’t no clippers. And I 

remember that if it was five cent, it was all right, 

and if you didn’t have it, it was still all right...94

Lizzie supplemented her income by fishing and 

oystering with Henry.

89. CALO HRS, 1970, p. 70.

90. Portsmouth genealogy website. Carteret County death 

certificate, Vol. 43, p. 181.

91. Carteret County death certificate 22/189.

92. Portsmouth genealogy website.

93. Ibid.

94. Taylor. “A Home Transformed,” pp. 44-45, cites Lionel 

Gilgo interview. 
34 Henry Pigott House HSR 

confirmed by weatherboard patterns still found on 

the house.

The house had a slightly unusual front porch 

configuration. The images show a three-bay shed 

porch extending less than the full width of the 

house by about two feet on each side. However, the 

porch deck and front railings extend beyond the 

corner posts the full extent of the front façade, a 

newel post at each corner. 

The house is low to the ground with an apron of 

tightly-spaced vertical slats. The body of the house 

is painted a dark color with light (likely white) trim. 

The front door is solid, without glazing. Any front 

shutters are obscured, but the early shutters on 

the east side seen in the 1925 photograph are of 

vertical boards with three horizontal battens on the 

interior face. 

The front apron continues along the side of the 

house and side stoop. More significantly, the 

rear ell is a single story, and the side stoop has no 

The House, ca. 1902

Early photographs show Henry and Lizzie's 

house before later changes, presumably much as 

when built ca. 1902. The first known is a ca. 1925 

photograph of Henry Pigott with a child; it provides 

significant information about the side of the 

house, the rear ell and both porches (Fig. 23). A 

photograph taken in about 1927 gives additional 

information about the house at that time (Fig. 

24). These and later images help determine the 

chronology of the house, but are most valuable 

when coupled with physical investigations of the 

building conducted for this report. 

It was essential while researching the house to 

confirm that the photographs are indeed the Pigott 

House rather than the "twin" house nearby (Fig. 

15). The side photograph is confirmed by the 

weatherboard pattern near the top of the windows. 

The same boards remained on the house in 1979 

(Fig. 41). (They were later replaced with boards 

of uniform size.) The front photograph (Fig. 24) is 

Figure 23. Lionel Gilgo as a child helping Henry Pigott wind twine for fishing nets, ca. 1925. The east façade, rear 

porch and ell, and front porch roof are visible, as well as the vertical-slat skirt. Weatherboard pattern matches 

that still on the house in 1978. (CALO b47-2, Lionel Gilgo Coll.)
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 35

roof. The location of the side doorway and the 

two-panel door are evident, and the shed roof 

configuration of the front porch is clear in both 

photographs.

Alterations of the 1930s

Henry Pigott, presumably with Lizzie’s input, 

made several changes to the house while he 

and Lizzie and perhaps other siblings were 

living there. Some secondary sources report 

that the changes were made in 1932; however, 

the hurricane of September 1933 caused severe 

damage to the island, destroying many houses, 

washing away outbuildings, and causing a 

large percentage of the population to leave 

permanently. Henry is quoted as saying the 1933 

hurricane was the “most severe hurricane in the 

memory of Portsmouth.” After the 1933 storm, 

“everybody just left” until the population hovered 

at around two dozen people.95 

95. CALO HRS, 1982, p. 70

Figure 25. Pigott House ca. 1959 showing front steps 

and details of porch and facade. Lizzie Pigott is at 

back left next to Lillian Babb. Seated are Elma Dixon 

and Marian Babb. (Jesse Lee Dominique Coll.)

Figure 24. Ethel and Russel Dixon standing in front 

of Henry Pigott House, ca. 1927, showing porch 

configuration (CALO b48 [index mislabeled b49], 

Lionel Gilgo Coll.)

It seems likely that at least some changes to the 

Pigott house and property were made after the 

storm, though It is certainly possible that Henry 

made his changes in 1932 and only necessary 

repairs after the storm. With the dates unknown, 

this report refers to the changes of the 1930s. 

But perhaps before the storm, Henry raised the 

house on taller posts to prevent flooding, his timing 

helping to reduce storm damages to the house.96 

Later photographs show the house to be six to ten 

inches higher than seen in the early photographs. 

It is likely that the orthogonally-oriented lattice 

apron was installed to replace the earlier verticalslat apron soon after (Fig. 25). The chimney may 

have been replaced when the house was raised. 

Henry made significant alterations to the rear 

ell to enlarge the house. The 1925 photograph 

shows a one-story ell (Fig. 23). In the 1930s, an 

upper level was added, its gable roof meeting the 

96. Harriet, “Cottage Biography.”
36 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Figure 26. Front view of Pigott House, probably 1950s, showing house and west yard. Lizzie seated at left, 

Marion G. Babb at fence. (CALO Coll. b39, Marian Gray Babb Coll.)

ridge of the main roof to create a cross-gable.97 

Interior detailing on the second floor of the main 

block indicates there was likely a rear dormer with 

window matching the front dormer. When the 

second-story was added to the rear ell, the dormer 

window was reframed as a doorway to the new 

back bedroom, and the original window sash was 

installed as a new back window in the gable end of 

the ell. 

Apparently at the same time, a hipped roof and 

support posts were added to the existing, but 

roofless, side porch. Another change perhaps made 

at that time was the addition of new two-panel 

window shutters on all first-floor windows (Figs. 

25-26, 31).

According to interviews, the kitchen building and 

the cool house were added to the property at this 

time, though previous outbuildings of similar 

purpose were certainly on site, perhaps destroyed 

in the storm and replaced by Henry soon after.98 

97. Harriet, “Cottage Biography,” cites 1978 interview with 

Henry Pigott’s friend Junius Austin.

98. Harriet, “ Cottage Biography.”

The brick of the kitchen building's chimney 

matches that of the house. The first known 

photograph of the kitchen building was taken 

decades later, but likely represents the structure as 

built.

The cool house was a typical structure on 

Portsmouth, its purpose to extend the life of 

perishable food. The simple method of food 

preservation relied on the principle of evaporative 

cooling–the breeze off the ocean flowed through 

the screened openings and over an open pan of 

water to create a zone of cool air.

Henry’s further retooling of the house was likely 

spread over multiple years. The front porch was 

rebuilt in a different style five years after the storm, 

with a hipped roof replacing the earlier shed roof 

and extending the full width of the facade. Its new 

front steps were wider than the original, and a new 

railing and concrete landing were added; inscribed 

on the landing is the date 1938 (Figs. 25-26).99

99. Doctor’s Creek Journal, Summer 2015, Friends of 

Portsmouth Island.
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 37

Stories of Henry’s painting his house pink 

consistently date to 1934, though documentation 

of that date is unclear. The color was apparently a 

mistake in a paint order from the Sears, Roebuck 

& Co. catalogue. Some report his intended color 

as yellow, others white, but when the pink paint 

arrived he reportedly decided “it was too much 

trouble to send back,” so he painted the house 

pink. At least two other houses were painted pink 

as well, perhaps because of an ample supply of 

paint.100 

In a 1970s interview, former resident Jesse Lee 

Dominique, though born in 1927, reported 

that the house was yellow before the pink.101 

This seems unlikely. The 1925 and ca. 1927 

photographs show the house a dark color. If 

the house were ever yellow while Henry resided 

there, the paint would have been applied in 1927 

or later and covered with pink just a few years 

later in the early 1930s. 

Henry’s changes are shown in later photographs. 

A 1959 photograph taken from the front yard 

100. Eubanks and Salsi, p. 102. The other houses are those 

of Marian Babb and of Harry and Lida Dixon.

101. Harriet, “ Cottage Biography.”

shows the lattice apron and a portion of the new 

front porch with its steps and railing (Fig. 25). A 

sash door with a single glazed panel over three 

horizontal wood panels has replaced the earlier 

door, and a decorative wood trellis attached to 

the front of the porch is a close match to trellises 

on two other Portsmouth houses.102 

A second photograph, undated though before 

Lizzie’s death in 1960, shows the 1930s porch more 

clearly (Fig. 26). The hipped roof extends to the 

end of the façade, and the corner post is in a more 

typical location serving as the terminus of the 

railing. There is a clear image of the fence around 

the property, the slant-top pickets rising above a 

baseboard detail at the exterior face. The same 

fence design, including the solid base, was at the 

Elma Dixon House (Fig. 15).

In the background is the first known photograph of 

the front-gabled kitchen building of flush vertical 

boards, showing a south side window with sash 

and drip cap, and the central door with steps.

102. Photographs show similar trellis at houses of Marian 

Babb and of Harry and Lida Dixon. Both houses were also 

painted pink.

Figure 27. Aerial photograph of Portsmouth Island looking south, 1969. Henry Pigott House near the mouth of 

Doctor's Creek. Right of the house is its complex of outbuildings. (CALO c09, Bob Simpson Coll.)
38 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Figure 28. Lizzie Pigott and Walker Syron inside the 

kitchen building, November 1955. (CALO b59, Sarah 

Roberts Styron Coll.)

Figure 29. Henry Pigott and Walker Syron inside the 

kitchen building, November 1955. (CALO b58, Sarah 

Roberts Styron Coll.)

The interior of the kitchen building is shown in 

two photographs taken in 1955 (Figs. 28-29). The 

wood framing of walls and roof of this utilitarian 

structure is exposed to the interior. The building's 

use as a kitchen and eating area is evident; supplies 

are on shelves, pots and pans are hung, and a 

table and chair are in a front corner. A tablecloth 

is in place and curtains are hung at windows. At 

the west wall is a cast iron stove attached to the 

chimney flue.

Establishing Title to the Property

By 1950 Henry and Lizzie, both never married, had 

been living in the house for nearly fifty years. It had 

been passed down through three generations of 

their family, but still with no deed to the property, 

no record of ownership.

On November 14, 1951, Henry transferred the 

house and land to Lizzie. About two and a half 

years later, on July 2, 1954, Lizzie sold the land 

back to Henry for ten dollars, a typical stand-in 

amount that does not reflect any actual payment.103

These recorded transactions established legal title.

103. Deed Books 137/82 and 154/520. Harriet, “Cottage 

Biography.”

The 1960s

By 1956, only 17 permanent residents lived on 

Portsmouth. Henry, at 59, was the youngest.104 

His and Lizzie’s sister Rachel had returned from 

Virginia to live with them after she became ill. 

Towards the end of her life, Lizzie was also failing 

and was taken to the hospital in Morehead City. 

Hazel Gilgo Arthur remembers the event: 

She was down in the basement because she was 

black. But all the white people from Down East 

went to see Lizzie. Those other black people 

didn’t understand why. I really, truly don’t 

believe that anybody ever saw the color of her 

skin, or Henry’s either.105

Henry took care of both sisters. Rachel died 

in March 1960, and Lizzie died at home on 

September 12, 1960, just six months later.106 

By 1962 Henry was one of only four remaining fulltime residents. Elma Dixon lived across the creek 

as well as her sister Lillian Dixon Babb and niece 

Marian Gray Babb, with occasional visits from 

104. CALO HRS, 1982, p. 94.

105. Taylor, “A Home Transformed,” p. 44.

106. Carteret County death certificates, Vol. 43, pp. 181 

(Rachel), 183 (Lizzie).
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 39

Figure 30. Henry Pigott House viewed from east bank of 

Doctor’s Creek, early 1960s, showing house with wood 

shingle roof and weathered or scraped pink walls. 

(Ocracoke Preservation Society, Drew Meeker Coll.)

Figure 31. Henry Pigott House again viewed from east 

bank of Doctor’s Creek, early 1960s. House has new 

asphalt shingle roof and has been freshly painted pink. 

(Ocracoke Preservation Society, Drew Meeker Coll.)

Figure 32. Henry Pigott at the front of his kitchen 

building, probably mid-to-late 1960s. Cool house 

is also pink. (Joff Coe, photographer, https://www.

facebook.com/friendsofportsmouthisland/photos/a.73

3617529983822.1073741828.721242237888018/97217

8452794394/?type=1)

Marian’s sister, Jesse Lee Dominique.107 Henry 

continued his mail runs and took a job as a cook 

for a group of hunters using the abandoned Coast 

Guard Station as a clubhouse.108 His uncle Joe 

Abbot had held a job there in the 1930s.

When Lillian Dixon died, Marian Babb and her 

aunt Elma remained on the island with Henry 

Pigott. Henry had for some time been the last 

remaining male resident on the island and as such 

took care of the women. 

Despite the island’s decline, Henry improved 

his house in the 1960s after his sisters’ deaths. 

The house was repaired and painted, perhaps by 

Henry, but certainly with help. A pair of color 

photographs taken by a family visiting the island 

show a before and after of the work (Figs. 30-31). 

The earlier photograph shows the pink house 

with exterior walls scraped as if in anticipation 

of new paint. The house has a deteriorated wood 

shingle roof. The latter photo shows the house 

freshly painted, again pink, with a new asphalt 

shingle roof. While the pink paint may have been 

a mistake when first ordered, it is clear that Henry 

maintained the color throughout his residency.

Another photograph taken about the same time 

shows Henry standing in front of the kitchen 

building (Fig. 32). The house, kitchen building, 

and cool house again appear freshly painted and 

the house roof is of asphalt shingle. All are pink. 

Of note on the kitchen building is the woodframed screen door, now missing, installed to 

open to the interior in the traditional Portsmouth 

manner. This is a rare photograph showing this 

feature on an outbuilding. 

Henry is said to have added the kitchen building 

and cool house in the early 1930s, but little is 

known of other outbuildings. The first visual 

record of a complex of outbuildings is an aerial 

photograph taken in 1969 (Fig. 27). Five are present 

in addition to the long wood cistern west of the 

rear ell. In a row behind and north of the kitchen 

building are a net house, shed, and privy.

State of North Carolina

In 1968, Henry, like most Portsmouth owners, 

sold his house and land to the State of North 

Carolina for the recently authorized National 

Seashore. He retained a life estate on the property 

107. Jones, George Dixon House HSR, p. 15.

108. Whisnant, HRS 2010 draft, p. 422.
40 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Figure 33. Henry Pigott sitting on the steps of his 

kitchen building, ca. 1970. (CALO Coll. c33)

that allowed him to live in his house until his 

death.109 The recorded sale price was again the 

stand-in ten dollars. By this time Henry was 72 and 

spending only the months of June to September 

on Portsmouth, the remainder on Ocracoke living 

with his friend Junius Austin.110

 He left the island permanently and spent his last 

year on Ocracoke with Junius Austin. The two 

remaining residents of the island, Marian Babb 

and Elma Dixon, reluctantly left Portsmouth 

and moved to Beaufort. Henry Pigott died at the 

age of 74 on January 5, 1971 and was buried in 

Portsmouth. 

Henry the Legend

After his death, Henry was immortalized as the 

living spirit of Portsmouth Village. Headlines 

proclaimed “Portsmouth Won’t be the Same” and 

“Henry was a Good Man.”111 His obituary claimed 

he “was considered the patriarch of the island.”112 

109. Deed Book 290/411, July 18, 1968. Harriet, “Cottage 

Biography.”

110. CALO HRS, 1970, p. 70.

111. “Portsmouth Won’t be the Same,” Carteret County 

News-Times, January 18, 1971.

112. Obituary, Carteret County News-Times, January 11, 

1971. He is buried in Babb Cemetery with his sister Lizzie.

A portrait of Henry is painted by Lionel Gilgo:

When I get a picture of Henry, he’s either 

sitting down on his steps that went up to 

the same porch where Lizzie cut hair, or 

he’s doing something with his hands with 

making decoys, or he’s in his boat poling in 

where he’s been clamming. . . And I won’t say 

anything to give or take credit [from] Henry 

in any way when I make this statement, but 

the last historians in the last few years have 

built him up to where maybe he was the 

greatest thing that ever was. . .

As I remember Henry, he was just one of the 

other group of men that lived on Portsmouth. 

I don’t know of any outstanding, great things 

that he did and I don’t know anything he 

ever did to anyone that would discredit him.

He was just an individual who minded his 

own business, worked as hard as he had to 

get something to eat and make a few dollars, 

and was never outstanding at anything that I 

know of.113

National Park Service, 1976

The life estate in the property ended with Henry’s 

death in 1971, and full ownership transferred to the 

State of North Carolina. 

Five years later when the National Seashore was 

established, the state transferred the acquired 

properties to the National Park Service, including 

the Pigott complex and other Portsmouth 

buildings. Photographs taken that year show the 

condition of the property as it came under NPS 

purview (Figs. 34-37). 

NPS was able to begin renovations of some 

houses in the late 1970s, including the Pigott 

House and its outbuildings. In 1977, $33,000 

was budgeted for “stabilization” and “approved 

treatment” of the Pigott complex.114 Repairs to 

the front and side porches began the next year 

(Figs. 38-42). Damaged deck boards of the front 

porch were replaced in stages, allowing portions 

of the porch foundation to be reconstructed and 

stabilized. Portions of railings on both porches 

were reconstructed and the steps to the side porch 

were replaced entirely. While this was occurring, 

the siding and trim of the house were scraped in 

preparation for a new coat of paint.

The house was still painted pink when the 

complex came under NPS jurisdiction, reflecting 

113. Taylor, “Transformed,” p. 48.

114. NPS, LCS Park/Region Report, March, 11, 1987, p. 49.
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 41

Figure 34. Aerial of Pigott property, April 1976, showing the house, kitchen building,and cool house painted 

pink. The other outbuildings and box cistern are white. (CALO acc. 00250)

Figure 35. Pigott net house, storage shed, and privy, ca. 1976. These three outbuildings are painted white. (CALO 

Coll. f113)

Figure 36. Front porch with splintered deck boards. 

(CALO Coll. f137)

Figure 37. Pigott kitchen building, painted pink, and 

net house, painted white, ca. 1976. (CALO Coll. f138)
42 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Figure 38. Sections of front porch deck boards 

removed exposing porch foundation, ca. 1978. (CALO 

Polaroid album)

Figure 39. Front porch decks boards replaced, ca. 1978. 

Sections of railing reconstructed. Siding scraped in 

preparation for paint. (CALO Polaroid album)

Figure 40. Side porch with steps and sections of railing 

removed, ca. 1978. (CALO Polaroid album)

Figure 41. Side porch showing steps and railings 

reconstructed by NPS ca. 1978. (CALO Polaroid 

album)

Henry Pigott's continued use of that color from 

the 1930s to the end of his life. He also kept the 

kitchen building and cool house pink, while the 

three smaller outbuildings were painted white. His 

wood-box cistern in the northwest corner of the 

house was also white.

In the summer of 1979, NPS crews painted the 

house, kitchen building, cool house, and net house 

a shade of the “buff” yellow apparently used on 

other houses by lease-holding tenants (Fig. 43). 

The storage shed and privy were left untouched 

(Figs. 45, 47). Portions of the fence were painted 

white and work began to replace missing pickets. 

By late August of 1981, the roofs of most 

outbuildings were replaced (Figs. 47-48). The 

deteriorated wood shingled roofs of the kitchen 

building, cool house, net house, and privy 

were replaced with new cedar shingles. The 

rolled asphalt roof of the storage shed was left 

untouched. 
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 43

Figure 42. Center section of front porch deck boards replaced, photographed July 1978 when the house was still 

pink. Damaged deck boards lying in grass. (CALO acc. 00514) 

Figure 43. Aerial of Pigott property after repairs and new yellow paint, August 1979. (CALO acc. 00211)
44 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Figure 44. Kitchen building, painted, looking 

southeast, December 1979. (CALO Coll. f124)

Figure 45. Net house, painted a non-historic color, 

looking northwest. At right are storage shed and 

privy, December 1979. (CALO Coll. f125)

Figure 46. Cool house, painted, looking northwest, ca. 

1979. (CALO Coll. f131)

Figure 47. Raised wood-box cistern behind net house. 

Storage shed and privy in distance. Newly installed 

cedar shingle roof on net house and privy, August 21, 

1981. (CALO Coll. f144)

Figure 48. Kitchen building with newly installed cedar 

shingle roof, ca. 1981. (CALO Coll. f122)

Figure 49. Exposed framing of dormer and replaced roof 

deck boards, July 23, 1982. (CALO Polaroid album)
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 45

The next summer, in June 1982, the asphalt 

shingle roof of the main house was replaced with a 

wood shingle roof. Rotten roof deck boards were 

replaced and a felt underlayment was used (Figs. 

49-50). 

Upon completion of the house roof in mid-August 

1982, the deteriorated wood-box cistern at the west 

wall of the rear ell was removed and a new cistern 

built (Figs. 51-53).115 A 1983 photograph shows that 

a galvanized gutter and downspout were installed 

on the west roof slope of the ell to feed into the 

new cistern (Fig. 54). 

Work continued in the summers. Approximately 

sixty-two linear feet of fence were replaced in 

June of 1987; however, the baseboard detail seen 

in the ca. 1960 photograph was not replicated 

(Figs. 15, 55). The steps to the front porch, which 

were replaced in 1978, were now deteriorated and 

were replaced again in June 1988 (Fig. 56). The 

top two treads of the new side porch steps were 

replaced at the same time.116

The condition of the house and outbuildings in 

1989-90 is thoroughly documented in an Inventory 

and Condition Assessment Report conducted by 

NPS.117 Conditions were noted for the house, the five 

extant outbuildings, the fence and the cistern. 

115. NPS, Henry Pigott House - Inventory and Condition 

Report, 1990.

116. CALO Polaroid album has additional images.

117. NPS, Henry Pigott House - Inventory and Condition 

Report, 1990. Personal communication, Ranger Dave Frum, 

September 10, 2013.

Figure 50. Felt underlayment, galvanized metal 

chimney flashing, and new cedar roof shingles, July 

30, 1982. (CALO Polaroid album)

Figure 51. Deteriorated wood-box cistern adjacent to 

west wall of rear ell, July 21, 1982. (CALO Polaroid 

album)

Figure 52. Cistern removed, exposing foundation and 

siding, July 21, 1982. (CALO Polaroid album)

Figure 53. Replacement cistern under construction, 

September 2, 1982. (CALO Polaroid album)
46 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Figure 54. Replacement cistern completed, fed by a 

galvanized gutter and downspout from the west 

slope of the rear roof . Replacement fascia visible at 

west gable, 1983. (CALO Coll. f121)

Figure 55. South side of fence, looking north, June 

1987. Compare to Fig. 26. (CALO Polaroid album)

Figure 56. Newly constructed steps to front porch, 

photographed June 16, 1988. (CALO Polaroid album)

House

• 1982 wood shingle roof in good condition. 

Shingles treated with preservative, so water 

run-off cannot be used as potable water.

• Short gutter on northeast roof is rusted 

through.

• Approx. two hundred linear feet of siding need 

to be replaced due to rot and split boards.

• Some damage to fascia and soffit boards.

• Front door noted as sticking due to possible 

foundation failure.

• Both front and rear screen doors in need of repair.

• Windows in need of repair – Upstairs, all 

sills rotted and jambs on east side rotted. 

Downstairs, on east side the jambs and sills are 

rotted and on west side the sills are rotted.

• Front porch – piers are deteriorated. Outside 

sill has settled. Ceiling is loose and buckled.

• Foundation – all posts show extensive 

deterioration, with eight to ten posts needing 

immediate replacement. Portions of lattice 

skirt missing.

• Cistern – wood cistern noted as fairly new, 

but with damage from carpenter bees and 

separation of joints.

• All exterior surfaces need to be scraped, 

primed, and painted.

• Interior - in good condition but needs to be 

painted. Stair treads need to be repaired. 

Interior doors drag on floor (possible 

foundation settlement). Chimney in good 

condition.

Site Features/Outbuildings

• Fence – approx. 110 linear feet of pickets, 

support posts, and the front gate need to 

be replaced. Existing portions need to be 

repainted.

• Privy – noted as blown off its foundation and 

lying on its side. Foundation and framing 

need to be repaired. Floor is rotted and needs 

replacement.

• Cool House – needs to be reconstructed.

• Kitchen building – ridge line and siding show 

deflection, indicating possible foundation 

failure. Siding shows rot, particularly at ground 

level. Chimney in good condition.
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 47

• Net house (Listed as “Storage Building”) – in 

good structural condition. Floor boards rotted 

in spots. Roof in good shape. Fascia board 

missing in spots. Exterior needs to be scraped 

and repainted.

• Storage shed – foundation system and rafters 

have failed. Door hinges and siding need to be 

replaced.

House Interior

The interior of the house was photographed in 

July of 1980 (Figs. 57-62). At the time, first-floor 

walls retained Henry Pigott's pink paint. Secondfloor walls, except for the varnished walls of the 

back room, were painted yellow. The second floor 

may have been yellow in Pigott's time, although a 

bureau in the upstairs hall is painted the same pink 

as the downstairs rooms (Fig. 57). 

A floral-patterned linoleum “rug” remains in all 

three first-floor rooms and in the hall and at least 

one bedroom of the second floor. Many pieces 

of furniture still in the house likely belonged to 

Henry, perhaps some from the group that his uncle 

Joe Abbot received from Wash Roberts.

The photographs provide information on 

Pigott's kitchen, which is of special interest when 

compared to the 1955 photographs of the kitchen 

building. In one corner is a cabinet with sink; 

in another a gas refrigerator. Between them on 

the west wall is a 1940s or 50s Norge gas stove 

with center oven. Long wall shelves wrap the 

southeast corner above a small table and chairs, 

and a linoleum rug is on the floor. The stove 

was noted after Pigott's death by visitor Charles 

McNeill: "When I was there," he recalled, "he had 

a four-burner cook stove. It was 30 years old and 

it looked brand new."118 Henry Pigott similarly 

maintained his house.

118. “Portsmouth Won’t be the Same,” Carteret County 

News-Times, January 18, 1971. McNeill was director of the 

Hampton Mariner's Museum in Beaufort.

Figure 57. Upstairs hall, July 1980, showing pink 

bureau, linoleum rug, and floor heater. (CALO 05384)

Figure 58. Southwest corner of kitchen, July 1980. 

(CALO acc. 05385)

Figure 59. Southwest corner of kitchen, July 1980. 

(CALO acc. 05385)

Figure 60. Southwest corner of kitchen, July 1980. 

(CALO acc. 05385)
48 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Under Private Lease, 1990-2010

In January 1990, Charles Jackson Gilley and 

Jacob Eli Fisher, Jr. entered into a twenty-year 

lease on the Henry Pigott House, which required 

maintenance and improvements for the term of the 

lease.119 Gilley was founder of the manufactured 

homes company World Homes, Inc., of Rocky 

Mount, and opened the property to his employees 

and their families for hunting and fishing vacations. 

In return they performed routine maintenance.120 

No known records of the work on the property are 

119. CALO lease records.

120. Personal communication, Ranger Dave Frum, 

September 10, 2013.

found in park files.121 Gilley’s time at Portsmouth 

was noted in his obituary, “As an outdoorsman, 

he loved spending time with family and friends, 

hunting, fishing, the mountains and especially 

Portsmouth Island.” Little is known of Fisher, 

from the Salisbury area of Rowan County, nor the 

connection between Fisher and Gilley.122

Photographs show that at some point all painted 

wall and ceiling surfaces in the house were painted 

white, though it is unclear whether this work was 

done by the lessees during their tenure, or after 

their departure (see Interior Description section in 

I.C - Physical Description).

Hurricane Isabel, 2003

On September 18, 2003 while the property was 

under lease, Hurricane Isabel made landfall near 

Portsmouth with sustained winds of 105 miles 

an hour.123 The storm flooded Portsmouth and 

inflicted heavy damage on several properties, 

among them the Pigott House. The damage and 

extent of flooding was documented in a series of 

photographs, some showing a boat and tree lying 

on the front fence, and parts of the fence blown 

away (Figs. 63-65).

The house withstood the storm with no apparent 

structural harm, though the shingled roof sustained 

heavy damage. The lattice apron was entirely 

blown off. The steps to the side porch were torn 

off and siding was damaged near the porch deck. 

The cistern adjacent to the house was ripped off its 

foundations, causing further damage to the siding 

of the house. 

The damage to the outbuildings was more severe. 

The cool house and the net house were blown 

away entirely. It appears the cool house was later 

recovered albeit without its screens or southfacing door. The kitchen building was torn from its 

foundations and dragged several feet. Its chimney 

partially collapsed, the shingled roof was damaged, 

and much of the board-and-batten siding was split 

and fractured near ground level. The storage shed, 

already partially fallen over, was further dragged 

from its foundation posts. The privy remained 

standing, though it is shown leaning to one side. 

121. Ibid.

122. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/

rockymounttelegram/obituary.aspx?pid=166779204.

123. Jack Beven & Hugh Cobb, "Hurricane Isabel Tropical 

Cyclone Report" (National Hurricane Center, 2003). http://

www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL132003_Isabel.pdf

Figure 61. Living room with pink walls, linoleum rug, 

and gas heater, July 1980. (CALO acc. 05386)

Figure 62. Second-floor west bedroom looking into 

east bedroom, July 1980. (CALO acc. 05382)
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 49

The siding of both the storage shed and the privy 

was damaged.

Other conditions are of note in the photographs, 

though unrelated to the storm damage: 

• the storage shed and privy had been painted 

yellow before the storm to match the house 

and kitchen building; 

• the fixed, two-light privy window sash is still 

in place;

• by this time a modern above-ground septic 

tank has been placed east of the house with 

plumbing connecting to the east room;

• a ventilation stack for a chemical or 

composting toilet appears at the roof line 

above the same east room.

In 2004 a funding request was made for $42,256 for 

storm repairs at Portsmouth. This amount included 

repairs to the Carl Dixon House, the Marian Gray 

Babb House, the Lionel Gilgo House, and the 

Henry Pigott House. Work listed as necessary for 

the Pigott property included reroofing, exterior 

painting, reconstructing 200 linear feet of fence 

and 30 linear feet of handrails, and replacing 

damaged siding.124

124. NPS LCS records.

Figure 63. House, cool house foundation, and kitchen building, looking southwest, post-2003 storm damage. 

(CALO Coll.)

Figure 64. House and kitchen building, looking 

southeast across the foundation of the destroyed net 

house, post-2003 storm damage. (CALO Coll.)

Figure 65. Kitchen building, remnants of net house, 

storage shed, and privy, looking northwest, post2003 storm damage. (CALO Coll.)
50 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Figure 66. House, cool house, kitchen building, and reconstructed foundation of net house, looking southwest, 

2008. (CALO Coll.)

Late 2000s

The property was assessed in late 2006 for the 

Cultural Landscape Report (finalized 2007), and 

reflects the condition of the property at that time. 

Again the information is fairly comprehensive. 

Much of what is reported coincides with 

the photographs of 2003 storm damage and 

information in the 2004 funding request.125 

• House exterior is in need of repainting, the 

roof needs to be replaced, and portions of 

the porch railing and siding need repair. 

• Chimney of the kitchen building has 

collapsed. The floor is deteriorated. The roof 

needs to be replaced, and the siding is in 

need of repair.

• Cool house is noted as having been 

mothballed. Its structure has deteriorated 

and the screens are missing.

• Net house is gone save for foundation posts. 

• Storage shed is missing three of its four doors.

• Structural base of the privy is deteriorated. 

The roof is rotted, the hardware is rusted, 

and there is a large degree of “general” 

damage from the 2003 hurricane.

• Large sections of the fence are missing.

125. Whisnant, CLR, 2007.

Photographs taken in 2008 indicate that some, but 

not all of the enumerated issues were addressed 

(Figs. 66-67). This work was conducted by NPS 

while the house was under lease to Gilley and 

Fisher.

The railings and steps of the side porch were 

reconstructed once again. The lattice skirt is 

missing. The roof of the house and those of the 

outbuildings appear to have been repaired, but 

not replaced; the galvanized ridge caps are rusted 

and the wood shingles appear worn. The cistern 

adjacent to the house was either found intact and 

reinstalled, or was reconstructed. A wood gutter 

and downspout were constructed to supply water 

to the cistern, though the source of the design is 

not known (Fig. 67).

Apparently found among the storm debris, 

the cool house has been reinstalled atop its 

foundation, though it is missing its screens. The 

kitchen building has been moved back into place, 

the splintered siding has been replaced and a new 

skirt board installed. The foundation posts of the 

net house have largely been reconstructed (Figs. 

66-67).

The photographs also show that the fence has been 

reconstructed, though with gate openings differing 
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 51

Figure 67. House, cool house, and kitchen building, looking southeast, 2008. Wood gutter and downspout lead 

to cistern. (CALO Coll.)

from those in early photographs: the west gate is 

now gone, and the north gate has been moved from 

the east side to the west side of the cool house. The 

new gates are designed with an over-scallop rather 

than the historic pointed arch design seen in earlier 

photographs. The reason for these changes is not 

known.

In 2009, the wood shingle roof of the house, 

installed in 1982, was replaced with sawn red 

cedar shingles in widths varying from 31⁄2” to 

91⁄2” with a 5” exposure. According to the site’s 

maintenance ranger, the roofing material is the 

Certigrade Blue Label Number 1 Grade Red 

Cedar Shingle. The ridge cap was changed yet 

again. The 1927 photograph (Fig. 15) shows a 

wood plank on the dormer ridge, suggesting the 

same on the main roof. An asphalt cap was used 

with the new asphalt roof in the early 1960s. In 

1982-83, NPS installed a wood shingle roof with 

galvanized ridge cap. And in 2009 a shingled cap 

was introduced. 

The ridge caps on the outbuildings were similarly 

changed. The kitchen and cool house caps were 

originally plank board, while the privy's was 

metal. In 1982-83, metal ridge caps were installed 

on all, and in 2009 wood shingles were used.

Friends of Portsmouth Island

At the end of the Gilley-Fisher lease in 2010, 

the organization Friends of Portsmouth Island 

(FPI) received a special use permit from NPS to 

renovate and restore the house and its associated 

outbuildings.126 The Pigott House became the 

focus of the organization, with the goal to open the 

house as a museum with emphasis on the lives of 

Henry and Lizzie Pigott. FPI members quickly set 

about repairing the property.

FPI furnished the house “with period furniture 

that belonged to Henry and Lizzie Pigott, as well 

as other pieces from Portsmouth,” and dedicated 

the museum at the April 2012 “Homecoming,” the 

biennial reunion of Portsmouth descendants and 

former residents.127 

A large amount of work was completed before the 

Homecoming, when the house was to be unveiled. 

A photograph from that time indicates the skirt 

board on the front porch and the lattice apron 

on the whole house were replaced (Fig. 72).The 

siding, eave returns, and fascia on the dormer were 

replaced, along with the fascia on the south edge 

126. http://friendsofportsmouthisland.org/fopi/2014/news/

friends-of-portsmouth-island-is-on-facebook/.

127. Ibid.
52 Henry Pigott House HSR 

of the roof. The exterior was repainted. Missing 

portions of the fence were rebuilt. 

The project included rebuilding of a cool house. 

The existing foundation was reinforced and 

extended in height. New walls were built to create a 

structure of different dimensions and proportions 

from the earlier cool house. Photographs show 

that the new structure is taller and creates a more 

narrow appearance (Figs. 68, 71).

Several interior rooms have been furnished and 

arranged for interpretative purposes. The walls 

are painted white and linoleum rugs have been 

removed. In the kitchen, the gas refrigerator, Norge 

stove, sink cabinet and simple bracketed shelves 

have been removed. These items, documented in 

the 1980 interior photographs, have been replaced 

by a bank of new wall cabinets with a ribbon of 

cubbyhole shelving above. In the southwest corner 

are a table and chairs of higher quality than those 

used by the Pigotts (Figs. 60, 69-70).

Henry’s four-burner stove and refrigerator may be 

in CALO storage (Figs. 58-59).128

128. Doctor’s Creek Journal, Fall 2014, Friends of 

Portsmouth Island.

Figure 68. The Pigott cool house in 1979, looking 

northwest. Shingle roof has no overhang at gable 

ends; ridge cap is metal; openings are large to allow 

greater ventilation. (CALO Coll. f131)

Figure 69. The kitchen as interpreted. 

Figure 70. Table and chairs in SW corner of kitchen. 

Figure 71. Cool house in 2014 showing altered 

proportions in the rebuilding. Structure is taller and 

narrower. East side opening is narrower, shorter, and 

considerably higher than the earlier opening.
PART I.B CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND USE

National Park Service 53

FPI continues its work on the house. The 

organization held two workdays on the property 

on April 29 and 30, 2015. Repairs completed by 

members are listed in the FPI newsletter:

• All broken fence pickets replaced and 

fastened with stainless steel nails to prevent 

rust. Loose fence pickets secured.

• Hinges on the two fence gates were replaced.

• The front-face on the south side of the fence 

was painted.

Figure 72. House looking northeast, ca. 2012. Front gable has been scraped for repainting. (CALO Coll.)

• The front porch steps and floor deck were 

scraped and repainted.129

During the weekend of November 9, 2015, FPI 

volunteers replaced the roof of the storage shed, 

installed new steps at the kitchen building, and 

replaced the privy door.130

The house is occasionally open to the public, 

and will open again for the next Homecoming 

gathering in April 2016.

129. Ibid., Summer 2015.

130. Ibid., Fall/Winter 2015/2016.
54 Henry Pigott House HSR 
TIMELINE

National Park Service 55

Timeline

1753 Portsmouth established by bill “appointing and laying out a Town on Core Banks, near 

Ocacock [sic] Inlet, in Carteret County” passes in the North Carolina colonial assembly. 

1756 First lots in Portsmouth Village are sold.

1770s 1770, Collet map of North Carolina shows Portsmouth and winding channel of inlet.

1775, Mouzon map depicts Portsmouth. 

1800 White population 165, slaves 98.

1806 Customs Office established. Coles and Price map shows windmill and two-story 

“academy” at Portsmouth.

1810 White population 226, slaves 121.

1820s 1827, Marine Hospital authorized.

1828, Currituck Inlet closes, sending more shipping to Portsmouth.

1836-37 1,400 vessels pass through Ocracoke Inlet.

1842 U.S. House Committee on Commerce states “Ocracoke Inlet is the outlet for all commerce 

of the state of North Carolina, from the ports of Newbern [sic], Washington, Plymouth, 

Edenton, and Elizabeth City...more than two thirds of the exports of the State of North 

Carolina pass out to sea at this point.”

1842 Congress appropriates funds for new Marine Hospital.

1846 Storms create an inlet at Hatteras. The new, deeper inlet draws trade from Ocracoke Inlet 

and Portsmouth.

1850 Portsmouth population is 463; Hatteras has grown to 661.

1852 Coast Survey of Ocracoke Inlet shows two churches at Portsmouth.

1858 Possible birth date of Rosetta (Rose) Ireland/Pigott.

1860 Population is over 600 residents with 109 dwellings.

1867 Leah Pigott born, daughter of Rose, mother of Henry and Lizzie.

1870 Census records 59 dwellings.

First listing of Rosetta Pigott, under the name Rosa Ireland, and five children, living in 

household of wealthy islanders Earls and Matilda Ireland.

1880 Census records 44 dwellings.

1883 Ocracoke Inlet no longer navigable for lightering.
56 Henry Pigott House HSR 

1889 Lizzie Pigott is born.

1894 Portsmouth Life-Saving Station (LSS) is established.

1896 Henry Pigott is born.

1899 Great Hurricane of August 1899, the San Ciriacio Hurricane, submerges Portsmouth and 

destroys many buildings.

1901 New Methodist church is built.

ca. 1902 House built by Harmon Austin, later owned by Pigott family.

1904 Rose Pigott acquires house.

1913 Hurricane destroys the island’s two churches.

1915-16 Current Methodist church is built.

1922 Leah Pigott dies; house passes to Henry though no deed is recorded.

mid-1920s First known photographs of Pigott House.

1933 Damage from major hurricane causes many families to relocate to the mainland. Hurricane 

opens new inlet through Core Banks south of Portsmouth, creating Portsmouth Island. 

1930s Alterations to the house included raising foundation, new front porch, new apron, new 

upper story at rear ell, side porch roofed, house painted pink. Kitchen building and cool 

house built; other outbuildings probably on site.

1937-38 Coast Guard Station is deactivated.

1940 Census lists 42 residents.

1943 School closes.

1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane brings major flooding and damage to Portsmouth; many 

residents leave for the mainland. 

1946 Coast Guard Station closes.

1951 & 54 Henry Pigott transfers the property to Lizzie Pigott, who sells property back to Henry; 

deeds recorded to establish legal title.

1956 Regular church services are discontinued; 17 permanent residents at Portsmouth, the 

youngest is Henry Pigott, then 59 years old. 

1959 Post Office closes. 

1960 Census lists 14 residents on Portsmouth; only 4 permanent residents reported in 1962. 

Many buildings now used as vacation houses or hunting and fishing clubs. 

1960 Lizzie Pigott dies.

1960s Improvements to the Pigott complex include roofing, repairs and repainting.

1966 Cape Lookout National Seashore authorized. State of NC begins purchases.
TIMELINE

National Park Service 57

1968 Survey History of Cape Lookout National Seashore is prepared.

1968 State purchases Pigott House with life estate held by Henry Pigott.

1970 Draft Historic Resource Study of Portsmouth. 

1971 Henry Pigott dies; two remaining residents leave. Portsmouth now houses only seasonal 

visitors.

1971 Master Plan focuses on the natural environment, suggests “restor[ing] the historical scene” 

at Portsmouth.

1970s NPS begins clearing overgrowth.

1976 Cape Lookout National Seashore (CALO) is established; state transfers Portsmouth 

properties including Pigott House.

1977 NPS begins stabilization of Pigott House.

1979 Portsmouth Village Historic District listed in National Register of Historic Places. 

 NPS crew paints Pigott House and some outbuildings, repairs fence.

1980 Interior of house is photographed.

1980s NPS crews conduct series of repairs in summers, including roof replacements and repairs 

to house, outbuildings, and fence.

1982 First Historic Resource Study of Portsmouth is finalized.

1982-83 General Management Plan states intent to preserve exterior of all buildings.

1989-90 NPS Inventory and Condition Assessment includes Pigott complex.

1989 Friends of Portsmouth Island is organized.

1990 Management plan repeats the “sea” theme of the 1982 plan. Emphasizes the need for indepth historical study of Portsmouth buildings.

1990 Pigott House starts 20-year lease for use as hunting & fishing lodge; maintenance required 

of lessees.

1992 First Homecoming, sponsored by Friends of Portsmouth Island. Seven people born in 

Portsmouth are present. Homecoming celebrations continue biennially.

1999 Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd flood and damage buildings.

2003 Hurricane Isabel damages Pigott complex. 

2004-06 Historic Structure Reports completed for Life-Saving Station and three Portsmouth 

houses.

2006 Pigott property assessed for Cultural Landscape Report; reflects 2003 storm damage.

2007 Cultural Landscape Report suggests extension of National Register period of significance 

to 1971.

2007-09 NPS repairs and reroofing of Pigott House and outbuildings. 
58 Henry Pigott House HSR 

2010 Cape Lookout National Seashore Historic Resource Study and recommendations 

prepared in draft form for the Organization of American Historians under cooperative 

agreement with NPS.

2010 Friends of Portsmouth Island acquire special use permit for the Pigott House with focus 

on repairing for use as a museum. Members conduct the work; regular maintenance 

ongoing.

2011 CALO Long-Range Interpretive Plan.

2012 CALO Foundation Document.

2014 Dedication and opening of repaired Pigott House at Homecoming celebration.

2014 Pigott House again open as over 400 attend Homecoming.

2015 Pigott House included in new Portsmouth brochure.

2015 Portsmouth Documentation Project documents 28 buildings, including 15 outbuildings, in 

an effort to create thorough recordation in the face of rising sea levels.

2015 Historic Structure Reports completed for Henry Pigott House, Tom and Lucy Gilgo 

House, Portsmouth Methodist Church, and Mason-Willis-Dixon House. 
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 59

General Description 

Locale

Portsmouth Village is located on the north end 

of Portsmouth Island. Once separate from the 

North Core Banks to its south, the island is now 

attached by sand banks except during times of 

very high tide. Though its boundaries depend on 

the tide and currents, the total area is only about 

250 acres. 

Portsmouth Island and North Core Banks are part 

of the long chain of narrow sand reefs that fringe 

the southern Atlantic coast of the United States. 

Most are close to the mainland; in contrast, North 

Carolina's "Outer Banks" jut out into the Atlantic 

as much as thirty miles to form an eastern barrier 

to a series of bays and sounds.

Portsmouth Village is on the south shore of 

Ocracoke Inlet, a two-mile-wide passage 

connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the broad 

and shallow Pamlico Sound. Across the inlet 

to the north is Ocracoke Island with the small 

community of Ocracoke at its south end.

Climate

The climate is temperate and seasonal. Summers 

are hot and humid with cooler evenings. The 

warmest month is July with an average high 

temperature of 85°F and average monthly 

nighttime lows of 74°F. The hottest temperature 

on record is 97°F recorded in 1988. 

The coldest month is January with an average high 

of 53°F and low of 40°F. The coldest temperature 

on record is 6°F recorded in 1985.

The wettest seasons are spring and summer, though 

the annual rainfall of almost 53 inches is fairly 

evenly divided throughout the year. The maximum 

average monthly rainfall is 5.43 inches in August. 

I.C Physical Description

Figure 73. East side of Portsmouth Village viewed from west bank of Doctor's Creek on the sand Village Road. 

Portsmouth Methodist Church near the center, with Ocracoke Sound off to the left and salt marshes off to the 

right. Unless otherwise indicated, all photos in this section taken by JKOA in 2013.
60 Henry Pigott House HSR 

The minimum average monthly rainfall is 3.19 

inches in April. The humidity of the salt-laden air is 

high through the year, typically staying between 80 

and 85 percent RH.

Daily breezes range from 10 to 12 mph but wind 

gusts can reach two or three times that strength. 

Winter breezes typically come from the north; 

summer breezes typically are from slightly west of 

south. 

Rising Sea Levels

The land of Portsmouth Village is but two feet 

above sea level, making the village especially 

vulnerable to damage from storms. The soil is 

sandy. The water table is just a few feet below 

grade. There are no freshwater wells.

From early summer through fall, tropical 

disturbances are typical, with hurricanes the most 

powerful, causing damage from both wind and 

flood. Strong winter storms called Nor’easters are 

also common. The location of the Outer Banks so 

far from the mainland makes it the most hurricaneprone area north of Florida. The buildings of the 

Outer Banks have suffered repeated devastation 

from these storms, which with climate change and 

resultant sea level rise are projected to be more 

severe and more frequent.

Estimates of sea level rise have been published by 

a variety of sources. Global estimates from the 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, used 

by several parks in their Foundation Documents, 

make estimates for 2100; however, projections 

for the next several decades are more pertinent 

for current planning and decision making. The 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA) has published sea level rise scenarios for 

the United States, but these are not readily useful 

for localized decisions.131 

The NPS has developed the Climate Change 

Response Program (CCRP), a cross-disciplinary 

program to preserve the natural and cultural 

resources and values under NPS stewardship.132

The CCRP has collaborated with the University 

of Colorado at Boulder to develop scenarios of 

sea level rise based on local tide gauges and nearterm timeframes. UC Boulder scientists used the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Sea-Level 

Change Curve Calculator to develop high, 

131. Part of NOAH’S National Climate Assessment.

132. http://www.nps.gov/orgs/ccrp/index.htm

intermediate, and low scenarios for 2030, 2050, 

and 2100. 

In general, a “high” scenario reflects current rate 

of increase of greenhouse gases, or “no change.” 

“Intermediate” scenarios reflect a reduction in 

greenhouse gases through changes in human 

behavior and choices. “Low” scenarios reflect 

historic rates of sea level rise, achieved by dramatic 

changes in human behavior and choices. This level 

of change is not anticipated in the near future; 

therefore, the NPS Southeast Region does not 

recommend the use of “low” scenario predictions 

for current planning or decision-making. More 

details about the scenarios can be found at http://

www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm.

The Ocracoke Light Station is vulnerable to sea 

level rise and storm surge.  Scenarios based on the 

Beaufort NC tide gauge predict, under current 

rates of increase in greenhouse gas emissions, that 

Ocracoke will experience a little less than a foot of 

sea level rise by 2030, approximately 11⁄2 ft. sea level 

rise by 2050, and about 51⁄4 ft. of sea level rise by 

2100. 

If the rate of greenhouse gas emission increase 

slows, and renewable energy technologies are 

embraced, it is projected that an intermediate 

scenario of sea level rise could unfold at the 

Figure 74. Record of high water marks from storm 

surge flooding on Theo Salter House shed (NPS 519).
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 61

Figure 75. Documenting buildings in mosquito net 

suits.

Beaufort tide gauge, the closest point of reference 

for Ocracoke.  With the intermediate scenario 

applied for all projections, results show about 1⁄2 ft. 

of sea level rise by 2030, approximately 3⁄4 ft. of sea 

level rise by 2050, and almost 2 ft. sea level rise by 

2100.  A high, or no-change, scenario shows a rise 

of 0.86 feet by 2030.

Storm surge is also expected to increase with sea 

level rise. The CCRP and UC Boulder scientists 

have modeled storm surge under a low and high 

tide scenario. In general, tomorrow’s low tide 

scenario of surge will be similar to today’s high tide 

scenario. 

Their research indicates that the current no-change 

trajectory or “high” scenario and the high tide 

scenarios of storm surge are the most realistic for 

near-term planning, because dramatic changes 

in global behavior are unlikely in 15 years. In 

contrast, the intermediate scenario is suggested for 

2050 planning. 

These figures are projections and the future may 

or may not unfold according to these estimates, 

additionally, the science surrounding the 

projection of climate change and sea level rise 

is rapidly advancing, and the Climate Change 

Response Program is already working to revise and 

update these figures.

Seismic Zone

The site is close to an active seismic zone located 

near Charleston, South Carolina. The last major 

quake, recorded by the light keeper at the Cape 

Hatteras Lighthouse, was in 1886. Sporadic seismic 

activity may again affect the coast.

Flora and Fauna

Much of Portsmouth Island is characterized by salt 

marshes, shrub savannahs, and shrub thickets, with 

characteristic low, wind-swept stands of loblolly 

pine, eastern red cedar, wax myrtle, yaupon, other 

small trees and shrubs. Large open areas of saltresilient grasses dominate much of the historic 

district and is the setting for the Henry Pigott 

House.

Raccoons live on the island but there are no deer 

or ponies as found on some of the other barrier 

islands. A variety of sea and shore birds also 

frequent Portsmouth, but the most renowned 

inhabitants are the mosquitoes. They are present 

most months of the year and can be so thick at 

times that the tour boats cease operation. Some 

visitors and work crews typically don hooded net 

suits while on the island.

The Village

The extant buildings of Portsmouth Village are 

grouped at the northwest end of the island. Some 

21 historic buildings are fairly evenly scattered 

on both sides of the main road, Village Road, a 

sand road running roughly east-west. Two of the 

village’s largest buildings are close to the two ends 

of this road, forming visual termini. At the east 

terminus is the two-story Jody Styron (Tom Bragg) 

House (NPS 523); at the west terminus is the U.S. 

Life-Saving Station. The Portsmouth Methodist 

Church is a focal point near the center of the 

Village.

Doctor’s Creek extends from Ocracoke Inlet 

southwestward near the center of the Village, 

bisecting the settlement into east and west 

sections, with small wooden bridges connecting 

the two.

Another unpaved road, Haulover Point Road, 

extends from the ferry dock at the northwest tip 

of the island southeastward to Portsmouth School, 

the southernmost building in the Village.
62 Henry Pigott House HSR 

The House Site

The Henry Pigott House is one of the closest 

properties to the water surrounding Portsmouth 

Island. Set back approximately 350 feet from 

Ocracoke Inlet, the house faces southwest but for 

the clarity of this report, the house is assumed 

to face south. The house dates to about 1902. 

Since initial construction, the house has been 

raised, a second-level rear addition constructed, 

and porches modified. Yet, the original character 

remains intact.

Located in relative isolation north of the central 

concentration of Portsmouth Village, the Pigott 

property is accessed by a side road that splits off 

from Village Road near the Post Office and runs 

northeast. At the end of this access road stands the 

house. 

The Pigott House is one of the few truly riparian 

properties on the island. Near the mouth of 

Doctor’s Creek – a brackish tidal creek off the 

Ocracoke inlet that quickly ends in the marshy 

interior of the island – the house is set back about 

40 feet from the west bank. Routinely mowed by 

NPS, the flat grassy clearing extends beyond the 

house and its outbuildings for several feet in all 

directions with a dense brush thicket forming the 

border. The property lines encompass about half 

an acre. The thicket quickly gives way to the creek 

at the eastern edge of the property. North and west 

of the property is a raised sandy landform known 

as a hammock. Ocracoke Inlet, the shallow passage 

between the Atlantic and Pamlico Sound, is located 

Figure 76. Access road to Pigott House, near center, with the Tom and Lucy Gilgo House on left.

Figure 77. Henry Pigott House on west bank of 

Doctor's Creek, photographed at high tide.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 63

Figure 78. Fenced back yard of the Henry Pigott House. Doctor's Creek and Ocracoke Inlet beyond.

Figure 79. South of Front elevation of house.

Figure 80. West elevation of House.

Figure 81. North elevation of house.

Figure 82. East elevation of house.
64 Henry Pigott House HSR 

just north of the property. The smell of saltwater 

is heavy in the air surrounding the house and on 

windy days, spray from the Inlet can be felt.

The Architecture

Organization

The Henry Pigott House is a one-and-a-half-story, 

wood-framed structure raised above grade on 

a foundation of wood posts. First-floor level is 

approximately 2’-4” above grade. The footprint of 

the house measures roughly 32’-4” north to south 

and 21’-6” east to west. The ridge of the roof is 18’ 

above grade.

Composed in a T-shape, the house consists of a 

two-room, side-gabled main block with a singleroom-deep ell centered on the rear. The upper 

floor repeats the plan of the first. A full-width 

hipped-roof porch is attached to the front of 

the house and a small hipped roof is set into the 

northeast corner of the T-shape. A gabled dormer 

is centered above the front porch creating a typical 

North Carolina triple-A roofline.

Weatherboarded on the exterior, the walls of the 

house are pierced with double-sash windows. A 

door is set just east of center on the middle bay 

of the three-bay south façade of the main block. 

A single window is in each adjoining bay. Two 

windows are equally spaced on each of the east 

and west facades. A single window is centered on 

the south-facing dormer and another in the east 

gable end at the upper level. A smaller single-sash 

window is off-center on the west gable end at the 

second-floor level; this is the only window in the 

main block that does not match the others.

At the first-floor level of the rear ell, a single 

window is on each of the three exposed sides. On 

the west elevation, the window is centered. On 

the north and east elevations, the windows are 

offset. Also on the east elevation is a door set to the 

north of the window. At second floor-level, a single 

window is centered on the north gable end.

The property presently has a total of four 

outbuildings, which are described at the end of this 

section. Closest to the house are a kitchen building 

and cool house. These buildings were added to the 

property in the 1930s. Together with the house, 

they are enclosed by a white picket fence. Farther 

northwest are a storage shed and a privy, as well 

as foundation posts where there was once a net 

house.

Architectural Style

More sophisticated than many houses on 

Portsmouth, the Henry Pigott House nevertheless 

lacks a clearly defined architectural style. It is a 

typical North Carolina triple-A house and could be 

considered a cottage – a compact one-and-a-halfstory dwelling. 

Stylistically, the house borrows aspects of the 

Craftsman style, seen in the hipped porch detailing, 

and aspects of Greek Revival seen in the eave 

returns. Thus, it exists as an amalgam of traditional 

architectural elements.

Construction Characteristics

Structural System

Type

The construction type for this house is wood 

frame.

Foundation and Floor Framing

The house is raised about 2’-4” above grade on a 

grid of 8”-diameter milled posts. The foundation 

and floor framing, save for the perimeter posts, 

Figure 83. Foundation post concealed by lattice 

apron. Corner boards and skirtboard of house. Skirt 

board of front porch.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 65

are concealed by a lattice apron. Henry is said 

to have raised the house in the 1930s to avoid 

flooding.

Similarly, both the front and side porches are 

supported by 8”-diameter posts, with much of the 

foundation and floor framing concealed by a lattice 

apron.

Wall Framing

Similar to the foundation, the wall framing is 

concealed from view by siding on the exterior and 

by the wall finish on the interior. 

There are no inconsistencies between the wall 

thickness of the main block and the rear ell, 

suggesting that the house was constructed as a 

cohesive unit. Photographic evidence does show 

that the rear ell was initially only a single story in 

height. An upper level addition to the rear ell was 

constructed in the 1930s.

Roof Framing

When the upper level addition to the rear ell was 

constructed, the ridge of the gable roof was raised 

to meet the ridge of the main roof.

The roof framing of the main block and ell are 

concealed by boxed eaves on the exterior and 

finish walls and ceiling of the second floor on the 

interior. There is a narrow strip of flat ceiling, 

about 1’-10” wide in each room on the secondfloor level, underneath the roof ridge of the main 

block and the rear ell. This strongly suggests that 

collar beams are present.

Porch Framing

In contrast, the only exposed structural system of 

the house is the vertical support posts and roof 

framing of the two porches. The posts and framing 

of both are identical in design.

The posts are 31⁄2” by 41⁄2” and extend a height of 

6’-3”. Spanning the tops are beams measuring 2” 

by 4”. Rafters are 13⁄4” by 33⁄4” spaced at 2’-0” on 

center, with vertical-cut ends. A molded cornice on 

the outside face of the support beam runs between 

rafter tails. Porch roof deck boards are nominal 1” 

by 4” planks, running perpendicular to the rafters. 

A finish ceiling of 4” to 41⁄2” wide tongue-andgroove, V-groove boards is on the front porch only.

Utility Systems

Heating and Cooling

Site orientation for sun angles, presumably 

combined with shading from vegetation and porch 

roofs, and passive ventilation are the only means of 

cooling that have been identified. 

The main block of the house is oriented east-west 

with a small gable end facing the hot late-afternoon 

summer sun, and the broad south elevation, 

susceptible to mid-afternoon summer sun, mostly 

shaded by a porch. Presumably, this configuration 

was purposeful to minimize heat gain.

The building is on piers, as was typical to promote 

cooling ventilation in the summertime. In this 

locale, piers were also desirable because of the 

frequency of flooding.

Window sash could be opened for cooling and 

closed to retain heat.

The chimney serves a flue opening in Room 101, 

now patched. It is likely that a flue opening in 

Room 201 was covered, as the beaded-board walls 

surrounding the chimney in that room are modern 

replacements.

Electrical

The house was constructed without an electrical 

system and none was installed during the Pigott 

family occupancy. No evidence exists that any 

system was subsequently installed.

Plumbing and Water Supply

A large wood-box cistern, adjacent to the west wall 

of the rear ell, supplied water for consumption, 

cooking, and bathing. The cistern is described 

Figure 84. Rear porch posts, header beams, joists, 

and deck boards.
66 Henry Pigott House HSR 

in the Outbuildings, Ancillary Structures, and Site 

Features section below.

Security

The front and side door are secured by mortise 

locks, probably original to the initial construction 

of the house. The side door has a galvanized metal 

hasp with a modern padlock, a typical security 

mechanism installed by NPS. There is a ghost mark 

of a similar lock on the front door.

Fire Detection

There is no fire detection system.

Fire Suppression

There is no automatic fire suppression system or 

hand-held fire extinguisher.

Exterior Features

Foundation Posts

Wood foundation posts, 8” in diameter, are visible 

only on the perimeter of the house. The foundation 

system is described in further detail in the 

preceding Structural Systems section. 

Siding and Trim

The weatherboard siding is 5/8” thick and has 5” 

to 6 1⁄2” exposure. Siding is painted yellow color 

common to the buildings on Portsmouth. Portions 

of the siding were replaced and repaired in 2004 

following hurricane damage from the previous 

year.

At the base of the house is a plank skirt board 

measuring 5/8” by 71⁄2”. Below, a lattice apron 

conceals the foundation posts. The lattice is 

orthogonally-oriented and measures 3⁄4” by 

5

/4”spaced at 41⁄2” in each direction.

Corner boards on the main block and the rear ell 

are identical wood plank, measuring 5/4”by 31⁄2”.

Door and window casing are lintel-cut, plank 

board measuring 5/4”by 3”. All doors and windows 

also have an angled drip board and an angled sill.

Plank fascia boards measure 5/4”by 6”. The gable 

ends and the front dormer have eave returns 

measuring 2’-6” in length that match the fascia.

All trim is painted white except the lattice apron, 

which is bare wood. There is a high degree of 

consistency in the house’s trim work. 

Windows

Two window types are found on the house. The first 

and most prevalent is a four-over-four-light, wood 

double-sash window. There are eleven in total, nine 

on the first floor, with the remaining three on the 

dormer and gable ends of the second story. These 

windows are early, if not original to the house. 

First-floor windows measure 2’-0” wide by 4’-6” 

tall, while second floor windows, except for that on 

the west gable end, measure 1’-8” wide by 3’-8” tall. 

Window sash are painted white to match the casing. 

All have an interior wood-framed screen sash.

Figure 85. Weatherboard siding, corner boards, 

fascia, boxed eaves and eave returns. Typical upperlevel window.

Figure 86. Typical first-floor window.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 67

Paired wood shutters measuring 111⁄4”wide by 4’-6” 

tall by 3⁄4” thick with a 3⁄4” rounded astragal, are 

attached to the two south windows. The shutters 

are painted dark green and hung with a pair of 31⁄2” 

strap hinges.

One window is of a different design. On the west 

gable end of the main block, at second-floor 

level, is a four-light, wood single-sash window 

measuring 1’-10” wide by 1’-6”. This too, is early, if 

not original. The window is smaller and off-center 

because the chimney bisects the west wall. Window 

sash are painted white to match the casing.

Front Entrance Doorway

The front entrance doorway is just east of center 

on the south elevation of the main block. The 

threshold is composed of an early 1” by 4” over a 

21⁄2” sill. Casing is described in the preceding Siding 

and Trim section.

The opening holds an early, single-light-overthree-horizontal-panel, wood sash door measuring 

2’-5” wide by 6’-01⁄2” tall by 13/8” thick. The door is 

hung with a pair of 4”, five-knuckle, steel ball-pin 

hinges, closed with a mortise lock and an interior 

metal hook. On each side is a glass knob with a 

beveled rectangular escutcheon measuring 21⁄4” 

wide by 7” tall. The exterior of the door is painted 

white to match the casing.

A screen door of three-panel, wood-spindle design 

is mounted to open to the interior in the distinctive 

Portsmouth fashion. The screen door is varnished.

Front Entrance Steps and Porch

Four plank board treads on an open stringer lead 

from the remains of a concrete landing at grade to 

the front porch. The first riser is 8” tall, with the 

proceeding three risers each 6” tall. The last tread 

is level with the porch floor. The treads are about 

7’-9” wide and range from 10” to 101⁄2” deep. The 

steps are centered on the porch.

The three-bay porch spans the entire south façade, 

measuring 22’-6” wide by 6’-0” deep. Portions of 

Figure 87. Front steps and porch. Remaining wood 

shutters on south first-floor windows only.

Figure 88. Front sash door and interior woodframed screen door. Front porch floorboards.

Figure 89. Wood shutter with astragal. Metal strap 

hinges and hook-and-eye closure.
68 Henry Pigott House HSR 

the foundation and floor deck were rebuilt around 

1982. 

Details of the porch framing are in the preceding 

Structural Systems section. Porch flooring is 

modern 3⁄4” by 31⁄4” tongue-and-groove running 

north-south. Four roughly equally-spaced 

rectangular posts measuring 31⁄2” by 41⁄2”, have a 3⁄4” 

chamfer on all four corners from a height of 2’-0” 

above the floor deck to about 91⁄2” below the roof 

beam. Two chamfered newel posts, one at each side 

of the bottom stair tread, measure 31⁄2” square and 

extend 3’-1” in height. Newels posts have 5” square 

caps, 11⁄2” tall with a beveled top.

Spanning the posts is a wood railing. The handrail 

is at a height of 2’-1” above the floor deck and 

measures 35/8” by 1 1⁄2” with a 3⁄4” bevel. The bottom 

rail is at a height of 1” above the floor deck and 

measures 13/8” by 31⁄2”. Extending a vertical height 

of 1’-8” between the bottom rail and the handrail 

are balusters measuring 1” by 21/8” at 51⁄2” on 

center.

Porch posts, newel posts, and railings are painted 

white. The steps and porch flooring are painted a 

medium-toned blue.

Side Entrance Doorway

The side doorway is on the east elevation of the 

rear ell. The threshold measures 21⁄2” tall. Doorway 

casing is described in the preceding Siding and Trim

section.

In the doorway hangs an early, five-horizontalpanel wood door measuring 2’-6” wide by 6’-3” 

tall by 13/8” thick. The door is hung with a pair of 

4”, five-knuckle, steel ball-pin hinges, closed with 

a mortise lock. A modern NPS installed galvanized 

metal hasp and padlock serve to further secure the 

door. On each side is a glass knob and a keyhole 

escutcheon. A ghost mark from a rosette backplate 

can be seen on the exterior of the door. The door is 

painted white to match the casing.

A screen door of three-panel, wood-spindle design 

is mounted to open to the interior in the distinctive 

Portsmouth fashion. The screen door is varnished.

Side Entrance Steps and Porch

Three plank board treads on an open stringer lead 

from grade to the side porch. The first riser is 7” 

tall, the second 61⁄2” tall, the third 6” tall, and the 

last 43⁄4” tall. The treads are about 3’-11” wide and

Figure 90. Side five-panel door. Figure 91. Side steps and porch.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 69

range from 11” to 15/4”deep. The steps are placed 

north of the center of the porch.

The east-facing two-bay porch fills the northeast 

corner of the main block and rear ell, measuring 

13’-1” wide by 4’-7” deep. Portions of the 

foundation and floor deck may have been rebuilt 

around 1982. 

Details of the porch framing are in the preceding 

Structural Systems section. With one exception, the 

side porch is of the same design as the front porch, 

described in the preceding Front Entrance Steps 

and Porch section; the side porch has three posts 

rather than four.

Roofs

A cross-gable roof covers the main block and 

rear ell of the house. The south-facing dormer is 

covered with a simple gable roof. Roofs of both 

porches are hipped.

The roofing shingles for all roofs were replaced 

around 2005. The replacement shingle is a sawn 

red cedar with widths varying from 31⁄2” to 91⁄2” and 

an exposure of 5”. According to the NPS ranger, 

the roofing material is the Certigrade Blue Label 

Number 1 Grade Red Cedar Shingle. The ridge 

caps of all the roofs are shingled.

Chimney

Centered on the west wall of the main block is a 

brick interior end chimney. Measuring roughly 

2’-9” north-south by 1’-3” east west at its base, it 

tapers to about 1’-10” north-south by 1’-6” eastwest at second-floor level. The chimney extends 

above roof height by seven courses, corbelling out 

for the last two courses.

Bricks measure 21⁄2” by 33⁄4” by 73⁄4” and are 

consistently reddish-orange in color. Joints are 

flush and filled with a tan mortar.

Figure 92. Cross-gable roof of the main block and rear ell, gable front dormer, and hipped front porch roof. 

Brick chimney with corbelled cap.

Figure 93. First and second floor plans.
70 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Interior Features

Under the direction of Friends of Portsmouth 

Island, the first floor of the Henry Pigott House 

has been curated with period furnishings. Some 

belonged to Henry, while others were salvaged 

from other residences on Portsmouth. The 

provenance of individual pieces in the collection is 

unclear. 

Common Interior Features

Baseboards

Baseboards throughout the first floor are 

composed of a 7/8” by 4” plank board with a 7

/8” by 11⁄2” molded cap and a 7/8” by 1⁄2” shoe 

molding.

Throughout the second floor is a simpler 5/4”by 5/8” 

shoe molding.

Walls

Typical on walls throughout the first is vertical 

beaded board measuring 31⁄4” wide with a 1⁄4” edge 

bead. 

Sheathing on walls of the second floor varies.

Interior Doors and Door Hardware

Found throughout the first floor are threehorizontal-panel wood doors measuring 2’-5” 

wide by 5’-101⁄2” tall by 13/8” thick. Doors are hung 

with a pair of 3”, five-knuckle ball-pin butt hinges. 

Doors have mortise locks, glass knobs with a brass 

shank, brass rosette backplates, and brass keyhole 

escutcheons. 

Doors and door hardware on the second floor 

varies.

Door Casing

Doorways throughout the first floor have 7/8” by 

33⁄4” plank board casing with 33⁄4” by 33⁄4” by 7/8” 

corner blocks.

Door casing on the second floor varies.

Window Casing

Window casing and corner blocks match those of 

the doorways. Windows throughout the first floor 

have a 3/8” thick sill with a 7/8” by 33⁄4” apron.

Window casing on the second floor varies.

Cornice

Throughout the first floor is a crown molding 

measuring 27/16” deep by 11⁄2” tall.

Figure 94. Section of typical first-floor baseboards.

Figure 95. Typical first-floor baseboards.

Figure 96. Typical second-floor baseboards.

Figure 97. Section of typical first-floor cornice.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 71

Figure 98. Typical first-floor interior three-panel 

door. Typical beaded-board walls and ceilings of first 

floor.

Figure 99. Typical plank board window and door 

casing and cornerblocks of first floor.

Figure 100. Typical first floor door hardware—glass 

knobs, rosette backplates, and keyhole escutcheons.

Figure 101. Typical first floor door hinges.

Figure 102. Typical beveled-edge sill and plank 

board apron of first-floor windows.
72 Henry Pigott House HSR 

On the second floor, a 5/4”by 5/8” trim piece with 

rounded top edge is used as crown on the flat 

and sloping edges of the ceilings, as well as on the 

vertical wall edges.

Ceiling

Typical on ceilings of the first floor are beaded 

boards measuring 31⁄2” wide with 23/16” beads.

Ceiling sheathing on the second floor varies.

Interior Features Room-by-Room

Room 101 (Living Room)

Measuring 12’-8” east-west by 12’-5” north-south, 

this room occupies the entire west side of the main 

block. This room is original to the house.

Flooring

Flooring is 31⁄4” by 7/8” tongue-and-groove pine, 

running east-west.

Baseboards

Baseboards are of the type typical of the first 

floor, described in the preceding Common Interior 

Features section.

Walls

Walls are vertical beaded board typical of the first 

floor, and are described in the preceding Common 

Interior Features section.

Doorways

Three doorways serve Room 101. On the south 

wall is the front door to the house described in the 

preceding Exterior Features section. 

On the east wall is a doorway to Room 102. The 

threshold measures 3⁄4” tall by 23⁄4” deep. The 

doorway is hung with the typical three-panel door 

found on the first floor described in the preceding 

Common Interior Features section. 

On the north wall is a doorway to Room 103. The 

threshold measures 3⁄4” tall by 61⁄2” deep. The door 

is no longer present, the hinges remain on the 

frame. The dismounted door is currently stored 

inside the kitchen building.

Figure 103. Room 101 looking west.

Figure 104. Room 101 looking northeast.

Figure 105. Room 101 looking southeast.

Figure 106. Covered flue opening in Room 101. Cast 

iron stove is period, but not original to the house.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 73

Door casing typical of the first floor is described in 

the preceding Common Interior Features section.

Windows

Three windows provide light, one on the south wall 

and two on the west wall. Each window opening 

measures 2’-0” wide by 4’-6” tall. A description of 

the windows is in the preceding Exterior Features

section.

Window trim typical of the first floor of the house 

is described in the preceding Common Interior 

Features section.

Cornice

A molded crown, typical of the first floor, runs 

the perimeter of the ceiling and is described in the 

preceding Common Interior Features section.

Ceiling

Beaded-board ceilings typical of the first floor 

run east-west and are described in the preceding 

Common Interior Features section.

Finishes

Walls and ceilings are painted white; all other 

surfaces are varnished.

Heating and Cooling

The chimney serves a flue opening on the west 

wall of this room, now boarded over. The cast iron 

stove is not original to the house. Operable window 

sash allow for natural ventilation. No physical 

evidence was found of a mechanical heating or 

cooling system.

Electrical System

No electrical system is present.

Plumbing

No plumbing system is present.

Security

All doors to the room have mortise locks. 

Fire Detection and Suppression

No fire detection or suppression systems are in 

place.

Room 102 (Bedroom)

Measuring 7’-8” east-west by 12’-5” north-south, 

this room occupies the east side of the main block. 

This room is original to the house.

Flooring

Flooring is 31⁄4” by 7/8” tongue-and-groove pine, 

running east-west.

Baseboards

Baseboards are of the type typical of the first 

floor, described in the preceding Common Interior 

Features section.

Figure 107. Three-panel wood spindle screen door 

in Room 101, mounted to open to the interior in the 

distinctive Portsmouth fashion.

Figure 108. Room 102 looking northeast.
74 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Walls

Walls are vertical beaded board typical of the first 

floor, and are described in the preceding Common 

Interior Features section.

Doorways

The single doorway in Room 102 is described in 

the preceding Room 101 section.

Door casing typical of the first floor is described in 

the preceding Common Interior Features section.

Windows

Three windows provide natural light, one on the 

south wall and two on the east wall. Each window 

opening measures 2’-0” wide by 4’-6” tall. A 

description is in the preceding Exterior Features

section.

Window trim typical of the first is described in the 

preceding Common Interior Features section.

Cornice

A molded crown, typical of the first floor, runs 

the perimeter of the ceiling and is described in the 

preceding Common Interior Features section.

Ceiling

Beaded-board ceilings typical of the first floor 

run east-west and are described in the preceding 

Common Interior Features section.

Finishes

Walls and ceilings are painted white; all other 

surfaces are varnished.

Heating and Cooling

Operable window sash allow for natural 

ventilation. No physical evidence was found of a 

mechanical heating or cooling system.

Electrical System

No electrical system is present.

Plumbing

No plumbing system is present.

Security

The door to the room has a mortise lock.

Fire Detection and Suppression

No fire detection or suppression systems are in 

place.

Room 103 (Kitchen)

Measuring 11’-4” east-west by 12’-7” north-south, 

this room occupies the entire rear ell. This room is 

original to the house.

Flooring

Flooring is 31⁄2” by 7/8” tongue-and-groove pine, 

running north-south.

Baseboards

Baseboards are of the type typical of the first 

floor, described in the preceding Common Interior 

Features section.

Figure 109. Room 102 looking northwest.

Figure 110. Room 102 looking southwest.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 75

Walls

Walls are vertical beaded board typical of the first 

floor, and are described in the preceding Common 

Interior Features section.

Doorways

Three doorways serve Room 103, two on the south 

wall and one on the east wall. The east doorway is 

the exterior side door to the house, described in 

the preceding Exterior Features section. 

The two doorways on the south wall share the 

same casing. The western doorway leads to Room 

101 and is described in the preceding Room 101

section. 

The eastern doorway opens to the stairway to the 

second floor. The threshold measures 3⁄4” tall by 

23⁄4” deep. The doorway is hung with the typical 

three-panel door found on the first floor described 

in the preceding Common Interior Features section. 

Door casing typical of the first floor of the house 

is described in the preceding Common Interior 

Features section.

Windows

Three windows provide the room with natural 

light, one on the east wall, one on the north wall, 

and one on the west wall. Each window opening 

measures 2’-0” wide by 4’-6” tall. A description 

can be found in the preceding Exterior Features

section.

Window trim typical to the first floor of the house 

is described in the preceding Common Interior 

Features section.

Cornice

A molded crown, of the design typically 

found on the first floor, runs the perimeter of 

the ceiling and is described in the preceding 

Common Interior Features section.

Figure 111. Room 103 looking southeast.

Figure 112. Room 103 looking southwest.

Figure 113. Room 103 looking northwest. Built-in 

cabinetry is modern.

Figure 114. Room 103 looking northeast.
76 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Plumbing

No plumbing system is present.

Security

The doors to the room have mortise locks.

Fire Detection and Suppression

No fire detection or suppression systems are in 

place.

Ceiling

Beaded-board ceilings typical of the first floor run 

north-south and are described in the preceding 

Common Interior Features section.

Built-In Cabinetry

Modern upper and lower wood cabinets are built 

into the northwest corner of the room. These 

cabinets were added around 2012.

Finishes

Walls, cabinets, and ceilings are painted white; all 

other surfaces are varnished.

Heating and Cooling

Operable window sash allow for natural 

ventilation. No physical evidence was found of a 

mechanical heating or cooling system.

Electrical System

No electrical system is present.

Figure 115. Room 201 looking west. Brick chimney 

enclosed by vertical beaded boards.

Figure 116. Room 201 looking east. Later four-panel 

wood door.

Figure 117. Room 201 looking northeast, Room 203 

beyond. Passageway is at location of former dormer.

Figure 118. Room 201 looking southeast. Southfacing dormer window.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 77

Figure 119. Rim lock and glass knob on door to 

Room 202.

Figure 120. Circa 1930s board-and-batten door to 

Room 203.

Figure 121. Lintel-cut V-groove board casing of 

doorway to Room 203.

Figure 122. Tongue-and-groove dormer window 

casing with a double-bead.
78 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Room 201 (Bedroom)

Measuring 12’-3” east-west by 12’-5” north-south, 

this room occupies the west side of the main block. 

This room is original to the house.

Flooring

Flooring is 41⁄2” by 7/8” tongue-and-groove pine, 

running east-west.

Baseboards

Baseboards are of the type typical of the second 

floor described in the preceding Common Interior 

Features section.

Walls

The north and south walls and ceilings are 

configured to accommodate dormer openings. 

Walls are a mixture of horizontal and vertical 

beaded board. The walls enclosing the chimney 

and the east wall of the room are vertical beaded 

board; all other wall surfaces are horizontal. 

Vertical beaded boards on the chimney measure 

21⁄2” wide and have one 3/16” center bead and 

beveled edges. Two sizes of horizontal beaded 

boards are used, measuring 51⁄2” and 71⁄2” wide, 

both having two 3/16” beads. The vertical beaded 

boards of the east wall match those installed 

horizontally.

Doorways

Two doorways serve Room 201, one on the east 

wall and one on the north wall. The east doorway 

leads to Room 202. In the opening is a four-panel 

wood door of a later design measuring 2’-4” wide 

by 5’-10” tall by 13/8” thick. The door hardware 

matches that described in the preceding Common 

Interior Features section with the exception of 

having a rim lock instead of a mortise lock. Casing 

around the doorway is 3⁄4” by 45/8” lintel-cut plank 

board. The threshold measures 3⁄4” tall by 53⁄4” 

deep.

The doorway to Room 203 was originally a dormer 

window. It has a board-and batten door measuring 

2’-2” wide by 5’-10” tall by 5/8” thick. Vertical 

V-groove boards measure 5/8” by 41⁄2”. Three 

horizontal battens measure 3⁄4” by 3” and have 

beveled edges. The door is hung on three facemounted 3”, five-knuckle ball-pin butt hinges and 

is closed with a wood swivel latch. Casing around 

the doorway is 3⁄4” by 41⁄4” lintel-cut V-groove 

board. The threshold measures 1” tall by 8” deep 

and has beveled edges.

Windows

A single-sash window on the west wall and a 

double-sash window in the south-facing dormer 

provide natural light. The window opening on the 

west wall measures 1’-10” wide by 1’-6” tall. The 

dormer window opening measures 1’-8” wide by 

3’-8” tall. A description of the windows can be 

found in the preceding Exterior Features section. 

The dormer window has an interior wood-framed 

screen sash.

West window trim consists of 3⁄4” by 4” lintel-cut 

plank board casing, a square cut sill, and an apron 

measuring 3⁄4” by 31⁄2”. Dormer window casing 

is 7/8" by 21⁄4" tongue-and-groove boards with a 

double 1⁄4" bead, lintel cut. The dormer window 

has a beveled-edge sill and an apron of the same 

beaded-board as the casing.

Cornice

A simple trim piece with a rounded top edge, 

typical of the second floor, runs the perimeter 

of the ceiling and is described in the preceding 

Common Interior Features section.

Ceiling

The main ceiling of the room is of beaded board 

matching the walls and runs east-west. The ceiling 

of the dormer is of matching beaded board, 

running north-south. The ceiling of the passage 

to Room 203 is of 4” wide V-groove board, also 

running north-south. Plank boards matching the 

casing around the east doorway are used to trim 

the ceiling at the openings to the dormer and the 

passage to Room 203.

Finishes

Walls, ceilings, doors, and trim are painted white. 

The floor is varnished.

Heating and Cooling

No physical evidence was found of a mechanical 

heating or cooling system.

Electrical System

No electrical system is present.

Plumbing

No plumbing system is present.

Security

The doors to the room have a combination of rim 

locks and wood swivel latches.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 79

Fire Detection and Suppression

No fire detection or suppression systems are in 

place.

Room 202 (Bedroom)

Measuring 8’-1” east-west by 12’-5” north-south, 

this room occupies the east side of the main block. 

This room is original to the house.

Flooring

Flooring is 41⁄2” by 7/8” tongue-and-groove pine, 

running east-west.

Baseboards

Baseboards are of the type typical of the second 

floor described in the preceding Common Interior 

Features section.

Walls

Walls are a mixture of horizontal and vertical 

beaded board. The walls enclosing the stairwell are 

vertical beaded board, described in the preceding 

Room 103 section. The west wall is the exposed 

flush backs of the beaded boards composing the 

east wall of Room 201. Other wall surfaces are 

horizontal V-groove board measuring 23/8” wide.

Doorways

Two doorways provide access to Room 202. The 

doorway at the bottom of the stairs is described 

Figure 123. Room 202 looking east.

Figure 124. Room 202 looking northwest.

Figure 125. Room 202 looking southwest.

Figure 126. Room 202 looking down staircase.
80 Henry Pigott House HSR 

in the preceding Room 103 section. The other is 

on the west wall and is described in the preceding 

Room 201 section. 

Window

A single window on the east wall provides natural 

light. The window opening measures 1’-8” wide by 

3’-8” tall. A description is in the preceding Exterior 

Features section.

Window trim consists of 3⁄4” by 23/8” lintel-cut 

V-groove board casing, a square cut sill, and an 

apron matching the casing.

Cornice

A simple trim piece with a rounded top edge, 

typical of the second floor, runs the perimeter 

of the ceiling and is described in the preceding 

Common Interior Features section.

Ceiling

The ceiling is of the same 23/8” wide V-groove 

board as the walls.

Staircase

The staircase is contained in this room. It is 2’-6” 

wide with ten treads and eleven risers. With the 

exception of the first tread, which measures 111⁄2” 

deep, the treads are extremely shallow, ranging 

from 53⁄4” to 61⁄2” deep. The first riser measures 

101⁄2” tall, the last measures 63⁄4” tall, and all others 

range from 71⁄4” to 73⁄4” tall. 

A newel post measuring 25/8” square and extending 

2’-23⁄4” in height is on each side of the steps at the 

top of the staircase. Each post has a cap measuring 

33⁄4” square by 7/8” tall with a 1⁄4” base and a 1” 

bevel. Extending from the newel posts to the north 

wall and running along the east and west sides 

of the staircase are handrails measuring 25/8” by 

11⁄2” with a pillowed top. Balusters spaced at 5” 

on center are at the second floor only, measure 

1” square and extend 1’-8” from the floor to the 

bottom of the handrail. The handrail running along 

the stairs is attached directly to the wall.

Finishes

Walls, ceilings, doors, and trim are painted white. 

The floor and all components of the staircase are 

varnished.

Heating and Cooling

Operable window sash allow for natural 

ventilation. No physical evidence was found of a 

mechanical heating or cooling system.

Electrical System

No electrical system is present.

Plumbing

No plumbing system is present.

Security

The doors to the room have a combination of rim 

locks and mortise locks.

Fire Detection and Suppression

No fire detection or suppression systems are in 

place.

Room 203 (Bedroom)

Measuring 11’-4” east-west by 12’-7” north-south, 

this room occupies the entire rear ell. This room 

was added in the 1930s.

Flooring

Flooring is 31⁄2” by 7/8” tongue-and-groove pine, 

running north-south.

Figure 127. Room 201 looking up the stairs. Note 

the steepness of the risers and shallowness of the 

treads.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 81

Baseboards

Baseboards are of the type typical of the second 

floor described in the preceding Common Interior 

Features section.

Walls

Walls are a mixture of horizontal 5” wide and 31⁄4” 

wide beaded board, both with two 3/16” beads. The 

south wall is horizontal 4” V-groove board.

Doorway

A single doorway is on the south wall and is 

described in the preceding Room 201 section. 

Window

A single window on the north wall provides natural 

light. The window opening measures 1’-8” wide by 

3’-8” tall. A description is in the preceding Exterior 

Features section.

Window trim consists of 5/8” by 31⁄4” lintel-cut 

tongue-and-groove board casing and a square cut 

sill.

Cornice

A simple trim piece with a rounded top edge, 

typical of the second floor, runs the perimeter 

of the ceiling and is described in the preceding 

Common Interior Features section.

Figure 128. Room 203 looking north.

Figure 129. Room 203 looking south. Board-andbatten door to Room 201.

Figure 130. Wood swivel latch of board-and-batten 

door.

Figure 131. Hinge of board-and-batten door.
82 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Ceiling

The ceiling is of the same mixture of 5” wide and 

31⁄4” wide beaded board as the walls.

Finishes

The north, east, and west walls, and the ceiling, 

floor, and north window casing are varnished. The 

south wall is painted. The door and its casing are 

painted.

Heating and Cooling

Operable window sash allow for natural 

ventilation. No physical evidence was found of a 

mechanical heating or cooling system.

Electrical System

No electrical system is present.

Plumbing

No plumbing system is present.

Security

The door to the room has a wood swivel latch.

Fire Detection and Suppression

No fire detection or suppression systems are in 

place.

Figure 132. Siting of the fence line and kitchen building (left) in relation to the house.

Figure 133. Siting of the privy (far right), storage shed, and cool house (inside fence line) in relation to the house.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 83

Outbuildings, Ancillary Structures, 

and Site Features

The Henry Pigott House site boasts one of the 

most complete collection of outbuildings, ancillary 

structures, and site features of the properties 

on Portsmouth Island. The complex includes 

a kitchen building, foundation of a former net 

house, a storage shed, and a privy; all northwest 

of the house. The latter three are arranged in a 

north-south row. Behind the house is a cool house. 

A wood cistern is at the northwest corner of the 

house. Site features include a wood picket fence, 

a modern mailbox, a modern dock and modern 

above-ground septic tank. Features no longer 

extant are a flagpole that once stood in the front 

lawn of the house until it collapsed during a 2003 

hurricane, and a secondary wood cistern located 

behind the former net house and a fish cleaning 

table near the cool house, both present as late as 

2007.

Fence

The central portion of the Pigott property is 

surrounded by a wood picket fence. Standing 2’-4” 

tall, the fence has 11⁄2” wide by 3⁄4” thick pickets 

spaced 3” on center. The pickets are decorative, 

with alternating angle-cut tops, and are secured to 

top and bottom rails mounted on posts measuring 

15/8” by 31⁄2”. Historic photographs show that the 

fence has long been painted white.

Enclosing a space measuring 53’-2” east-west and 

72’-5” north-south, or about 3,836 square feet, the 

fence has a linear length of 240’-9”. Completely 

enclosed within the space are the house and the 

cool house. While access is gained to the kitchen 

building from within the fenced area, only the east 

wall of the kitchen building rests within the fence 

line. The fence terminates just west of the northeast 

and southeast corners of the kitchen building.

The house is more or less centered within the 

fenced area. The fenceline is about 19’-4” north 

of the house, 16’-3” east, 20’-9” south, and 15’-4” 

west. Access to the fenced area is gained by two 

identical gates, one to the north and one to the 

south. Measuring 3’-4” wide, the gates are both 

hinged on the east side and swing outward from the 

fenced area. The pickets on the gates are the same 

design as those of the fence, with the exception 

of their height, which rises from the fence height 

into a single over-scallop. The north gate is located 

Figure 134. Kitchen building looking southwest. 

Shuttered window opening on north facade.

Figure 135. Kitchen building with partially collapsed 

brick chimney, looking northeast.

Figure 136. Board-and-batten siding and skirt board 

of kitchen building. Adjacency of fence line to south 

facade.
84 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Figure 137. Board-and-batten door and front steps 

of kitchen building. Noticeably patched siding.

Figure 138. Mortise lock and ridged knob of kitchen 

building door. Note deterioration of batten.

Figure 139. One of two identical windows on 

kitchen building south elevation. Trim include plank 

board casing, sloped sill, and angled drip board.

Figure 140. Painted interior of kitchen building. 

Note varnished wood door from house stored inside.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 85

about 1’-4” west of the cool house, while the south 

gate is more or less centered on the front steps 

of the house. Each gate is hung with a pair of 6”, 

three-knuckle strap hinges and closed with a 4” 

galvanized metal hook.

Most of the fence appears to be comprised of 

modern materials. In the past, large sections have 

collapsed and have even been entirely washed away 

by storms. Portions of the fence are known to have 

been rebuilt in 1979, 1987, 2004, and 2012, and 

2015. 

Kitchen Building

Largest of the outbuildings, the front-gabled 

kitchen building is oriented perpendicular to the 

house. Measuring 16’-5” by 10’-4”, the building 

encloses a single room of about 143 square feet. 

The kitchen building is located 19’-0” west of the 

west wall of the rear ell and 5’-4” north of the 

north wall of the main block of the house. Access 

is gained from the east façade inside the fenced 

area. 

The building is said to have been added to the 

property around 1932. Whether it was built new 

or moved from a different location (a common 

practice on Portsmouth) is unknown. The building 

was repainted by NPS crews in 1979. Portions of 

the building were repaired and reconstructed after 

it was blown off its foundation during Hurricane 

Isabel in 2003.

Structural System

The building sits above grade on a regular grid of 

8” diameter wood posts, similar to those of the 

house. The foundation is concealed by a modern 

skirt board measuring 11⁄2” thick by 81⁄2”, bolted to 

the posts.

The walls and roof are wood framed. Vertical 2” 

by 4” studs extend 6’-1” between a bottom plate 

measuring 7/8” by 31⁄4” and a top plate measuring 2” 

by 53⁄4”. A continuous horizontal brace measuring 

11/8” by 33⁄4” is at mid-height. A diagonal brace runs 

from mid-height to the bottom plate on each side 

of the west wall. 

Rafters measuring 1” by 43⁄4” spaced at 2’-3” on 

center form the structure of the gable roof. Deck 

boards measure 2” by 8” to 10”, with a 1⁄2”to 3⁄4” 

gap between boards. There is no ridge beam. The 

rafters meet in a mitered joint and are laterally 

braced by collar ties. Ceiling joists are spaced about 

every third rafter, though no ceiling is installed. 

Historical photos indicate that the framing has 

always been exposed on the interior. Utilitarian 

open wood shelves are set between the open 

framing members. 

Flooring

Flooring measures 7/8” thick, varying in width from 

33⁄4” to 71⁄2”. Floor boards run north-south.

Siding and Trim

Board-and-batten siding covers the exterior walls. 

Boards measure 3⁄4” thick, with widths varying from 

9” to 10”. Battens measure 3⁄4” thick, with widths 

of 31⁄2” and 41⁄2”. Corner boards vary greatly in 

dimension, measuring 1⁄2” by 41⁄4”, 3⁄4” by 31⁄2”, and 

7

/8” by 31⁄2”. Fascia boards also vary, measuring 11⁄2” 

by 41⁄2” and 5/4” by 4”. Window and door casing 

is lintel-cut plank board measuring 3⁄4” by 5”. 

Windows have an angled drip board and squarecut sill. Siding is painted yellow common to the 

buildings on Portsmouth, while all trim is painted 

white.

Openings

The kitchen building has a single doorway, which 

is centered on the east wall. The board-and-batten 

door measures 2’-6” by 6’-7”. Flush vertical boards 

measure 3⁄4” thick, with widths varying from 101⁄2” 

to 11”. There are three horizontal battens on the 

interior face. The top batten measures 7/8” by 5” 

and the mid and bottom battens measure 7/8” by 8”. 

The door is hung with a pair of 6”, three-knuckle 

strap hinges and is closed with a galvanized metal 

hasp with a modern padlock. Also on the door is a 

mortise lock with an exterior key escutcheon and 

ridged knobs with a plain rosette backplate. The 

doorway is accessed by two wood steps on an open 

stringer.

A wood swivel latch and ghost marks of hinges 

found on the inside face of the door frame are 

evidence that the doorway once held a screen door 

that opened to the inside of the building in the 

distinctive Portsmouth fashion. The dismounted 

screen door was stored inside the kitchen building 

as late as 1980.

A single window opening, measuring 1’-10" wide 

by 2’-2” tall, is more or less centered on the north 

wall. The opening is protected by an exterior 

board-and-batten shutter on the exterior. The 

window sash, if still present, is obscured from view 

by architectural salvage stored inside the building.
86 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Two identical six-over-six-light, wood double-sash 

windows measuring 2’-4” wide by 3’-10” tall are 

equally spaced on the south wall.

Roofing

Roofing is random-width 3/8” by 18” wood shingles 

with a 6” exposure, similar to those used on the 

house. A shingled ridge cap runs along the gable 

peak. The current roof dates to 2009.

Chimney

The lower portion of an exposed brick chimney 

measuring about 1’-4” square is slightly south of 

center on the west wall. The bricks differ from 

those of the chimney of the house. The color 

ranges from a more prevalent reddish-orange to an 

occasional dark brown.

The chimney partially collapsed during Hurricane 

Isabel in 2003. Inside the kitchen building is a cast 

iron stove that connects to the flue. 

Interior Finishes

The wall framing members, ceiling joists, and 

exposed interior surface of the exterior siding are 

painted a light blue. Exposed ceiling rafters and 

deck boards are painted white. The floorboards are 

bare wood.

Cool House

Smallest of the outbuildings, the front-gabled cool 

house is oriented south, like the house. Measuring 

2’-7” by 2’-2”, the structure encloses a single space 

of about five-and-a-half square feet. 

The cool house is located 15’-9” north of the rear 

ell, 17’-9” west of the east fence line, and 1’-4” 

south of the north fence line. 

An original cool house is said to have been 

added to the site in the 1930s. It was blown off 

its foundation during Hurricane Isabel in 2003. 

Though damaged from the storm, the original 

cool house was rescued and placed back on its 

foundation, remaining there until it was largely 

Figure 141. Cool house looking northwest.

Figure 142. Cool house looking southwest.

Figure 143. Cool house looking northeast.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 87

reconstructed around 2012. The dimensions of 

the current cool house vary considerably from the 

original.

Structural System

It appears that only the supporting wood piers 

were reused in the 2012 reconstruction. 

The cool house sits 1’-6” above grade on a group of 

wood posts that include three apparently salvaged 

milled posts, two measuring approximately 4” by 

6” and the third 2” by 4”. A variety of trim boards 

provide lateral support. 

The walls are built of plank boards of various 

widths assembled vertically. 

The gable roof is framed with two pairs of rafters, 

each pair constructed of nominal 1” by 4” lumber.

The structure of this utilitarian building is exposed 

on the interior and is without finish.

Flooring

The base flooring of the house rests atop the piers 

and consists of plank boards of various widths. 

The floorboards are bare wood.

Openings

Each wall has a screen-covered opening for 

the essential ventilation. On the east and west 

elevations, the opening measures approximately 

8” wide by 2’-2” tall. On the north and south 

elevations, the screened area measures about 1’-0” 

wide by 2’-0” tall. On the south wall, the screen is 

part of the access door which has two small threeknuckle butt hinges and a wood swivel latch. 

Roofing

The roofing material is Blue Label sawn-cut cedar 

shingles of varying widths, the same roofing shingle 

used on the house. A shingled ridge cap runs along 

the gable peak. The current roof dates to the 2012 

reconstruction.

Figure 144. Siting of storage shed and privy in 

relation to northwest corner of fence line.

Figure 145. Storage shed and privy looking 

northwest.

Figure 146. Storage shed and privy looking 

southwest.

Figure 147. Storage shed and privy looking east.
88 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Storage Shed

To the northwest of the kitchen building and also 

facing east, the storage shed has a low shed roof 

sloping to the west. It measures 10’-4” wide by 

7’-8” deep. The structure encloses a single room of 

about 77 square feet.

The storage shed is located 22’-5” north of the 

fence line, and 22’-10” west of the fence line.

Said to date to the house’s construction around 

1902, a large portion of the structural system was 

likely rebuilt after the building was blown off its 

foundations sometime prior to 1979 and again 

during Hurricane Isabel in 2003.

Structural System

Set on a regular grid of 8” diameter wood posts, the 

storage shed is raised 1’-5” above grade. The walls 

and roof of the building are wood framed. Floor 

joists measure 11⁄2” by 51⁄2” and are spaced 1’-4” on 

center. Rafters also measure 11⁄2” by 51⁄2” and are 

spaced 2’-2” on center. Deck boards measure 3⁄4” 

by 7”.

The structure of this utilitarian building is exposed 

on the interior and is painted white.

Flooring

Flooring measures 3⁄4” by 7” and runs north-south. 

Floorboards are bare wood.

Siding and Trim

Flush vertical plank board siding measures 3⁄4” by 

61⁄2”. A layered fascia consists of 3⁄4” by 33/8” plank 

board on top of 3⁄4” by 5” plank board. There are no 

corner boards or casing, nor is there a skirt board. 

Siding is painted yellow, while all trim is painted 

white.

Openings

Three doorways provide access to the interior. 

There are no windows. Two identical board-andbatten doors measuring 2’-1” wide by 5’-61⁄2” tall 

are equally spaced on the east wall. Flush vertical 

boards measure 3⁄4” thick, and vary from 5” to 71⁄2” 

wide. Three interior horizontal battens measure 1 

1⁄2” by 31⁄2”. The doors are each hung with a pair of 

4”, three-knuckle T hinges and are closed with a 

wood swivel latch. 

The third door opening spans the entire width 

of the west wall. Double board-and-batten doors 

measuring 4’-6” wide by 5’-7” tall are now nailed 

shut. Flush vertical boards measure 3⁄4” by 61⁄2”. 

Figure 148. One of two identical modern boardand-batten doors on east facade of storage shed.Figure 149. West-facing X-braced board-and-batten 

doors of storage shed. Painted exposed framing.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 89

Interior X-brace battens measure 11⁄2” by 31⁄2”. 

The doors are each hung with a pair of 4”, threeknuckle strap hinges and are closed with an 

interior sliding barrel bolt.

All door hardware is modern metal. The 

southernmost of the double doors and the 

two doors on the east side are of modern 

construction, dating after 2007 when they were 

listed as missing.

Roofing

Roofing is asphalt roll, the age is unknown.

Privy

Just north of the storage shed is the east-facing 

front-gabled privy. It measures 4’-2” wide by 4’-5” 

deep. The walls enclose a single room of about 18 

square feet.

Figure 150. Board-and-batten doors of privy.

Figure 151. Wood swivel latch of privy door.

Figure 152. Metal T hinge of privy door.

Figure 153. Exposed roof rafters and deck boards.

Figure 154. Painted privy interior, with double seat.
90 Henry Pigott House HSR 

The privy is located 4’-2” north of the storage shed, 

37’-3” north of the fence line, and 22’-9” west of 

the fence line.

Said to date to the house’s construction around 

1902, a large portion of the privy was apparently 

rebuilt after it was blown off its foundations and 

sustained heavy damage during Hurricane Isabel in 

2003.

Structural System

The double-seat privy is raised 1’-2” above grade 

on a regular grid of modern 6” by 6” wood posts. 

The walls and roof are wood framed. Bottom 

plates, corner posts, and mid-height horizontal 

bracing measure 3” by 4”. Three pairs of rafters 

measuring 5/4” by 4” support the gable roof. Deck 

boards measure 1” by 8” with 3⁄4” to 11⁄2” gaps.

The structure of this utilitarian building is exposed 

on the interior and is painted white.

Flooring

Flooring measures 3⁄4” by 71⁄2” and runs northsouth. Floorboards are bare wood.

Siding and Trim

Flush vertical-board siding measures 3⁄4” by 61⁄2”. A 

single tongue-and-groove beaded board measuring 

5

/8” by 41⁄2” serves as fascia. Casing is lintel-cut 

tongue-and-groove board measuring 3⁄4” by 31⁄4”. 

The window and door have an angled drip board. 

Siding is painted yellow c, while all trim is painted 

white.

Openings

Off-center to the north on the east wall is the only 

doorway. The board-and-batten door measures 

1’-81⁄2” wide by 5’-4” tall. Flush vertical boards 

measure 3⁄4” by 61⁄2”. Three interior horizontal 

battens measure 2” by 4”. The door is hung with 

a pair of 4”, three-knuckle T hinges and is closed 

with a wood swivel latch.

Figure 155. Modern reconstruction of historic wood 

cistern in shaded northwest corner of house.

Figure 156. Opening for downspout in cistern lid, 

usually covered with brick-weighted board to right.

Figure 157. Foundation posts and entry step of former 

net house. Some posts are modern replacements.

Figure 158. Modern wood dock, since rebuilt. 

Modern metal mailbox to far left.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 91

A single window opening, measuring 1’-2” wide by 

1’-10” tall, is centered on the south wall. The sash is 

no longer present.

Roofing

Roofing is random-width 3/8” by 18” wood shingles 

with a 6” exposure, similar to those used on the 

house. A shingled ridge cap runs along the gable 

peak. The current roof dates to 2009.

Cistern

A wood-framed cistern, reconstructed around 

2007-08, is located adjacent to the west wall of 

the rear ell of the house. Measuring 3’-9” eastwest and 11’-11” north-south, the cistern is 

about 3” west and 5” north of the house. The 

cistern is raised on a platform of 11⁄2” by 91⁄4” 

plank boards resting on treated 8” diameter wood 

posts and vertical 11⁄2” by 91⁄4” sill plates. The 

walls of the cistern are of boards matching those 

of the platform beneath. The lid is convex and 

constructed of 3⁄4” by 31⁄4” tongue-and-groove 

boards. Water was collected by a gutter and 

downspout on the northwest corner of the house, 

no longer extant.

Net House Foundation

Largely destroyed by Hurricane Isabel in 2013, the 

net house sat northwest of the kitchen building 

and also faced east. The only remains of the net 

house are six 8” diameter wood foundation posts 

extending 1’-6” above grade, and a single step 

composed of a wood plank board supported by 

a wood post on either side. The tread measures 

3’-10” wide by 1’-0” deep. 

The layout of the foundation indicates that the 

building measured about 9’-6” east-west and 7’-6” 

north-south, enclosing a space of about 71 square 

feet. The foundation is 10’-2” south of the storage 

shed, 22’-0”west of the fence line, and 5’-3” north 

of the fence line.

Said to date to the house’s construction around 

1902, the net house served as storage for fishing 

and oystering gear. 

Site Features

A modern plastic above-ground septic tank in a 

wood-framed enclosure is just east of the house.

Northwest of the house, a wood dock about forty 

feet long extends into Doctor’s Creek. Historic 

photographs show that no dock was associated 

with the Pigott property until it appears in 2003 

photographs. The dock was largely rebuilt around 

2014.

A metal mailbox on a wood post is located near the 

west end of the dock. Historic photographs show 

that no mailbox was associated with the Pigott 

property until it appears in a 1976 photograph. The 

mailbox was moved to its present location after 

2003 storm damage.

Figure 159. Southwest view from Pigott front yard across Doctor's Creek with Portsmouth Methodist Church beyond.
92 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Character Defining Features

Distinctive Characteristics of the Site

•	 Level grade.

•	 Mowed grass lawn immediately surrounding 

the house.

•	 Tall grasses and low shrubs surrounding the 

grassy site with interspersed clumps of windbent trees.

•	 Location of buildings and site features.

•	 Wood picket fence and gates.

•	 Dirt road adjacent to the house.

•	 View of Ocracoke Inlet to the north.

•	 Long vistas across Doctor’s Creek of the 

Church and other buildings on the east bank.

•	 View of the Tom and Lucy Gilgo house and 

others buildings on the west side of Doctor’s 

Creek.

Distinctive Characteristics of the 

Building Exterior

•	 Wooden open stairs to the front and side 

porches.

•	 Open front and side porches with chamfered 

posts supporting wood-shingled hipped 

roofs.

•	 Tongue-and-groove floor boards of the front 

and side porches.

•	 Exposed, vertical-cut rafter ends of the front 

and side porch roofs.

•	 Wood hand rail and balustrade with 

chamfered newel posts at front and side 

porches.

•	 T-plan configuration.

•	 Orthogonally-oriented wood lattice apron 

concealing the low wood foundation posts.

•	 Wood weatherboard siding.

•	 Four-over-four-light, wood double-sash 

windows.

•	 Paired, flush-panel, wood window shutters.

•	 Four-light, wood single-sash window on the 

west gable end of the main block.

•	 Single-light-over-three-horizontal-panel 

wood sash front door.

•	 Five-horizontal-panel wood side door.

•	 Early door hardware, including glass knobs 

with brass shanks, rosette backplates, 

keyhole escutcheons, and mortise locks. 

•	 Plank board door and window casing (lintelcut), drip edge, sill, and apron.

•	 Plank board fascia, corner boards, and skirt 

board.

•	 Boxed eaves and eave returns.

•	 Wood-shingled cross-gable roof of the main 

Body and rear ell.

Figure 160. South view from Pigott front yard. Visible from left to right are: George and Patsy Dixon House, Post 

Office and General Store, Robert and Caroline Wallace House, and Tom and Lucy Gilgo House.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 93

•	 Triple-A roofline.

•	 South-facing gable dormer.

•	 Brick chimney with corbelled cap.

Distinctive Characteristics of the 

Building Interior

•	 Varnished tongue-and-groove wood flooring 

throughout the house in 31⁄4”, 31⁄2”, and 41⁄2” 

widths.

•	 Beaded-board walls and ceilings of both 

levels.

•	 Varnished decorative baseboard throughout 

the first floor.

•	 Absence of baseboard at second-floor level.

•	 Varnished molded cornice throughout the 

first floor.

•	 Sloping ceilings at second-floor level and 

quarter-round trim at junction of walls and 

ceilings.

•	 Early varnished three-horizontal-panel 

wood doors.

•	 Early three-panel, wood-framed screen 

doors of wood spindle design, that open to 

the interior of the house in the distinctive 

Portsmouth style.

•	 Early door hardware, including glass knobs 

with brass shanks, rosette backplates, 

keyhole escutcheons, and mortise locks.

•	 Later four-panel wood door with rim lock 

and board and batten door with swivel latch 

on upper level.

•	 Varnished plank board window and door 

casing with corner blocks, square-cut sill, 

and apron found throughout the first floor.

•	 Beaded boards arranged vertically to cover 

chimney stack at second-floor level.

•	 Built-in wood cabinetry in Room 103 

(Kitchen).

•	 Narrow, steep staircase to the second floor 

with extremely shallow treads.

•	 Varnished handrail, balustrade, and newel 

posts of the staircase. 

Distinctive Characteristics of the 

outbuildings/Ancillary Structures

Kitchen Building

•	 Location at fence line.

•	 Board-and-batten exterior siding.

•	 Wood-shingled gable roof.

•	 Six-over-six-light, wood double-sash 

windows.

•	 Board-and-batten door with mortise lock, 

ridged knobs, rosette backplates, and 

keyhole escutcheons.

•	 Plank board door and window casing (lintelcut), drip edge, sill, and apron.

•	 Plank board fascia, corner boards, and skirt 

board.

•	 Remains of brick chimney.

•	 Wood steps.

•	 Board-and-batten window shutter.

•	 Wood swivel latch and evidence of interior 

screen door.

•	 Exposed wood wall and roof framing on the 

interior.

•	 Bare wood floorboards.

•	 Interior wood shelves.

•	 Painted interior finish.

Cool house

•	 Wood-shingled gable roof.

•	 Distinctive centerline foundation post 

configuration.

•	 Wood-framed screen door and window 

openings.

•	 Exposed wood wall and roof framing on the 

interior.

Storage Shed

•	 Location in row of outbuildings.

•	 Shed roof.

•	 Flush, vertically-laid plank-board siding.

•	 Board-and-batten doors.

•	 Wood plank board fascia.

•	 Exposed wood wall and roof framing on the 

interior.
94 Henry Pigott House HSR 

•	 Bare wood floorboards.

•	 Painted interior finish.

Privy

•	 Location in row of outbuildings.

•	 Wood-shingled gable roof.

•	 Flush, vertically-laid plank board siding.

•	 Board-and-batten door with wood swivel 

latch.

•	 Window opening.

•	 Tongue-and-groove board door and window 

casing, with angled drip board.

•	 Tongue-and-groove board fascia.

•	 Exposed wood wall and roof framing on the 

interior.

•	 Bare wood floorboards.

•	 Painted interior finish.

•	 Wood double-privy seat.

Cistern

•	 Protected location at northwest corner of 

house.

•	 Wood platform on exposed wood posts.

•	 Plank board walls.

•	 Tongue-and-groove board convex top.

Net House Foundation

•	 Location in row of outbuildings.

•	 Round foundation posts.

•	 Wood plank board step.

Summary of Physical Conditions 

and Other Concerns

Repairs conducted by NPS in the late 1970s, 

throughout the 1980s, and in the mid-2000s were 

extensive and addressed major concerns. General 

upkeep provided by the Friends of Portsmouth 

Island group over the last several years has 

addressed many of the building’s aesthetic issues. 

Overall, the house is in good shape, and the 

outbuildings in good to fair condition.

While most current concerns are aesthetic in 

nature and represent no threat to the safety of the 

general public or NPS staff or to the building, a 

handful of concerns do require attention.

Highest Priority: Immediate Threat to 

Life/Safety of Occupants or Immediate 

and Serious Threat to Building

•	 There are no immediate threats to the 

building.

•	 There are no immediate threats to the safety 

of occupants. The narrow and steep interior 

staircase is a distinctive feature of the house, 

and should be recognized as a potential trip 

hazard.

High Priority: High Potential for 

Becoming a Threat to Occupants or 

Building

•	 The semi-collapsed brick chimney of the 

kitchen building poses a high threat of water 

infiltration through the now unprotected 

flue opening. The fallen bricks scattered in 

the yard also pose a tripping hazard for the 

public/staff.

•	 The unboarded window opening devoid of 

sash on the privy represents a high threat 

of both water infiltration and infiltration by 

vermin.

Medium Priority: Delayed Threat to 

Occupants or Building

•	 The floors in the kitchen building, the 

storage shed and the privy are in deteriorated 

condition.

•	 The cool house is leaning on its foundation 

posts.

Low Priority: Aesthetic Concerns Posing 

No Threat to Occupants or Building

•	 The finishes of the porch floor decks and the 

front steps are failing.

•	 There is an open hole in the ceiling of Room 

102 and poorly patched holes in the floor 

and ceiling of Room 202, where a ventilation 

stack once ran for a chemical toilet (1970s or 

after) formerly in Room 102. 

•	 The finish of the ceiling in Room 103 is 

failing.

•	 The finishes of the second-floor interior 

walls and ceilings are failing.

•	 The middle of the three interior battens of 

the kitchen building door is deteriorated at 

the location of the door hardware.
Part I.C Physical Description

National Park Service 95

•	 All finishes of most outbuilding exteriors are 

failing.

•	 The interior finished of the kitchen building 

and the storage shed are failing.

•	 The nails used on the fence and several of 

the outbuildings are severely rusted and have 

stained the painted exterior surfaces.
96 Henry Pigott House HSR 
National Park Service 97

PART II.A ULTIMATE TREATMENT AND USE

II.A Ultimate Treatment 

and Use

The Henry Pigott House and its outbuildings 

and ancillary structures are part of a group of 

historic structures that provide what are iconic 

images of Portsmouth Village. Anchored by the 

Methodist church at the center of the village, 

this concentration of residences, outbuildings, 

community buildings, and cemeteries provides 

visitors a sense of the village in the early twentieth 

century when it was still a thriving community. 

Treatment and use of the Pigott complex should be 

predicated on preserving its place in that ensemble 

of buildings.

The house is historically significant for its 

associations with the Pigott family, who resided 

there for nearly seven decades starting in 1904. 

The Pigotts were the only black family to return 

to Portsmouth Island after the Civil War. More 

importantly, this was the house of Henry Pigott 

(1896-1971), one of Portsmouth’s most famous 

residents. The house is also architecturally 

significant as an excellent local interpretation of 

a cottage with a typical North Carolina triple-A 

roofline. Henry Pigott’s pride of ownership and 

continual maintenance of the property, even as 

Portsmouth was in decline, illustrates the resilience 

of Portsmouth and its residents.

The siting of the Pigott House on the northern 

edge of the village is significant to the history of 

Portsmouth. The house is one of the few truly 

riparian complexes on the island. Situated near 

the mouth of Doctor’s Creek – a brackish tidal 

creek off the Ocracoke Inlet that quickly ends in 

the marshy interior of the island – the house has 

a commanding position over one of the few sites 

Figure 161. Henry Pigott House viewed from southeast.
98 Henry Pigott House HSR 

where it was possible to bring a boat to shore. This 

is also the site from which Henry Pigott launched 

his skiff to meet the mailboat. 

In 1968, Henry, like most Portsmouth owners, sold 

his house and land to the State of North Carolina 

for the recently authorized National Seashore. He 

retained a life estate on the property that allowed 

him to live out the rest of his days in his house.133

The life estate in the property ended with Henry’s 

death in 1971, and full ownership transferred to the 

State of North Carolina and later to NPS

In the 1970s, NPS began a successful leasing 

program for several Portsmouth houses. The longterm agreements, generally twenty years, required 

leaseholders to maintain and improve the buildings 

following the Secretary of the Interior’s “Standards 

for Rehabilitation” and specific conditions of the 

lease, including a requirement for a compost toilet 

if a flush toilet were not installed.134 The Pigott 

House was among those in the leasing program.

The leasing program at Portsmouth Village, like 

that at Cape Lookout Village, came to a close as 

the initial lease period ended. A plan for reuse 

was developed for the historic buildings at Cape 

Lookout Village after there was an unsuccessful 

challenge to the NPS decision not to simply renew 

the leases. There is not yet a similar plan for those 

at Portsmouth. 

Reestablishment of the leasing program at 

Portsmouth seems unlikely given the more 

stringent code requirements for sanitary facilities 

now in place. Installing and maintaining the 

sanitary facilities during the initial phase of the 

leasing program was a constant challenge due to 

the shallow water table.135 In addition, the LongRange Interpretive Plan notes that leasing may not 

be “desirable or feasible.” 

Continuing the use for which an historic structure 

was built is almost always the best option for 

historic preservation. However, in the case of the 

Pigott House, the current use as a house museum 

is the best option. The 1982 General Management 

Plan envisioned the interiors of some buildings 

133. Deed Book 290/411, July 18, 1968. Harriet, “Cottage 

Biography.”

134. Ellen Fulcher Cloud interview, April 26, 2014 

Homecoming.

135. Cape Lookout National Seashore, Foundation 

Document, 2012, p. 29.

used for interpretation.136 The GMP directed 

this interpretation towards themes of “ethnic and 

religious minorities, occupational groups, and 

economic classes,” noting that Portsmouth Village 

is uniquely able to address these issues.137 Given the 

iconic status of Henry Pigott as one of Portsmouth’s 

last three residents, his death marking the end of 

Portsmouth Village as an active community, the 

house is one of the most important residences 

on the island. The sheer number of stories in 

the conscious memory of Portsmouth involving 

members of the Pigott family is astounding and 

can be most effectively told to the visiting public 

through interpretation of the property.

As stated in the Long-Range Interpretive Plan, 

“development of adequate sanitary facilities is not 

only challenging in the district but is also further 

complicated by sea level rise . . . .”138 Maintaining 

a potable water supply has always been an issue 

at Portsmouth, and with a rising and increasingly 

saline water table, wells may no longer be practical. 

Using the property as a house museum eliminates 

the need for sanitary facilities or a source for 

potable water located on premises, as visitors can 

rely on those in the Visitors Center at the Theo 

Salter House (NPS 519). 

The use of the property as a house museum 

necessitates its being routinely opened to the 

public. The benefits are twofold. First, the 

availability of this cultural resource to the visiting 

public enhances the interpretation and experience 

of the Portsmouth Historic District. Second, any 

threat of vandalism is outweighed by the benefits 

of “eyes on the building,” which can help forestall 

the inevitable neglect that results when a building 

is not being used. It is noteworthy that longtime park personnel cannot recall an instance of 

vandalism, a problem at some parks.

While the steps both NPS and Friends of 

Portsmouth Island have taken in the creation 

of the present house museum are laudable, the 

property has much potential yet to be utilized. 

The Pigott complex boasts one of the most 

complete collections of outbuildings on the 

island. Restoration of the existing outbuildings 

136. NPS, Cape Lookout National Seashore GMP, 1982, p. 43.

137. Ibid, p. 1.

138. Cape Lookout National Seashore, Long-Range 

Interpretive Plan, pp. 38-39.
National Park Service 99

PART II.A ULTIMATE TREATMENT AND USE

and reconstruction of the net house would be of 

immense educational value to the visiting public.

The net house is of particular interest as it is 

the only documented building of that typology 

in Portsmouth Village. In addition, it has close 

ties to the Pigott family’s history of fishing and 

oystering. In this case, the educational benefits 

of reconstruction of the outbuilding and its 

incorporation into the overall interpretation 

outweigh other considerations.

Given the importance of the Pigott family, 

especially Henry, and the completeness of the 

house complex, the Recommended Ultimate 

Treatments are as follows:

The Recommended Ultimate Treatment for 

the house is Preservation of the exterior of 

the house as a major feature in the district’s 

cultural landscape and Preservation of 

the interior to accommodate modern use 

as a house museum. The Recommended 

Ultimate Treatment for the cool house 

is preservation. The Recommended 

Ultimate Treatment for the kitchen 

building and privy is interior and exterior 

restoration. The Recommended Ultimate 

Treatment for the storage shed is exterior 

restoration. And finally, the Recommended 

Ultimate Treatment for the net house is 

reconstruction.
100 Henry Pigott House HSR 
PART II.B REQUIREMENTS FOR TREATMENT

National Park Service 101

II.B Requirements for 

Treatment

Treatment and use of all historic properties 

maintained by the National Park Service 

are guided by a number of Federal laws and 

regulations, as well as to NPS policy, directives, and 

functional requirements. In addition to protecting 

cultural resources, these requirements also 

address issues of life safety, fire protection, energy 

conservation, abatement of hazardous materials, 

and handicapped accessibility.

Some of these requirements may contradict or 

be at cross purposes with one another if they 

are rigidly interpreted. Any treatment must be 

carefully considered with a goal of maximizing the 

preservation of historic features and materials.

National Historic Preservation Act

The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as 

amended (NHPA) mandates Federal protection 

of significant cultural resources, including 

buildings, landscapes, and archeological sites. 

In implementing the act, a number of laws and 

authorities have been established that are binding 

on the NPS.

Section 106

A routine step in the park’s planning process for 

the treatment of cultural resources is compliance 

with Section 106 of NHPA. This requires that, 

prior to any undertaking involving National 

Register or National Register-eligible historic 

properties, Federal agencies “take into account the 

effect” of the undertaking on the property and give 

the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation “a 

reasonable opportunity to comment with regard to 

such undertaking.”

To satisfy the requirements of Section 106, 

regulations have been published (36 CFR Part 800, 

“Protection of Historic Properties”) that require, 

among other things, consultation with local 

governments, State Historic Preservation Officers, 

and Indian tribal representatives. They also 

establish criteria under which the Advisory Council 

may comment, but as a practical matter, the vast 

majority of Federal undertakings do not involve 

review by the Advisory Council. The purpose of 

Section 106 review is to ensure that all interested 

parties have a voice in the preservation of our 

nation’s cultural heritage.

To expedite the review process, a programmatic 

agreement (PMOA) has been developed among 

the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the 

National Council of State Historic Preservation 

Officers and the NPS allows for a streamlined 

Section 106 review process. With certain 

conditions, routine repairs and maintenance that 

do not alter the appearance of the historic structure 

or involve widespread or total replacement of 

historic features or materials are not subject to 

review except by cultural resource specialists 

within the NPS.

The Secretary’s Standards

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the 

Treatment of Historic Properties are the Secretary’s 

best advice to everyone on how to protect a 

wide range of historic properties. They provide 

a philosophy to underpin historic preservation 

that is widely understood and almost universally 

accepted in the United States. They are intended 

to be applied to a wide variety of resource types, 

including buildings, sites, structures, objects, 

and districts. The Standards, revised in 1992, are 

codified as 36 CFR Part 68.

The Standards describe four broad approaches to 

the treatment and use of historic properties. These 

are, in hierarchical order:

• Preservation, which places a high premium 

on the retention of all historic fabric through 

conservation, maintenance and repair. It 

reflects a building’s continuum over time, 
102 Henry Pigott House HSR 

through successive occupancies, and the 

respectful changes and alterations that are 

made.

• Rehabilitation, which emphasizes the 

retention and repair of historic materials, 

but provides more latitude for replacement 

because it is assumed the property is 

more deteriorated prior to work. (Both 

Preservation and Rehabilitation standards 

focus attention on the preservation of those 

materials, features, finishes, spaces, and 

spatial relationships that, together, give a 

property its historic character.)

• Restoration, which focuses on the retention 

of materials from the most significant time 

in a property’s history, while permitting the 

removal of materials from other periods.

• Reconstruction, which establishes limited 

opportunities to recreate a non-surviving 

site, landscape, building, structure, or object 

in all new materials.

Regardless of treatment approach, the Standards 

put a high priority on preservation of existing 

historic materials and features and not just the 

architectural form and style. The Standards also 

require that any alterations, additions, or other 

modifications be reversible, i.e., be designed and 

constructed in such a way that they can be removed 

or reversed in the future without the loss of 

existing historic materials, features, or character.

Americans With Disabilities Act of 

1990

The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) 

establishes comprehensive civil rights protection 

for disabled Americans, both in employment 

and in their right to free, unaided access to 

public buildings. While people with restricted 

mobility have most frequently benefited from 

ADA, protection also extends to those with other 

disabilities, including those with impaired vision or 

hearing.

Requirements for full compliance with ADA 

regulations are extensive and easiest to apply to 

new construction. Full compliance for historic 

buildings is more difficult and sometimes would 

require significant alterations to the historic 

character of the property. Where that is the 

case, ADA authorizes a process for arriving at 

alternatives to full compliance that can preserve 

historic character while maximizing a disabled 

visitor’s access to the historic building.

International Building 

Code

As a matter of policy, the NPS is guided by the 

International Building Code, which includes this 

statement regarding code compliance in historic 

buildings:

3406.1 Historic Buildings. The provisions 

of this code related to the construction, 

repair, alteration, addition, restoration 

and movement of structures, and change 

of occupancy shall not be mandatory for 

historic buildings where such buildings 

are judged by the building official to not 

constitute a distinct life safety hazard 

[emphasis added].

Threats to public health and safety should always 

be eliminated, but because this applies to historic 

buildings, alternatives to full code compliance are 

always sought where compliance would needlessly 

compromise the integrity of historic buildings.

NFPA Code 914

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 

has promulgated codes for historic buildings, 

most notably NFPA 909, “Code for the Protection 

of Cultural Resources Properties - Museums, 

Libraries, and Places of Worship,” and NFPA 914, 

“Code for Fire Protection of Historic Structures.” 

As a matter of policy, NPS recommends installation 

of fire-suppression systems in every historic 

building.

NPS Management Policies

The NPS General Management Policies (2006) 

guide overall management of historic properties, 

especially Chapter 5 “Cultural Resource 

Management.” Based upon the authority of 

some nineteen Acts of Congress and many more 

Executive orders and regulations, these policies 

require planning to ensure that management 

processes for making decisions and setting 

priorities integrate information about cultural 
PART II.B REQUIREMENTS FOR TREATMENT

National Park Service 103

resources, and provide for consultation and 

collaboration with outside entities. These policies 

also support good stewardship to ensure that 

cultural resources are preserved and protected, 

receive appropriate treatments (including 

maintenance), and are made available for public 

understanding and enjoyment.

Section 5.3.5, “Treatment of Cultural 

Resources”

This section of the management policies provides 

specific directives, including a directive that “the 

preservation of cultural resources in their existing 

states will always receive first consideration.” 

The section also states that “treatments entailing 

greater intervention will not proceed without 

the consideration of interpretive alternatives.... 

Pending treatment decisions reached through the 

planning process, all resources will be protected 

and preserved in their existing states. Except for 

emergencies that threaten irreparable loss without 

immediate action, no treatment project will be 

undertaken unless supported by an approved 

planning document appropriate to the proposed 

action.139 The present HSR is that approved 

planning document.

Park Planning

The 1982 General Management Plan (GMP) 

divided the park into management zones, with 

a 250-acre “historic zone” identified around 

Portsmouth where preservation and adaptive use 

of the historic structures was envisioned. Beyond 

that, the GMP recommended restoration of 

Portsmouth “to the turn-of-the-century period, 

but without the replacement of now-missing 

139. NPS General Management Policies (2006), p. 50.

buildings” and removal of “later buildings of 

non-historic character.” Those recommendations 

were based on a narrow understanding of the 

history and significance of Portsmouth that has 

since been broadened by additional research and 

the numerous studies that have been completed 

since the turn of the present century. We concur 

with the recommendations of the recently 

completed cultural landscape report, which 

suggests the period of significance be extended to 

1971, when the island’s last year-round residents 

decamped for the mainland.

The GMP envisioned the interiors of some 

buildings being used for interpretation and 

others “adapted for contemporary administrative 

functions.”140 The GMP directed this interpretation 

towards themes of “ethnic and religious minorities, 

occupational groups, and economic classes,” 

noting that Portsmouth Village is uniquely able to 

address these issues.141

The Henry Pigott House is specifically addressed 

in the Park’s 2011 Long-Range Interpretive Plan. 

It acknowledges that the Friends of Portsmouth 

Island group had requested and received special 

authorization in 2010 “to take responsibility for 

rehabilitation of the Henry Pigott House, and plan 

to open the house to the public as a furnished 

house exhibit and site depicting Henry Pigott’s 

home.”142 The LRIP also calls for an Historic 

Furnishings Plan (HFP) in addition to an HSR 

for the Pigott house to be conducted “as soon as 

possible,” noting that these documents “will form 

the foundation for what the Friends (of Portsmouth 

Island) plan to do.”143 The work conducted thus far 

by the Friends group has been without the aid of 

these to foundational documents.

140. NPS, Cape Lookout National Seashore General 

Management Plan, 1982, p. 43.

141. Ibid, p. 1.

142. NPS Cape Lookout National Seashore Long-Range 

Interpretive Plan, 2011, p. 43. 

143. Ibid, p. 44. 
104 Henry Pigott House HSR 
PART II.C ALTERNATIVES FOR TREATMENT

National Park Service 105

II.C Alternatives for Treatment 

and Use

In accordance with NPS policy, other alternatives 

for treatment and use have also been considered 

in addition to the Ultimate Treatment and Use 

described above. While perhaps not recommended 

under the present circumstances, these alternative 

approaches nevertheless fulfill the basic park 

mandate to preserve the historic resources at 

Portsmouth.

Alternative #1: House Museum 

Interpreted to the Second Half of 

the Twentieth Century

An interesting alternative might be to continue 

the current use as a house museum, but to change 

the date of interpretation to a later point in Henry 

Pigott’s life, with the interior and exterior restored 

to their appearance at the end of the period of 

significance of the Portsmouth Historic District 

suggested in the 2007 Cultural Landscape Report. 

With appropriate furnishing and decoration, the 

house could exhibit something of the lifestyle of 

Henry and Lizzie as well as other residents of the 

community in the second half of the twentieth 

century. Properly interpreted, the house could help 

visitors understand that time did not stand still on 

Portsmouth and that some modern conveniences 

like gas heaters and appliances aided life on the 

island for the few remaining residences.

Interpretation to this period would have the added 

benefit of being better able to tell the story of 

Portsmouth’s last male resident and his duties as 

caretaker for the Island. Unlike many of the other 

residences, this house is in the unique position of 

being able to tell the story of a life of isolation in a 

rapidly dying community. 

This approach would have the following 

advantages:

• provides public benefit and interpretive 

opportunity by interpreting a period during 

which the vast majority of the other houses 

on the island would have been vacant; 

• expands visitor understanding of the role 

Henry Pigott played in the community.

This approach would have the following 

disadvantages:

• requires a significant outlay of funds 

to pursue the necessary research and 

investigations to accurately recreate the 

historic interiors;

• negates the interpretive work already in 

place.

Alternative #2: Restoration ca. 

1925

An second alternative might be restoration of the 

house to its appearance prior to Henry Pigott’s 

remodeling in the 1930s. Such an approach could 

enhance visitors’ understanding of the early 

community and the nature of its built environment 

in the early twentieth century.

This approach would include removal of the 

second floor addition to the rear, restoration of 

the original ell roof line, and reconstruction of the 

north dormer on the main block, the window for 

which was moved to the second-story gable end 

of the current rear ell. The front porch would be 

removed and the shed-roofed porch that existed 

before the 1930s would be reconstructed.

This approach would have the following 

advantages: 

• enhance visitors’ understanding of the 

early-twentieth century community and the 

nature of its built environment;

• the simplified design would also make longterm maintenance less costly;

• additional building archaeology may clarify 
106 Henry Pigott House HSR 

the construction date of the original portions 

of the house and could possibly clarify dates 

of the net house, storage shed, and privy;

It would have the following disadvantages:

• destruction of so much historic fabric would 

likely be judged an “adverse effect” and 

trigger protracted Section 106 consultation;

• the proposed restoration would be based on 

very limited archival documentation;

• would likely anger the local community by 

destroying a part of the cultural landscape 

they have always known and associate with 

Henry Pigott.

Figure 162. Lionel Gilgo as a child helping Henry Pigott wind twine for fishing nets, ca. 1925. The east façade, 

rear porch and ell, and front porch roof are visible. (CALO b47-2, Lionel Gilgo Coll.)
National Park Service 107

PART II.D RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TREATMENT AND USE

II.D Recommendations for 

Treatment and Use

The following recommendations are intended to 

achieve the Ultimate Treatment and Use described 

above for the Henry Pigott House: preservation 

of the exterior of the house as a major feature in 

the district’s cultural landscape and preservation 

of the interior to accommodate modern use as a 

house museum. Most of what is described below is 

compatible with a variety of uses and is intended to 

incorporate routine maintenance of the house as it 

exists today, repairing and, if necessary, replacing 

in-kind, as well as conducting routine inspections 

to minimize and prevent damage to the historic 

fabric of the building.

HSR recommendations are not intended to provide 

the specific guidance that architectural/engineering 

plans and specifications or other specialized 

professional documents would provide. However, 

A/E plans and specifications or other professional 

documents may not be needed for many of the 

recommended actions. Some of the in-kind repairs 

and maintenance tasks can be performed by skilled 

craftsmen, if properly guided by cultural resource 

specialists.

Portsmouth Village - General

Barrier islands, such as Portsmouth, will be 

especially vulnerable to the eff ects of climate 

change and sea-level rise, which may negatively 

aff ect cultural resources on these islands.

General Recommendations for Portsmouth Village

• Consult with Janet Cakir PhD, NPS 

SER Climate Change, Socioeconomics, 

and Adaptation Coordinator to guide 

management policies.

• Use results from the climate change study 

“Identify Cultural Resources Sites Affected 

by Sea-Level Rise at Cape Hatteras National 

Seashore” to guide management policies. This 

study is also applicable to Portsmouth Island.

• Prepare or update Topographic Survey of site.

• Prepare a Log of Flood Occurrences. Record 

at a minimum the dates of occurrences and 

approximate extent and severity (e.g. depth at 

specific locations). Correlate recordings with 

Topographic Survey. Maintain data so that 

they can be correlated with conditions such 

as tide, moon phase, etc.

• Evaluate site for flood avoidance potential 

including the introduction of dams and/or 

swales to divert or direct flooding waters.

• Evaluate each building, structure, and 

significant site feature for flood avoidance 

potential and/or enhancement potential for 

better withstanding the projected threatening 

events.

• Identify critical services (fresh water supply, 

waste disposal, energy sources, etc.), evaluate 

options, and develop contingency plans. 

• Strive to maintain for all buildings a sound 

structural system and a weather-tight exterior 

envelope, especially the roof.

• Use maintenance activities as opportunities 

to enhance the resistive capacities of the 

buildings and structures whenever feasible.

• Prepare minimum level of record 

documentation (overall view photographs 

and text descriptions) for all undocumented 

cultural resources in the community 

that are at risk; prepare more extensive 

documentation (including scaled record 

drawings with descriptions) for the more 

significant resources at risk.

The House Site

Portsmouth’s coastal climate with its regularly 

strong winds, high humidity levels and high 

salt content of the air, is especially damaging to 

many construction materials, especially ferrousbased metals. Left unprotected, such materials 

deteriorate quickly. 
108 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Poor drainage is also characteristic of Portsmouth, 

but the natural process of decay of vegetation 

and generation of new humus has created a 

bowl-like depression beneath many houses on 

Portsmouth. This traps water and keeps the area 

damp for extended periods of time, which not only 

exacerbates rotting of wood posts, but also creates 

conditions conducive to termites.

The foundation of the Henry Pigott House is now 

and has been historically concealed by a wood 

lattice apron, obfuscating the extent to which 

drainage may be a concern. Any existing depression 

might be filled with sand, gravel, or shell, but the 

low elevation of the building’s wood frame would 

make that difficult. 

Typically, the use of gutters and a drainage system 

to direct water away from a building is part of a 

solution, but the topography of the site would 

probably make such an approach of little utility. 

Raising the house and regrading the site to 

eliminate the depression might eliminate this 

problem should it exist, but would likely require 

replacement of all of the foundation posts. In 

this case, the fact that the foundation posts are 

concealed makes the raised nature of the house 

the character defining feature rather than the posts 

themselves. The park can do little to combat rising 

sea level and the consequential threat to cultural 

and natural resources, however they can be more 

efficient to manage the effects with more frequent 

inspection for termites and other hazards to the 

building.

General Recommendations

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Recommendations for House Site

• Investigate need for and feasibility of 

establishing drainage swales.

• Investigate need for and feasibility of partial 

or complete filling of any existing depression 

beneath the house.

• Raising the house should be considered; a 

significant change in elevation could affect 

the house’s character-defining features. 

• Conduct rigorous annual inspections for 

termite infestation and treat accordingly.

• When fence repairs are needed, return to 

historic design (see page 115). 

• Secure clearance from an archaeologist 

before commencing work that might require 

ground disturbance.

Structural Systems

The one-and-a-half-story house is set on low 

wood foundation posts and has a conventional 

wood frame.

Foundation Posts

As mentioned above, the foundation of the Henry 

Pigott House is concealed by a wood lattice apron, 

hiding the condition of foundation posts. In 

many locations on the island, standing water has 

precipitated rot in wood posts that are set directly 

into the ground. Typically, no metal shields 

separate the posts from the house’s wood frame 

to protect the structure from termite infestation 

and damage.

Posts may need to be replaced eventually, and 

should be replaced in-kind.

Recommendations for Foundation Posts

• Investigate the condition of foundation posts 

on a regular basis.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they fail.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Install termite shields wherever possible.

Wood Framing

Like the foundation, the wood framing is 

concealed from view by floorboards and wall and 

ceiling cladding. From all outward appearances 

the framing seems to be in generally fair condition; 

ridge lines remain straight and floors level. The 

house, like many others of the period, is likely 

under-structured by modern standards, especially 

in terms of the sizing and spacing of framing 

members, but there is no apparent systemic failure. 

However, the nails used in framing have inevitably 

corroded in the damp, salty environment, making 

the building more subject to wind damage and 

other stresses.

Recommendations for Wood Framing

• Conduct annual inspection for the presence 

of wood-damaging plants and insects and 

treat accordingly.
National Park Service 109

PART II.D RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TREATMENT AND USE

• Conduct routine inspections, some during 

rainstorms, to inspect for evidence of water 

intrusion and instances of damage. 

• Periodically review for evidence of 

deflection across planes of framing, framing 

members out of square or plumb, or 

heightened vibration in framing members. 

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Provide additional post-and-beam supports 

for the floor joists to maintain sound 

structural system.

Exterior Features

The house is finished with materials typical of the 

early twentieth century. The NPS and the Friends 

of Portsmouth Island preservation group have 

replaced in-kind a significant amount of exterior 

wood siding and trim elements.

Doors

The exterior doors of the house remain in 

generally good condition. Screen doors, opening to 

the interior in the traditional Portsmouth manner, 

are attached at both exterior doorways. The 

wood-framed screen doors also remain in good 

condition. Early, if not original door hardware 

remains in place and operable.

Recommendations for Doors

• Ensure all hardware remains operable.

• Apply lubricant on a regular basis.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Maintain sound paint finish at all exposed 

surfaces.

Windows

Early if not original sash remain in all window 

openings and are in good-to-fair condition. 

Painted finishes are in good condition; however, 

there is visible staining from rusting nails. 

Window glazing is in generally good condition. 

Many windows have wood-framed single-sash 

screens; those present are in fair condition.

Window shutters are missing from first-floor 

windows on all but the south side (front) of the 

house where the windows are protected by the 

porch. Photographic evidence shows shutters 

installed at all first-floor windows. Closed and 

secured shutters could provide protection during 

the storm season. Using the existing shutters as a 

template, new shutters of an historic design could 

be manufactured as replacements for those that 

are missing.

Recommendations for Windows

• Ensure all sash are in working order, repair 

and repaint as needed using historically 

accurate colors in use during Henry 

Pigott’s occupancy. 

• Repair existing and consider replacing 

missing wood-framed screens.

• Reconstruct the missing first-floor 

window shutters using existing as a 

template.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Roofing

The roofing is in good condition with no 

apparent leaks. No shingles appear to be missing 

or loose. As with most of the historic structures in 

Portsmouth, no gutters are present.

Recommendations for Roofing

• Routinely inspect for missing or loose 

shingles; repair or replace as needed.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Routinely inspect for roof leaks, especially 

at flashing.

Figure 163. Center section of front porch deck boards 

replaced, photographed July 1978 when the house 

was still pink. Damaged deck boards lying in grass. 

(CALO acc. 00514) 
110 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Siding and Trim

Most of the house’s exterior woodwork is in good 

condition. Painted finishes are recent and remain 

intact. 

In keeping true to the historic appearance of the 

house during most of Pigott’s years there, it is 

recommended that the house’s siding be returned 

to their historic pink paint color. Documentary 

evidence is strong that the house was not yellow 

until NPS crew painted it in 1979. More to the 

point, the house was painted pink by Henry Pigott 

in about 1934 and remained so through his life 

and until 1979; it was pink for the majority of the 

recommended period of significance. Interpretation 

as a house museum should reflect this.

The initial pink color was apparently an error in 

the paint order. It is an oft-told part of Pigott’s 

legacy, and he consciously repainted it pink several 

times as evidenced by 1960s photographs. 1980 

photographs of the house interior (untouched 

since Pigott’s death) show interior first-floor rooms 

all painted pink as well. Even a bureau in a secondfloor bedroom is painted pink.

A correct interpretation of the house would 

return the historic pink color to the house, 

helping the public to see tangible and accurate 

evidence of Pigott’s paint, and to hear the popular 

story. Unfortunately, the house has been painted 

the inaccurate yellow for the past 36 years. An 

expeditious correction of this mistake is advisable 

as public memory has undoubtedly begun to 

associate Henry Pigott with a yellow house.

In addition, it would be worthwhile to conduct 

paint analysis on the exterior siding and trim. 

In this manner the historic shade of pink could 

be determined from remaining exterior wood 

elements from the Pigott period, and a database of 

paint colors from that period could be developed. 

It is also possible that exterior wood elements 

remain from the late 1920s, and could provide 

analysis of the earlier dark color.

Recommendations for Siding and Trim

• Repair trim, renailing loose pieces as needed. 

• Replace/repair wood lattice apron in-kind as 

necessary.

• Monitor regularly for open joints, displaced 

or loose elements, or other evidence of 

movement; renail loose pieces.

• Monitor checking, splitting, and instances 

of rot, and plan remedial actions 

accordingly. 

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Recommendations for Exterior Finishes

• Maintain protective finish coat for all 

exposed elements of the building’s exterior 

envelope.

• Conduct paint analysis on exterior wood 

siding and trim elements, and establish 

database for the period of Henry Pigott’s 

occupancy.

• Prepare and repaint siding the historically 

accurate color in use during Henry Pigott’s 

occupancy.

Front and Side Porches

The porch is in good condition, having had its 

foundation, floor joists, floorboards, railings, and 

steps replaced in 1978, with portions of the railings 

again replaced after 2003 storm damage. Paint 

coats are recent and intact.

Recommendations for Front and Side Porches

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly.

• Replace posts in-kind as they fail.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Install termite shields wherever possible.

Interior Features

The interior is generally in good condition. The 

first floor has been interpreted as a house museum 

under the direction of the Friends of Portsmouth 

Island and as such has seen a greater degree of 

maintenance than the second floor.

The narrow staircase to the second floor, with 

its shallow treads and steep risers, makes any 

expansion of the museum function to the second 

floor impractical and unsafe for the visiting public. 

Access to the second floor should continue to be 

secured by rope as it is currently, or more securely 

by an acrylic panel similar to that at the mail room 

in the Post Office and General Store (NPS 518). 

Aside from minor finish failure issues throughout 

the house and holes in the ceiling and floor of 

Rooms 102 and 202 where a ventilation stack for a 
National Park Service 111

PART II.D RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TREATMENT AND USE

modern chemical toilet was removed, the interior 

of the house has no apparent major issues. A door 

matching others of the first floor was removed 

from the doorway between Rooms 101 and 103 

and is now stored in the kitchen building. This 

door should be returned to its historic location.

The house holds a large collection of furnishings 

and decorative objects, but the provenance of most 

is unknown or otherwise unrecorded. According to 

the Friends of Portsmouth Island, some furnishings 

and objects belonged to Henry Pigott, while others 

have been acquired from various sources to fill 

out the collection. All pieces should be evaluated 

for historical significance. As suggested in the NPS 

2011 Long Range Interpretive Plan, the collection 

would benefit greatly from the creation of an 

Historic Furnishings Plan (HFP). Curation and 

interpretation of the collection should reflect an 

understanding of the history and provenance of 

the furniture and objects.

General Interior Recommendations

• Reinstall door, now stored in the kitchen 

building, in the doorway between Rooms 

101 and 103.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Recommendations for Furnishings Collection

• Prepare an Historic Furnishings Plan (HFP) 

that evaluates the furnishings and objects 

exhibited, as well as any others in hand.

• Base curation and interpretation of the 

house museum’s collection on the findings 

of the HFP.

Flooring

Water damage from flooding has occurred 

periodically throughout the structure’s history, but 

no major damage is apparent. Varnished finishes in 

the house are scant. 

A hole in the floor in the northwest corner of 

Room 202 was cut for installation of a ventilation 

stack from a chemical toilet in Room 102 by NPS 

sometime 2003, and subsequently removed by the 

Friends of Portsmouth Island. The hole has been 

temporarily patched with a plank board.

Of note are the floral-patterned painted linoleum 

“rugs” that are seen in all three first-floor rooms in 

the 1980 photographs that show the interior as it 

was left by Henry Pigott. The rugs are no longer in 

the house. An example of such a rug still exists in 

the Lionel Gilgo House (NPS 502).

Recommendations for Flooring

• Apply natural oil on a regular basis to renew 

the wood finish (no urethane).

• Use a Dutchman repair to patch the hole 

in wood floor of Room 202, matching the 

existing dimension, species, and graining 

pattern.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Consider recreating the floral-patterned 

painted linoleum “rugs” found in all 

rooms based on the 1980 documentary 

photographs.

Walls and Ceilings

The walls of the first-floor rooms were painted 

white after they were documented as pink in 

1980, the interior at that time untouched since 

Henry Pigott’s death. Second-floor rooms are 

similar in color to the muted yellow seen in 1980 

photographs. 

Figure 164. Southwest corner of Room 102, July 1980, 

showing wall color and linoleum rug. (CALO acc. 05388)
112 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Documentary research shows that the current 

color scheme of the first floor is not historically 

accurate. It is recommend that paint analysis 

be conducted on interior walls and ceilings to 

establish a database of paint colors in use during 

the period of Henry Pigott’s occupancy. Interior 

surfaces should be prepared and repainted their 

historically appropriate Pigott colors.

First-floor walls have recent coats of white paint 

and are in good condition. The painted finishes of 

second-floor walls are failing.

While the ceilings of the house are generally 

sound, there are instances of deteriorated 

condition. Paint coats on the ceilings of Room 103 

and throughout the second floor are failing and 

should be renewed in appropriate colors. There 

is an open hole in the ceiling of Room 102 and a 

poorly-patched hole in the ceiling of Room 202 in 

the northeast corner where the toilet ventilation 

stack was once installed. These holes should 

be properly patched and painted to match the 

surrounding ceiling.

Recommendations for Walls and Ceilings

• Conduct paint analysis on interior walls and 

ceilings and establish database of the period 

of Henry Pigott’s occupancy.

• Use a Dutchman repair to patch the 

hole in wood ceilings of Rooms 102 and 

202, matching the dimension of existing 

V-groove boards. Paint.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Prepare and repaint walls and ceilings in 

historically accurate colors.

Trim

Water damage from periodic flooding is 

visible on baseboards and lower sections of 

door casings throughout the first floor, most 

significantly in Room 103. Nails used to attach 

these trim pieces show significant oxidation; rust 

stains mar the varnished finish of the woodwork.

Recommendations for Trim

• Apply natural oil on a regular basis to 

renew the wood finish (no urethane).

Utilities

No evidence exists that mechanical or electrical 

systems were ever installed. There are no smoke, 

fire, or security systems in place, and it appears 

that the house was always heated with stoves and 

ventilated by means of operable window sash.

Figure 165. Henry Pigott and Walker Syron inside 

Pigott’s kitchen building, November 1955. Stove and 

flue at left. (CALO b58, Sarah Roberts Styron Coll.)

Figure 166. Painted interior of kitchen building. 

Note varnished wood door from house stored 

inside.
National Park Service 113

PART II.D RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TREATMENT AND USE

Recommendations for Utilities

• Ensure all window sash are operable.

• Though the cast-iron stove in Room 101 is 

now intended to be decorative, consider 

retrofitting the stove for use at special events.

Kitchen Building

With the exception of the collapsed chimney, the 

kitchen building appears to be in good condition. 

Given the building’s proximity to the ground, 

deterioration of the inaccessible sills and floor joists 

can be expected. The interior is in poor condition. 

The board-and-batten exterior door has extensive 

damage near the doorknob. The interior screen 

door has been removed from the doorway.

The wood entrance steps were recently rebuilt.

The upper half of the chimney collapsed during 

Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and remains on the 

ground adjacent to the kitchen building. This poses 

a trip hazard, and the open flue on the building 

poses a water and vermin infiltration threat. Many 

bricks remain on site; the chimney should be 

reconstructed based on pre-2003 photographs.

The kitchen building is presently being used as a 

storage shed. Historic photographs show that the 

kitchen building was furnished and painted on the 

interior and used as an active kitchen during the 

time Henry and Lizzie Pigott lived in the house. 

It has been left unchanged. Restoration of the 

building paired with interpretation and curation 

of furnishings and objects would add greatly to the 

educational value of the house museum. 

The floorboards of the building are deteriorated 

and further investigation is necessary to ensure 

their stability. Floorboards with rot should be 

repaired with in-kind Dutchman repairs and 

supports should be added as necessary.

Photographs of the interior taken in 1980 show 

both the kitchen’s cast iron stove and screen door 

stored there at that time. It is possible that they 

remain among the architectural salvage material 

presently stacked inside the building. An effort 

should be made to find, repair, and reinstall them. 

If they are no longer present, the screen door 

could be reconstructed from historic photographs 

and a period stove from another source could be 

installed in a similar manner to the stove in Room 

101 of the house.

The stored materials are presently blocking the 

window on the north side of the building. Because 

the window is shuttered on the exterior, it is not 

known whether the sash is still present. This 

should be determined. If no longer present, the 

sash should be reconstructed.

Documentary research indicates the current 

yellow exterior color is non-historic. Similar 

to the house, the kitchen building had a paint 

scheme devised by Henry Pigott and maintained 

throughout his lifetime. The exterior was painted 

pink. It is recommended that paint analysis be 

conducted on interior and exterior surfaces to 

establish a database of paint colors for the period 

of Henry Pigott’s occupancy. Interior and exterior 

surfaces should be prepared and repainted these 

colors.

Recommendations for Kitchen Building

• Conduct annual inspection for the presence 

of wood-damaging plants and insects and 

treat accordingly.

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as needed; 

install termite shields wherever possible.

• Investigate the current condition of 

floorboards; repair with in-kind Dutchman 

repairs and add supports as necessary.

• Repair damaged door batten with in-kind 

Dutchman repair.

• Restore the kitchen building, including the 

chimney, north window sash, screen door, 

and historic paint scheme. 

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Interpret and curate interior as part of the 

house museum.

• Conduct paint analysis on exterior and 

interior surfaces and establish database for 

the period of Henry Pigott’s occupancy. 

Repaint accordingly.

Cool House

Recently rebuilt, the dimensions of the present 

cool house are noticeably larger than those of the 

cool house seen in historic photographs. While 

this is unfortunate, it does not negatively affect 
114 Henry Pigott House HSR 

interpretation or educational value of the cool 

house. However, future work on the cool house 

should be based on the ample documentary 

evidence of its historic appearance including 

photographs and John Thompson’s field sketches 

of 1979-80.

Documentary research indicates the current yellow 

color of the cool house is non-historic. Similar to 

the house and kitchen building, the cool house 

had a paint scheme devised by Henry Pigott and 

maintained throughout his lifetime. The exterior 

was painted pink. Exterior surfaces should be 

prepared and repainted using the historically 

accurate colors in use during Henry Pigott’s 

occupancy.

A greater effort should be made to include the cool 

house in the interpretation of the house complex.

Recommendations for Cool House

• Conduct annual inspection for the presence 

of wood-damaging plants and insects and 

treat accordingly.

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they fail 

and install termite shields wherever possible.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Base all future work on the cool house on 

the ample documentary evidence of its 

historic appearance.

• Prepare and paint using the pink color 

documented in photographs.

Net House

The net house was destroyed by Hurricane 

Isabel in 2003. Subsequently the decision was 

made to reconstruct its foundation posts and 

leave the remaining wood entrance step in 

place. The net house is the only documented 

outbuilding of that typology in Portsmouth Village. 

The recommendation for the net house is full 

reconstruction based on the ample photographic 

evidence of the historic structure. 

Unlike the house, kitchen building, and cool 

house, the late 1970s photographs of the net house, 

storage shed, and privy show them painted white. 

It is recommend that the paint scheme reflect the 

historic color scheme of the storage shed and the 

privy, based on paint analysis.

A greater effort should be made to include the net 

house in the interpretation of the house complex. 

Interpretation of the net house could add greatly to 

the educational value of the museum through the 

ability to further the story line of the Pigott family 

as fishermen and oystermen on the island.

Recommendations for Net House

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly, especially for the presence of 

wood-damaging plants and insects, and treat 

accordingly.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they 

begin to fail.

• Consider full reconstruction based on 

historic photographs.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Storage Shed

The storage shed is in fair condition, and its 

foundation posts were replaced after 2003 storm 

damage. It is recommended that the exterior 

be restored and the building be interpreted for 

its utilitarian function. The interior should be 

protected from water infiltration and secured.

Unlike the house, kitchen building, and cool 

house, the late 1970s photographs of the net house, 

storage shed, and privy show them painted white. It 

is recommend that paint analysis be conducted on 

exterior surfaces of the shed to establish a database 

of paint colors for the period of Henry Pigott’s 

occupancy. Exterior surfaces should be prepared 

and repainted these colors.

Figure 167. Net house painted a non-historic yellow, 

looking northwest. At right are storage shed and 

privy, December 1979. (CALO Coll. f125)
National Park Service 115

PART II.D RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TREATMENT AND USE

Should the need arise for sanitary facilities at the 

Henry Pigott House complex, the storage shed 

might be a location to house them. A greater effort 

should be made to include the storage shed in the 

interpretation of the house complex.

Recommendations for Storage Shed

• Conduct annual inspection for the presence 

of wood-damaging plants and insects and 

treat accordingly.

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they fail 

and install termite shields wherever possible.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Conduct paint analysis on exterior surfaces 

and establish database for the period 

of Henry Pigott’s occupancy. Repaint 

accordingly.

Privy

The privy is in fair condition, and was largely 

rebuilt using salvaged material after being 

structurally compromised during the 2003 

hurricane. The window opening on the south side 

is missing its sash, leaving the building exposed 

to water damage and infiltration by vermin. The 

sash should be reconstructed based on historic 

photographs and installed to seal the building 

envelope.

The interior is presently used to store architectural 

salvage materials. Restoration of the interior and 

exterior is suggested. 

Unlike the house, kitchen building, and cool 

house, the late 1970s photographs of the net house, 

storage shed, and privy show them painted white. 

It is recommend that paint analysis be conducted 

on interior and exterior surfaces of the privy to 

establish a database of paint colors for the period 

of Henry Pigott’s occupancy. Interior and exterior 

surfaces should be prepared and repainted these 

colors.

A greater effort should be made to include the 

privy in the interpretation of the house complex.

Recommendations for Privy

• Conduct annual inspection for the presence 

of wood-damaging plants and insects and 

treat accordingly.

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they fail 

and install termite shields wherever possible.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

• Remove architectural salvage material from 

the interior.

• Conduct paint analysis on exterior and 

interior surfaces and establish database for 

the period of Henry Pigott’s occupancy. 

Repaint accordingly.

Fence

Though not an outbuilding or ancillary structure, 

the fence is an integral component of the 

architectural integrity of the Henry Pigott complex. 

Unlike many others on Portsmouth Island, there 

is an ample photographic record of this fence. 

Understandably, the fence has required significant 

repair and replacement over the years as it is 

susceptible to storm damage however, since NPS 

began maintaining the property in 1978, many 

non-historic alterations to the fence design have 

been made.

The original fence had three gated openings, one 

at the south, one at the north, and one at the west. 

The west gate has been removed entirely and 

the north gate has been moved from east of the 

cool house to west of the cool house. Only the 

south gate appears to be in its original location. 

Moreover, the design of the gates has been 

significantly altered. Historic photos show the 

original gate pickets to be placed to create the form 

of a Gothic arch, rounded at the outside edges 

and rising to a steep central point. In contrast, 

the pickets of the current gates form simple 

over-scallops. 

In addition, the original fence design included 

a notable plank board baseboard with molded 

cap that was applied on the outside face of the 

fence. These important design details have been 

lost in the course of the many reconstructions of 

the fence. These period design details should be 

re-implemented using the documentation provided 

by historic photographs, 

Recommendations for Fence

• Investigate the condition of the fence posts 

regularly.

• Replace fence posts in-kind as they fail.
116 Henry Pigott House HSR 

• Base all future work on the fence on the 

ample documentary evidence of its historic 

appearance.

• Reinstall the north fence gate in its historic 

location east of the cool house, and 

reconstruct the historic west gate.

• Using the historic gate design, reconstruct 

historically accurate gates and install at the 

three original gate locations

• Reconstruct the historic plank baseboard 

with molded cap detail and install on the 

outer face of the fence as shown in the 

documentary photographs.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Cisterns

The existing cistern near the house is in good 

condition, having been rebuilt after 2003 hurricane 

damage. A second structure located behind the net 

house is said to have been a secondary cistern. The 

net house and secondary structure were destroyed 

in the 2003 storm. A handful of photographs 

shows the secondary structure as it existed in the 

1970s. The information on the historic function 

of this secondary structure is too scant to advise 

reconstruction. 

A greater effort should be made to include the 

existing cistern in the interpretation of the house 

complex.

Recommendations for Cistern

• Conduct annual inspection for the presence 

of wood-damaging plants and insects and 

treat accordingly.

• Investigate the condition of the foundation 

posts regularly.

• Replace foundation posts in-kind as they fail.

• Avoid use of ferrous-based fasteners in all 

construction and repairs.

Priorities

The highest priorities are the routine actions 

necessary for the continued preservation of the 

house and outbuildings, which above all means 

regular inspection and includes keeping the roofing 

in good repair and maintaining all exterior painted 

finishes.

Also of high priority is restoration of the kitchen 

building. Of the many outbuildings in the Henry 

Pigott House complex, the kitchen building is 

certainly the most important. It served a vital 

everyday function and its interior was painted 

and furnished living space. At the very least, 

preservation of the building should be a priority, 

including reconstructing the chimney and 

ensuring the building envelope is sealed. 

This is one of the properties on the island 

where paint analysis would be appropriate. Oral 

histories are important to Portsmouth and its 

community. The continued telling of the story 

of Pigott’s pink house and the mistake in the 

paint order makes little sense when the house is 

painted a different color while being interpreted 

as a museum. The house was pink for the majority 

of Pigott’s life. There is no reliable evidence the 

house was ever yellow. It is time the mistake of 

painting the house yellow in 1979 is corrected. 

Repainting the house, kitchen building, and cool 

house pink should be a high priority, especially 

because with every year the house remains 

yellow, the public becomes more accustomed to 

associating Henry Pigott with a yellow house.

Of medium priority is the restoration of the 

storage shed and privy and reconstruction of the 

net house. As components of the most complete 

collection of outbuildings on the island, they have 

immense potential for educational value in the 

current use of the property as a museum.

Also of medium priority is reconstruction of 

the window shutters for the house. They are an 

important character defining feature and provide 

protection during storms.

Of lower priority are the minor aesthetic 

concerns of the house interior, and the 

assessment of the collection of furnishings and 

objects. The collection and its educational value 

would greatly benefit from an Historic Furnishing 

Plan.

Among the many successful projects that have 

been completed at the complex are a few 

missteps, including the painting of the house and 

outbuildings an historically inaccurate color, the 

inaccurate reconstruction of the cool house, and 

the installation of character-altering non-historic 

features like the built-in kitchen cabinets. These 

emphasize the need for cooperative planning of 

future restoration efforts.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

National Park Service 117

Bibliography

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2012.

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University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, 1958. Revised 1974, 1976.

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Recommendations,” August 1984.

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Cecelski, David. The Waterman’s Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina. Chapel Hill: 

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Historic Structures Survey, Portsmouth Village,” 1984.

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Beaufort, NC: Carteret Historical Research Association, 1982.

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118 Henry Pigott House HSR 

Eubanks, Frances A., and Lynn S. Salsi. Portsmouth Island: Outer Banks Treasure. Columbia, SC: Montville 

Press, 2004.

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October 1, 1978. found in survey files, State Historic Preservation Office, Raleigh.

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villagecraftsmen.com/news022111.htm

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Seashore and Interpretive Themes of History and Heritage. Final Technical Report, Vol. 2. 

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Interviews by the authors, 2013 and 2014.

Jones, Tommy. George Dixon House Historic Structure Report. Atlanta: National Park Service Southeast 

Regional Office, 2004. 

_______ Wash Roberts House Historic Structure Report. Atlanta: National Park Service Southeast Regional 

Office, 2003. 

_______ Portsmouth Life-Saving Station Historic Structure Report. Atlanta: National Park Service Southeast 

Regional Office, 2006. 

_______ Ed Styron House Historic Structure Report. Atlanta: National Park Service Southeast Regional 

Office, 2004. 

Life-Saving Station Logs, excerpted by Tommy Jones, NPS.

Little, M. Ruth. A Comprehensive Architectural Survey of Carteret County; North Carolina’s Archipelago, 

2012. 

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National Park Service, Office of Policy. “NPS-28: Cultural Resource Management,” June 11, 1998.

NPS files including drawings, maps, memos, images and administrative files.

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http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hdsc/Technical_memoranda/TM27.pdf

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Carolina. Denver, Colorado: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 

Denver Service Center, March 1982.

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NPS, September 1970.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

National Park Service 119

Powell, William S. North Carolina through Four Centuries. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 

1989.

_______ Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Vol. 5. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1994.

Ruffin, Edmund. Agricultural, Geological, and Descriptive Sketches of Lower North Carolina, and the 

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Salsi, Lynn, and Frances Eubanks. The Crystal Coast. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2000.

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Selected Maps

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Mouzon, Henry. An Accurate Map of North and South Carolina, 1775.

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of the Coast of North Carolina between Cape Hatteras and Cape Fear from a Survey taken 

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120 Henry Pigott House HSR 
National Park Service 1

Part I.A - Historical Background and Context

Appendix A: Documentation 

Drawings

Sheet 1: First-fl oor Plan

Sheet 2: Second-fl oor Plan

Sheet 3: North and South Elevations

Sheet 4: East Elevation

Sheet 5: West Elevation

Sheet 6: Outbuildings

Sheet 7: Details
2 Ocracoke Light Station HSR - DRAFT