CAPE LOOKOUT NATIONAL SEASHORE

PORTSMOUTH

ED STYRON HOUSE

HISTORIC STRUCTURE 

REPORT

Cultural Resources, Southeast Region

National Park Service

2004
Cultural Resources

Southeast Region

National Park Service

100 Alabama St. SW

Atlanta, GA 30303

(404) 562-3117

2004

Historic Structure Report 

Ed Styron House

Cape Lookout National Seashore (CALO)

Portsmouth Village

LCS#: 12516

Cover photo of Styron House, 1984 (CALO 

Coll.)

The historic structure report presented 

here exists in two formats. A traditional, 

printed version is available for study at the 

park, the Southeast Regional Office (SERO) of 

the National Park Service, and at a variety of 

other repositories. For more widespread access, the historic structure report also exists in 

a web- based format through ParkNet, the 

website of the National Park Service. Please 

visit www.nps.gov for more information.
Ed Styon House

Historic Structure Report

Contents

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List of Figures vii

Foreword xi

MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

Executive Summary 1

Historical Summary 1

Architectural Summary 2

Recommendations 2

Administrative Data 5

Locational Data 5

Related Studies 6

Cultural Resource Data 6

PART 1 DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY

Historical Background & Context 7

Portsmouth 7

Ed and Kate Styron 8

Chronology of Development & Use 11

Styron House Time Line 13

Physical Description 15

Associated Site Features 15

Foundation 16

Structural System 17

Roof 18

Exterior Finishes 18

Doors and Windows 19

Main Room (101) 20

Room (102) 23

Utilities 23
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PART 2 TREATMENT & USE

Treatment and Use 27

Ultimate Treatment and Use 27

Requirements for Treatment and Use 28

Alternatives for Treatment and Use 29

Recommendations for Treatment & Use 33

Site 33

Foundation 34

Structure 34

Roofing 34

Doors 34

Windows 34

Back Porch 34

Exterior Finishes 34

Interior Finishes 34

REFERENCE

Sources of Information 35

APPENDIX A

Thompson Drawings, 1984 37
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List of Figures

1 Map of Portsmouth Village 5

2 Left, view southeast of front of Styron House. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001) 16

3 View of remains of wooden frame for cistern at northeast end of house. Parts 

of a brick foundation remain in the ground below. (NPS-SERO-CRS) 16

4 Right, view northwest of rear of Styron House. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001) 16

5 View of southwest end of house; note piers in foreground which supported the 

modern addition that was removed after 1984. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001) 17

6 View of north end of front of house; arrow marks one of several original 

wooden piers. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001) 17

7 View of floor framing; arrow at right indicates where joist has split; arrows at 

center show location of two joists that have broken where they cross the 

added support beam. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001) 18

8 View under north end of rear deck, showing remains of original floor framing. 

(NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001) 18

9 View of southeast shed of roof; note wood shingles still in place. (NPS-SEROCRS, 2001) 19

10 Pattern of mid-twentieth century asphalt shingles on Styron House. (NPSSERO-CRS, 2001) 19

11 View of “brick” asphalt-composition siding over original board-and-batten 

siding at northeast end of house. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001) 20

12 View north in main room (101). Sink is to right of chimney. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 

2001) 21

13 View west in main room. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001) 21

14 View east in main room. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001) 22
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15 View at northwest corner of main room, showing early felt-based, imitation 

linoleum under two later floor coverings. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001) 22

16 Top, view of chimney stack; below, view of chimney foundation. (NPS-SEROCRS, 2001) 23

17 View south in Room 101. Door to right, originally a window opening, was 

converted into a door in the 1950s. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001). 24

18 Detail from 1984 photograph, with arrow indicating now-missing cistern. 

(NPS-CALO, 1984) 24

19 Plan of Ed Styron House. (T. Jones, NPS-SERO-CRS, 2002) 25
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Project Team

Project Manager Danny Scheidt, Historical Architect

National Park Service

Southeast Regional Office

Atlanta, GA

Author & Building Investigator Tommy Jones, Architectural Historian

National Park Service

Southeast Regional Office

Atlanta, GA

Program Reviews Bob Blythe, History

Allen Bohnert, Curatorial & Museum

Services

Danny Scheidt, Historical Architecture

Jon Buono, Historical Architect

National Park Service

Southeast Regional Office

Atlanta, GA

Condition Assessment Tommy Jones, Architectural Historian

National Park Service

Southeast Regional Office

Atlanta, GA
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Foreword

We are pleased to make availabe this historic structure report, part of our ongoing effort to provide 

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

units in the Southeast Field Area. Many individuals and institutions contributed to the successful 

completion of this work. We would particularly like to thank the staff at Cape Lookout National 

Seashore, especially the park’s facility manager Mike McGee and superintendent Bob Vogel. We 

hope that this study will prove valuable to park management and others in understanding and interpreting the historical significance of the EdStyron House at Portsmouth Village.

Chief

Cultural Resources Stewardship

Southeast Regional Office

December 2004
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MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

Executive 

Summary

The Ed Styron House is a small, two- room house and one of only 

twenty historic structures remaining in historic Portsmouth Village in the Cape Lookout National Seashore. The house was 

leased as a temporary lodge for hunters and fishermen under one 

of the park's special use permits until 1989 but has been vacant 

and deteriorating since that time. Whatever its historical and architectural significance, the mere presence of the house upon the 

Portsmouth landscape is critical, given the small number of historic structures that remain in the village; with repairs the Styron 

House could again be useful.

Historical Summary

The 1982 historic resource study of Cape Lookout provides extensive documentation for the eighteenth and nineteenth century 

history of the village but very little for the twentieth century. 

Most of what is known about twentieth- century Portsmouth in 

general, and the Ed Styron House in particular, has come from 
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the park's compilation of oral interviews with 

former residents and descendants of those 

who lived in the village. Additional research in 

early twentieth century Federal censuses, 

county records, and other sources would be 

useful for interpretation of the Styrons' lives 

and their contributions to village life.

Founded in 1753 near Ocracoke Inlet, Portsmouth played a critical role as a seaport for 

over a hundred years, until Hatteras Inlet was 

opened by a storm in 1846 and provided a more 

convenient channel into Pamlico Sound. 

Evacuated during the Civil War, Portsmouth 

never regained its vitality as a port; in the late 

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the 

village economy revolved around hunting and 

fishing. The population declined from more 

than 600 in 1860 to 227 in 1880 and continued 

to decline after that. 

A hurricane in September 1933 severely damaged Portsmouth and, after that, "everybody 

just left," according to one former resident. 

The Styrons’ old house was damaged by this 

storm, and they built a new house closer to the 

village center. By 1940, there were only 42 residents left on the island; in 1971, the last permanent residents moved to the mainland.

Architectural Summary

Located on the east side of Portsmouth Village, 

the Ed Styron House is a two- room building 

and one of the smallest residences on the island. Wood- framed and end- gabled, it faces 

in a southwesterly direction, measures about 

20'- 8" by 12'- 3", and encompasses about 250 

square feet of floor space. The house does not 

have a porch but does have a large, uncovered 

deck at the rear. Built after the 1933 hurricane, 

the house was modified with an addition to its 

southwest end around 1955. The addition was 

removed after 1984. Vernacular design and 

construction broadly define the character of 

the Styron House. Like most of the other 

buildings at Portsmouth, the house is a simple, 

utilitarian structure that was built in response 

to specific needs and circumstances, with little 

consideration of architectural style or refinement of detail.

The roof of the house is in ruinous condition, 

which has allowed serious water damage to the 

walls and ceilings, but the majority of the 

building's significant features remain intact. 

The deck at the rear of the house appears to be 

a historic feature, but it and exterior siding and 

trim are also badly deteriorated.

Recommendations

Site

• Preserve brick pad associated with the 

cistern at northeast end of house.

• preserve wooden piers associated with 

missing addition at southwest end of 

house

Foundation

• Repair and repoint chimney as necessary.
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• Replace modern wooden piers with 

wooden piers that more closely match 

the original.

Structure

• Repair roof structure, preserving 

existing rafters and reconstructing 

exposed rafter ends wherever possible.

• Repair or replace rear sill; raise and 

level building structure.

• "Sister" new floor joists to broken 

joists.

Roofing

• Remove existing asphalt and wood 

shingled roof, archiving examples of 

both materials.

• Reroof building with sawn cypress or 

cedar shingles.

Doors

• Replace both doors with new doors 

that match the door visible in the 1984 

photograph of the house.

Windows

• Replace damaged lower sash in the 

rear window in Room 101 and the mismatched sash in the front window in 

Room 102.

• Repair remainder of sash.

Back Porch

• Reconstruct rear porch deck, replicating existing decking and using wooden 

piers similar to those used under the 

main body of the house.

Exterior Finishes:

• Remove existing "brick" siding, 

archiving as much material as practical 

for possible later re- use.

• Repair board and batten siding, 

replacing damaged and missing elements as necessary.

• Paint siding red, trim white.

Interior Finishes: Funds are not currently 

available for any treatment of the interior of the 

house. When funding is available, repairs to 

the tongue- and- groove walls, ceilings, floors, 

and other interior features will be necessary.
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MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

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Administrative 

Data 

Locational Data

Building Name: Ed Styron House

Location: Portsmouth Village, 

Cape Lookout, NC

LCS#: CALO 12516

Figure 1 Map of Portsmouth Village
Administrative Data 

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Related Studies

Burke, Kenneth E. “The History of Portsmouth, North Carolina, From Its 

Founding in 1753 to Its Evacuation in 

the Face of Federal Forces in 1861.” 

Unpublished undergraduate thesis, 

University of Richmond, Richmond, 

Virginia, 1958. Revised 1974, 1976.

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.

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

Seashore, North Carolina.” NPSDSC, 1982.

Van Beck, Sara L. “Cape Lookout National 

Seashore, Archives and Records Management Review.” NPS, 2000.

Cultural Resource Data

National Register of Historic Places: Contributing structure in Portsmouth Village Historic 

District, listed Nov. 1979

Period of Significance: 1890- 1930

Proposed Treatment: Structural stabilization, 

exterior restoration
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PART 1 DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY

Historical 

Background & 

Context

Most of what is known about twentieth- century Portsmouth in 

general and the Ed Styron House in particular has come from the 

park's compilation of oral interviews with former residents and 

descendants of those who lived in the village. Research in early 

twentieth century Federal censuses, county records, and other 

sources had provided additional information for interpretation 

of the Styrons’ lives and their contributions to the village.

Portsmouth

Established by an act of the colonial legislature of North Carolina 

in 1753, Portsmouth was laid out in half- acre lots “with convenient streets” on fifty acres at the north end of Core Banks. The 

town is located on the south side of Ocracoke inlet, which was 

the principal access into Pamlico Sound and the North Carolina 

seaports until a storm opened Hatteras Inlet in 1846. Founded as 

a seaport town, Portsmouth flourished in the late eighteenth and 

early nineteenth centuries, and the Federal Government estab-
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lished a customs house there in 1806, a marine 

hospital in 1827, and a post office in 1840. The 

town reached the zenith of its growth in 1860 

with more than 600 residents and 109 dwellings. 

Evacuated during the Civil War, Portsmouth 

never fully recovered its population or its economic vitality and the customs house was 

abolished in 1867. As the population declined, 

the number of residences in the town dwindled as well, falling from a peak of 109 in 1860, 

to 59 in 1870, to 44 in 1880. By 1883, the shifting 

sands of the Outer Banks had closed Ocracoke 

Inlet to any shipping at all, forcing a dwindling 

population to turn to fishing for a livelihood. 

Many buildings must have sat abandoned, including the marine hospital which burned in 

1894; those that survived hurricanes and a generally harsh environment were dismantled or 

relocated as the village slowly contracted. A 

hurricane in 1913 destroyed the Primitive Baptist and Methodist churches, but the community was still strong enough to support 

reconstruction of the Methodist church by 

1915.

On August 23, 1933, a moderate hurricane 

swept across Hatteras, dumping rain but not 

particularly strong winds on Portsmouth. Less 

than a month later, on September 16, a strong 

hurricane hit Portsmouth with 100+ mph 

winds and torrential rain that flooded most of 

the island and destroyed many houses. So 

much damage was done that, according to one 

resident at the time, “everybody just left.”1

 Particularly hard hit was Sheep Island to the 

southwest which was essentially abandoned 

for residential use after that. In 1937, the Coast 

Guard's lifesaving station was closed, depriving the town of another reason for being. By 

1940, there were only 42 permanent residents; 

by 1950 that number stood at 14.

A number of the old buildings were adapted 

for temporary use by sport fishermen, especially after World War II, including the U.S. 

Coast Guard Station which was used as a 

sportsmen's club from 1956 until 1964.2

 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 

the village's last surviving male resident, Henry 

Pigott, in 1971, the only other full- time residents, Elma Dixon and her niece Marion Babb, 

moved to the mainland and Portsmouth was 

abandoned except for seasonal use. 

Ed and Kate Styron

The Styron surname is one of the most common names on the Outer Banks, appearing as 

early as the first Federal Census of 1790. Surprisingly, however, Ed Styron apparently did 

not believe himself to be related to any other 

Styrons in the area. While that may be true, it is 

more likely that familial relationships have 

simply been forgotten and that he was, in fact, 

a descendant of the Styrons who established 

1. Sarah Olson, Historic Resource Study, 

Portsmouth Village, Cape Lookout 

National Seashore (NPS, Denver Service 

Center, 1982), p. 93.

2. Olson, Historic Resource Study, Portsmouth 

Village, pp. 94-95.
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themselves on the Outer Banks in the eighteenth century.

Edward Styron was born in North Carolina on 

July 7, 1876, the son of John and Rebecca 

Fulcher Styron.3

 A record of his marriage to 

Katherine Salter, who was born around 1887, 

has not been located; but the 1910 census indicates they were married around 1907.4

Like most Portsmouth residents, Styron was a 

fisherman, and he and Katherine settled first 

on Sheep Island, southwest of the present village of Portsmouth. They were surrounded by 

several families of Salters and Styrons who 

must have been relatives. Living with them in 

1910 was Catherine’s eleven- year- old sister 

Bessie.

Their first residence was apparently a twostory, wood- framed house at the south end of 

Sheep Island- - “the last house that way,” remembered Lionel Gilgo. Like so many others 

in Portsmouth, the Styrons were devastated by 

the 1933 hurricane. As Gilgo remembered, the 

storm “didn’t tear [the Styrons’ house] down, 

it didn’t tear it up. It didn’t wash off the 

blocks. It just blew off because the blocks had 

deteriorated under it.”5

The storm appears to have greatly altered the 

landscape of Sheep Island, and most of the 

residents did not rebuild. Although the Styrons’ house was not destroyed, they also decided to relocate and had the house torn down. 

Because Styron was “one of those types who 

couldn’t do anything,” Lionel Gilgo recalled, 

he got Lionel’s brother Cecil and Washington 

Roberts to build a new house near the center of 

what is now Portsmouth Village. According to 

Gilgo, it took about three days to complete the 

small two- room house.6

Mindful of the island's summer insect population, Ed Styron is said to have called his new 

home “the Buggy Bear,” but it was better 

known to recent island residents by the name 

Philip Ball gave it in the 1950s: “Kitty Cottage.”7

Additional research is necessary to document, 

among other things, how long the Styrons occupied the house. They were certainly gone by 

the end of World War II, probably driven out 

by the 1944 hurricane that persuaded all but a 

handful of the island’s residents to relocate to 

the mainland. The Styrons moved to Harker’s 

Island, where they were living when Edward 

Styron died on 20 October 1954. He is buried 

at Atlantic, NC.8

By the mid- 1950s, the Styrons’ old house was 

being used as a part- time fishing lodge, although no deed has been located to record the 

transfer of the property from Styron’s ownership. In 1970, the property was condemned 

and came under NPS ownership. It continued 

to be used on a seasonal basis until 1989 when 

occupancy was discontinued. 3. Carteret Co. death records give date of 

birth and parents.

4. Carteret Co. Federal Census, 1910, Portsmouth, 36/38.

5. CALO interview with Lionel Gilgo, 15 July 

1978.

6. Ibid.

7. CALO interview with Sarah Roberts Styron, 

9 February 1982.

8. Cartert Co. death records.
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Chronology of 

Development & 

Use

The house was built after the 1933 hurricane damaged the Styrons’ 

old house on Sheep Island.9 According to the Gilgo interview, 

Styron “bought the lumber” for the house, but at least some of the 

material appears to have been salvaged, probably from the Styrons’ original house. The character of the building's materials and 

method of construction indicates that the house was originally 

built in more or less its present form with two rooms and, perhaps, 

the open deck at the rear. Evidence for a porch roof has not been 

identified but may be found when later materials are removed for 

repairs. The house was originally roofed with wood shingles and 

the exterior was finished with board- and- batten siding. The interior was finished with three types of tongue- and- groove boards, 

much of it beaded. It is probable that the sink and counter were 

original features in the main room. Shelving may also be original; 

paint analysis would be needed to confirm that assumption. The 

exigencies of the Great Depression and World War II kept many, if 

9. CALO interview with Lionel Gilgo; Salter, p. 53.
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not most, homeowners from making major repairs and exposed many buildings to a long period of benign neglect that did not end until the 

late 1940s. The Styrons probably made no 

changes to their house as long as they lived 

there.

The house has been re- roofed only once, after 

1939 when the present textured asphalt composition roofing was first offered for sale by the 

Rubberoid Company.10 Textured shingles were 

widely- used into the 1950s, which is when the 

present roof was probably installed. This assumption is based on the facts that the original 

wood- shingled roof would have probably remained serviceable for at least twenty years and 

that the asphalt roof remained in reasonably 

sound condition when it was first photographed in 1984.

Perhaps at the same time that the textured asphalt shingles were installed, the imitationbrick asphalt siding was also installed on the 

exterior, where the siding had deteriorated significantly and the red paint with which it was 

originally finished had all but disappeared. 

First offered for sale on the eve of the Great 

Depression,11 this “brick” siding offered an attractive, economical way to repair (or cover up, 

depending on one's perspective) deteriorated 

wood siding and was widely used in the 1940s 

and 1950s prior to the development of metal 

and vinyl sidings.

The new roof and siding appear to have been 

installed when an addition was constructed on 

the southwest end of the house, which occured 

in 1955 according to a historic structures survey 

conducted by the State of North Carolina. 

Containing less than 90 square feet, the addition was connected to the original house by replacing the window on the southwest side of 

Room 102 with a door. The addition contained 

a single bedroom that measured about 8'- 4" by 

7'- 11" plus a small bathroom which finally 

eliminated the use of an outhouse. According 

to park staff who removed the deteriorated addition, it was constructed with salvaged material “like what you might pick up off the 

beach.”12 The deck at the rear of the house was 

substantially rebuilt, perhaps at the same time 

the addition was constructed, and there have 

also been minor repairs to the roof framing. 

Besides laying a new vinyl floor covering in 

Room 101 and, perhaps, repainting of that 

room, there were no other repairs or alterations 

to the house after the 1950s. Occupied periodically until 1989, the house has been essentially 

abandoned and allowed to deteriorate. 10.Thomas C. Jester, editor, Twentieth-Century Building Materials: History and Conservation (NPS, 1995), p. 251.

11. Ibid.

12.Mike McGee to Tommy Jones, February 20, 

2002.
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Styron House Time Line 

1876 Jul. 7 Edward Styron born to Jack and Rebecca Fulcher Styron.

c. 1907 Edward Styron marries Catherine Salter.

1913 Methodist and Primitive Baptist churches destroyed in hurricane.

1914 Methodist church rebuilt.

1933 Sep. 16 Hurricane devastates Portsmouth.

1933 fall? Styrons build new house near village center.

1937 Coast Guard life- saving station closed.

1940 Population drops to 42.

1944 One of worst hurricanes strikes Portsmouth, provoking Styrons and 

many other residents to relocate to the mainland.

1954 Oct. 

20

Edward Styron dies at hospital in Morehead City.

1955 Room added and other modifications to Styron House.

1959 Portsmouth Post Office closed.

1966 Congress authorizes Cape Lookout National Seashore.

1968 Three permanent residents at Portsmouth.

1970 Styron house condemned for acquisition by NPS.

1971 Last full- time residents move to the mainland.

1976 Land for National Seashore transferred from State to Federal ownerhship.

1979 Nov Portsmouth National Register Historic District established.

1989 Styron House abandoned.
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Physical 

Description

Located on the east side of Portsmouth Village, the Ed Styron 

House is a two- room building that is one of the smallest residences on the island. Wood- framed and end- gabled, it faces in a 

northwesterly direction, measures about 20'- 8" by 12'- 3", and encompasses about 250 square feet of floor space. The house has a 

large, uncovered deck at the rear. A modern addition that was 

built at the southwest end of the house was removed after 1989.

Vernacular design and construction broadly define the character 

of the Styron House. Like most of the other buildings at Portsmouth, the house is a simple, utilitarian structure that was built in 

response to specific needs and circumstances, with little consideration of architectural style or refinement of detail.

Associated Site Features

At the northeast end of the house, a brick pad at grade marks the 

location of the historic cistern for the house. The tank was filled

Note: A floor plan of the 

existing house can be found 

at the end of this section.
Physical Description

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Figure 2 Left, view southeast of 

front of Styron House. (NPS-SEROCRS, 2001)

Figure 3 View of remains of 

wooden frame for cistern at 

northeast end of house. Parts of a 

brick foundation remain in the 

ground below. (NPS-SERO-CRS)

through a gutter from the southeast (rear) shed 

of the roof. The gutter and tank are now missing, but part of the wooden frame that supported the tank remains attached to the 

northeast end of the house.

Figure 4 Right, view northwest of 

rear of Styron House. (NPS-SEROCRS, 2001)

.Off the southwest end of the house is a series 

of wooden piers that marks the location of the 

modern addition that was removed after 1984. 

This addition consisted of one room approximately 8'- 4" by 7'- 10" plus a small bathroom. 

According to park staff who removed this addition, it was built with modern plywood and 

lumber along with materials that appear to have 

been salvaged from elsewhere.

The precise boundary of the property historically associated with the Ed Styron House has 

not been determined. Except for the cedar 

trees around the house and the Babb- Dixon 

Cemetery a few dozen yards north of the 

house, there are no other above- ground site 

features in the vicinity of the house.

Foundation

The wood frame of the house is set on a series 

of wooden piers sunk to an indeterminate 
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depth into the ground. The original piers appear to be the three 4" by 8" piers on the front 

of the house, a similar pier at the northwest 

end, and two 3" by 12" piers under the rear sill 

of the house. The remainder of the piers appear to have been added or replaced. The most 

recent piers include the sections of creosoted 

telephone poles that underpin the four corners 

of the house.

Structural System

The house is a simple wood- framed building, 

constructed using wire nails and circular- sawn 

lumber in dimensions that are typical of the 

early twentieth century. Sills are 4" by 6" (actual dimension), continuous, and lapped and 

nailed at the corners. The sill at the rear of the 

house is in very poor condition, principally 

from water penetration where the porch deck is 

attached to the sill.

Floor joists are generally 1- 3/4" to 2" by 5- 3/4" 

to 6", running from the front to the back of the 

house and set on centers ranging from 22" to 

24". Joists are lapped and nailed to the sills. An 

added support girder made up with 2 x 6s laid 

flat on wooden posts runs the length of the 

building and supports the joists at mid- span. 

Joists are in good condition except for two under the southwest side of the main room (101) 

which have split where they lap the sills and are 

broken where they cross the support girder. 

This damage is due to the deteriorated sill at the 

rear of the house which, along with settlement 

of the piers along that side of the house, especially at the northeast end, has allowed the

Figure 5 View of southwest end of 

house; note piers in foreground 

which supported the modern 

addition that was removed after 

1984. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001)

Figure 6 View of north end of 

front of house; arrow marks one of 

several original wooden piers. (NPSSERO-CRS, 2001)

framing to settle several inches. In addition to 

allowing the entire house to sink, the sagging 

joists have pulled away from the flooring above 

in several areas. Wall framing could not be examined but appears to be composed of standard 2 by 4s on about 24” centers. Ceiling joists
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are generally 2" by 4" (actual dimensions), set 

on 24" centers. A simple wooden deck extends 

across part of the rear (southeast) side of the 

house and was originally accessed by four or

Figure 7 View of floor framing; 

arrow at right indicates where joist 

has split; arrows at center show 

location of two joists that have 

broken where they cross the added 

support beam. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 

2001)

Figure 8 View under north end of 

rear deck, showing remains of 

original floor framing. (NPS-SEROCRS, 2001)

five now- missing wooden steps on open 

stringers at the north end of the deck. Set on a 

variety of posts (none of which are readily 

identifiable as being original) the deck is 

framed with modern 1- 1/2" by 5- 1/2" joists 

running the length of the deck and is floored 

with 1"- thick boards, 4- 1/2" to 4- 3/4" wide. 

Remnants of two older joists, about 1- 3/4" by 

5- 3/4", survive at the north end of the deck and 

are an indication that the deck is a feature of 

the original house.

Roof

The roof is framed with a mixture of 2" by 3" 

and 1- 1/4" by 3" rafters set on approximately 

24" centers. Rafters are nailed at the ridge 

without a ridge board. Roof decking is composed of 1" by 4" boards spaced about 3" apart. 

The roof was originally covered with wood 

shingles, many of which remain in place. The 

last roof covering, which probably dates to the 

1950s, is a distinctive asphalt composition roof, 

much of which survives but in very poor condition. Shingles have a green mineral coating, 

embossed with a wood- grain texture. Failure 

of the roof covering has caused major damage 

to the roof decking and a few joists and has also 

exposed the interior of the house to major 

damage, particularly around the north corner 

of the house and on the northwest side of 

Room 102.

Exterior Finishes

The building was originally finished with 

board- and- batten siding. Boards are generally 
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3/4" thick and between 8" and 9- 1/2" wide, although a few boards on the rear of the house 

are only around 7" wide. Battens are generally 

3/4" thick and between 2- 3/4" and 3- 1/2" wide. 

The siding was once painted red, with remnants of that paint readily visible where battens 

were removed at the southwest end of the 

house.

The exterior finishes were considerably altered 

for installation of the brown, asphalt- composition "brick" panels that now cover most of the 

exterior. The panels may have been installed 

around the same time as the asphalt- shingle 

roof. In order to provide a flat surface for this 

"brick," battens were removed from the entire 

house except for a few which remain on the 

northeast end (see Figure 2, above). In addition, the vertical board siding on the rear (or 

southeast) side of the house appears to have 

been relaid horizontally. The lower 12"- 24" of 

all (or nearly all) of the surviving verticallyplaced boards have suffered severe deterioration and rot. It is possible that the boards on 

the rear were especially deteriorated due to 

their proximity to the porch deck. To repair 

the damage, the boards may have been removed, the damaged portion sawn off, and the 

remainder of the board re- laid horizontally.

Both door openings are also fitted with screen 

doors hung on the interior side of the jambs. 

Neither door appears to have ever been fitted 

with a lock set, although the original doors

Figure 9 View of southeast shed 

of roof; note wood shingles still in 

place. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001)

Figure 10 Pattern of midtwentieth century asphalt shingles 

on Styron House. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 

2001)

probably had rim locks similar to that found on 

the interior between the two rooms.

Doors and Windows 

The house currently has three exterior door 

openings. Only the two door openings into 

Room 101 are original, but neither of the doors 

themselves appear to be original. Both openings were originally 2'- 6" by 6'- 0"; the rear 

door has been reduced to a 2'- 3" by 5'- 10"
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Figure 11 View of “brick” asphaltcomposition siding over original 

board-and-batten siding at 

northeast end of house. (NPS-SEROCRS, 2001)

opening. Both doors are constructed of three 

vertical boards with cross braces at top and 

bottom. The rear door uses beaded boards and 

has cross braces with chamfered edges, indicating it is older than the front door, although it 

is clearly not the original door in the opening 

and was probably salvaged from another building. The front door appears to be of modern 

origin. 

The third exterior door opening is at the southwest end of the house and was installed to replace a window when the now- missing 

addition was built at that end of the house. The 

door is 2'- 6" by 7'- 1" with a single, horizontal, 

raised panel between four vertical raised panels 

at the top and four at the bottom of the door. 

The door's height, design, and construction 

date it to the late nineteenth or early twentieth 

century, another example of the use of salvaged 

and recycled material that is typical of many 

Portsmouth buildings..

There were originally five windows in the 

house, all apparently 2'- 4" by 3'- 10", doublehung with six- over- six sash. As just noted, the 

window at the southwest end of the house was 

replaced by the existing door when the addition was built around 1955. The other windows 

in the house are mostly intact but deteriorating 

and missing some glass. Only the stiles and top 

rail remain of the lower sash in the window on 

the rear (southeast) side of Room 101. On the 

front (northwest) side of Room 102, a modern 

sash has been used to replace the original lower 

window sash. Wire screening has been stapled 

on the outside of the lower half of all window 

openings.

Doors and windows are cased with plain 1" by 

4" boards and a simple wooden drip cap. Window sills are generally 2" by 6." Door and window casings are currently painted yellow but 

appear to have been painted white originally.

Main Room (101)

Entered from either the front or the rear of the 

house, this room is nearly square and encompasses about 125 square feet of floor area. It appears to have always functioned as a 

combination living room and kitchen and has a 

brick chimney for a wood- or coal- burning 

stove in the center of the northeast wall. Next 
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to the chimney is a simple counter and castiron sink that had water supplied by the nowmissing cistern outside that end of the building.

Floor: Flooring is narrow tongue- and- groove 

with a face 2- 1/2" wide. It appears to have always been painted gray and remains in excellent condition, having been covered by 

linoleum at an early date. The floor has three 

layers of floor coverings, none of them in good 

condition. The top layer is a modern, sheet- vinyl floor covering, probably installed in the 

1970s. Beneath it is a green- and- gold patterned, sheet- vinyl floor covering that may date 

to the 1960s. The earliest layer probably dates 

to the 1930s or 1940s and is one of the felt- based 

imitators of linoleum that were widely used before the mass- marketing of modern vinyl floor 

coverings in the 1950s.

Walls and Ceiling: Walls and ceiling, which is 

set at 7'- 2", are finished with tongue- andgroove boards in a random mixture of types. 

Most of the boards are typical double- beaded 

boards, 3" or 3- 1/2" wide; but a number of 

boards 2- 1/2" wide are also used. Of these 2- 1/

2" boards, some have a single bead along the 

grooved edge of the board; others do not. The 

wall that partitions the house into two rooms is 

unframed and formed by vertical tongue- andgroove boards aattached to nailers at the floor 

and ceiling. The wall boards are also a mixture 

of dimensions- - - 3'- 1/2", 4- 1/2", and 5- 1/4"- -

- and are double- beaded with an exceptionally- wide center bead. The northwest side of 

the ceiling has suffered severe water damage; 

less severe damage is also visible on the ceiling 

on the southeast side of the room as well. The

Figure 12 View north in main 

room (101). Sink is to right of 

chimney. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001)

Figure 13 View west in main 

room. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001)

remainder of the wall and ceiling boards are in 

generally good condition.

Trim: Three- and- a- half- inch, doublebeaded, tongue- and- groove boards are used 

for door and window casings and for a baseboard on the wall between the two rooms. The 

other walls have no trim or baseboard at the
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Figure 14 View east in main room. 

(NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001)

Figure 15 View of floor in 

northwest corner of main room, 

showing early felt-based, imitation 

linoleum under two later floor 

coverings. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001)

floor. One- inch quarter- round molding is 

used to trim wall corners and the juncture of 

walls and ceiling. 

Miscellaneous Features: In the center of the 

northwest wall is the wood- paneled brick 

chimney with its 7- 1/2", terra- cotta, stove flue. 

The foundation of the chimney has deteriorated, mostly due to rising damp. The chimney 

stack above the roof also has some spalling 

brick; where it rises through the roof, the brick 

has been disfigured by repeated applications of 

tar and other sealants.

To the right (east) of the chimney is a simple 

wooden counter about 19" deep, 5'- 5" long, and 

35" high. The base cabinet has a wooden front 

with two doors and, in the center of the 

counter, is an enameled cast- iron sink that 

measures 16" by 24". A sheet of copper forms a 

crude back splash for the sink; but a single, 

cold- water faucet, if there was one, is now 

missing.

Three wooden shelves, 11- 1/2" wide, are 

mounted on wooden cleats above the sink. On 

the opposite side of the chimney breast, four 

more wooden shelves are also mounted on 

wooden cleats, but the top shelf has been badly 

damaged by the leaking roof in that corner of 

the room. Another wooden shelf is mounted 

on metal brackets above the stove- pipe flue. In 

addition to these shelves, which may be original 

features of the room, another newer pair of 

shelves is mounted between the window and 

door on the northwest side of the room. Finally, on the wall between this room and the 

bedroom, there is a wooden hat or coat rack to 

the left of the door and a similar pair of racks, 

mounted vertically to the right of the door to 

serve as a gun rack.
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Room (102)

Encompassing only about 90 square feet, this 

room was probably always used as a bedroom. 

This room was originally entered only from the 

main room; but when the addition was made to 

the southwest end of the house, the window on 

that end of the house was converted into a 

doorway. 

Walls and Ceiling: Like the walls and ceiling in 

the main room, these walls are finished with 

tongue- and- groove boards in a random mixture of types. Most of the boards are typical 

double- beaded boards, 3" or 3- 1/2" wide; but a 

number of boards 2- 1/2" wide are also used. Of 

these 2- 1/2" boards, some have a single bead 

along the grooved edge of the board; others do 

not.

The wall that partitions the house into two 

rooms is unframed, with vertical tongue- andgroove boards forming the wall. These boards 

are also a mixture of dimensions- - - 3'- 1/2", 4-

1/2", and 5- 1/4 wide." The northwest side of 

the ceiling has suffered severe water damage 

from the leaking roof.

Trim: One- inch quarter- round molding is 

used to trim the juncture of the walls with the 

ceiling. Similar molding is used in the north 

and west corners of the room; 7/8" by 1- 1/2" 

stop is used to trim the other corners. A simple 

1" by 3" board with a chamfered edge forms a 

baseboard on the wall between the two rooms; 

the other walls have no baseboard or other trim 

at the floor.

Figure 16 Top, view of chimney 

stack; below, view of chimney 

foundation. (NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001)

Miscellaneous Features: Three wooden shelves 

are mounted on the southwest wall, two on 

metal brackets and the third on a wooden cleat 

and brace. In addition, a metal pipe set in 

wooden brackets spans the front (northwest) 

side of the room, apparently installed as a 

clothes hanger.

Utilities

There is no evidence that the house was ever 

wired for electricity. Historically, kerosene
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Figure 17 View south in Room 

101. Door to right was originally a 

window opening, converted into a 

door to the addition in the 1950s. 

(NPS-SERO-CRS, 2001).

Figure 18 Detail from 1984 

photograph, with arrow indicating 

now-missing cistern. (NPS-CALO, 

1984)

lamps probably provided the only artificial 

light.

The only heat for the house was that provided 

by a wood- or coal- burning stove in the main 

room. The stove would also have been used for 

any cooking.

The only water supply was from the cistern at 

the northeast end of the house. It was supplied 

by a downspout from the gutter across the rear 

(southeast) side of the house. Except for part 

of the support frame and a galvanized iron supply pipe that runs through the wall, all components of this cistern are now missing.
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Figure 19 Plan of Ed Styron 

House. (T. Jones, NPS-SERO-CRS, 

2002)

4'

north

dashed lines indicate modern 

addition, now removed

LEGEND

2' 1'

101 102

dotted lines indicate shelving
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PART 2 TREATMENT & USE

Treatment and Use

This section of the historic structure report is intended to show 

how a plan for treatment of the Styron House can be implemented 

with minimal adverse affect to the historic building while still addressing the problems that exist with the current structure. The 

following narrative outlines issues surrounding use of the building 

as well as legal requirements and other mandates that circumscribe its treatment. These are followed by an evaluation of the 

various treatment options—preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration—before describing in more detail the treatment recommendations, which would encompass structural repairs and 

exterior restoration.

Ultimate Treatment and Use

The authorizing legislation (Public Law 89- 366) for Cape Lookout National Seashore mandated the National Park Service to administer the national seashore for the purposes of public outdoor 

recreation; and one of the recreational resources that exists in the 
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park is historic Portsmouth Village. The village 

and the surrounding 250 acres are listed on the 

National Register of Historic Places and are 

significant as the only existing village complex 

on Core Banks south of Ocracoke Inlet. Although the existence of the village can be 

traced back to the 1760's, the nomination form 

states:

Today the charm and significance of the area is in 

the informal placement of the complexes on high 

ground in the typical low salt marsh outer banks 

vegetation. These individual sites are connected 

by narrow, winding, grassy roads or lanes. This 

site relationship is very characteristic of early 

coastal villages.

The policy of the National Park Service is to 

preserve such historic sites when the sites possess, as Portsmouth does, the integrity and authenticity required.

A number of historic structures were generally 

intact when they were acquired by the Federal 

Government. Following the policies of the National Park Service, the park began, in consultation with the North Carolina State Historic 

Preservation Officer and NPS cultural preservation specialists, a program in the 1970's of 

stabilizing the historic structures of Portsmouth 

Village in an effort to preserve and protect the 

village resource for present and future generations. The program has never been fully 

funded, however, and some buildings have 

continued to deteriorate and a few are now ruins.

The objective of the management staff of Cape 

Lookout National Seashore has been to preserve as many of the serviceable structures in 

Portsmouth Village as possible in order to enhance and facilitate visitor appreciation and 

understanding of the village’s cultural history. 

It is the belief of park management that such 

preservation can be effected through a combination of National Park Service investment, 

private contributions in the form of long- term 

and binding leases of historic structures, and 

possibly through other private contributions 

from universities, etc. who may want to maintain a given historic structure as a public service.

Finally, until the early 1980s, the Styron House 

was being leased as a temporary lodge for 

hunters and fishermen under one of the park's 

special use permits. With repairs, the house 

could again be useful in that capacity. In any 

case, the mere presence of the house upon the 

Portsmouth landscape seems critical, given the 

loss of historic structures that has occurred.

Requirements for Treatment and Use

The Styron House has a fragile character that 

can be easily destroyed by insensitive treatment. This character is embodied not just in 

the vernacular form of the building but also in 

its structure and its component materials, including bricks and mortar, wood and asphalt 

siding, flooring, paneling, windows, doors, 

nails, and hardware. The more these aspects of 
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the building are compromised, especially 

through replacement or removal of the historic 

material or feature, the less useful the building 

becomes as an historical artifact.

Legal mandates and policy directives circumscribe treatment of the Styron House. The 

NPS' Cultural Resources Management Guideline (DO- 28) requires planning for the protection of cultural resources “whether or not they 

relate to the specific authorizing legislation or 

interpretive programs of the parks in which 

they lie.” Therefore, the house should be understood in its own cultural context and managed in light of its own values so that it may be 

preserved unimpaired for the enjoyment of 

present and future generations.

Modern building codes and accessibility issues 

are usually a major factor in designing repairs 

and often necessitate significant changes to 

historic buildings. However, since there are no 

plans for visitor access to the house in the foreseeable future, compliance with codes and 

ADA is not a factor in considering present 

treatment of the building beyond what is necessary to ensure a stable structure. Should the 

building be returned to active use in the future, 

code- related issues should be re- evaluated.

To help guide compliance with the statutes and 

regulations noted above, the Secretary of the 

Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties have been issued along with 

guidelines for applying those standards. Standards are included for each of the four separate 

but interrelated approaches to the treatment of 

historic buildings: preservation, rehabilitation, 

restoration, and reconstruction. These approaches define a hierarchy that implies an increasing amount of intervention into the 

historic building. Rehabilitation, in particular, 

allows for a variety of alterations and even additions to accommodate modern use of the 

structure. However, a key principle embodied 

in the Standards is that changes be reversible, 

i.e., that alterations, additions, or other modifications 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 characters.

Alternatives for Treatment and Use

The four main approaches to treatment of historic buildings- - - preservation, rehabilitation, 

restoration, and reconstruction- - - require increasingly more aggressive levels of intervention into the existing building. Since the 

authenticity of the historical artifact (i.e., the 

building) decreases as more and more intervention is needed, several issues must be addressed in order to arrive at an approach that 

requires the minimum amount of intervention 

into the historic fabric of the building to 

achieve the desired goal.

The first of these issues is the relative historical 

importance of the building, which is included 

as a contributing building in the National Register district at Portsmouth. According to the 
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park's evaluation of the historic structures in 

Portsmouth in 1984, the Styron House was 

deemed to have no interpretive value to the 

story of the village and was not needed for any 

other park purpose. While it is true that the 

Styron House has no value to interpretation of 

the eighteenth and nineteenth century history 

of Portsmouth, the same can be said of the 

other extant residences, which with one exception date to the early twentieth century. The 

Styron House could be useful for interpretation 

of the village's twentieth century history, especially since its relocation was the direct result of 

the 1933 hurricane, a major turning point in the 

history of the village. Not only did the damage 

done by the storm force many residents to 

move to the mainland, it also remade the structure of the village by eliminating many outlying 

residences and provoking those residents who 

remained to move their homes or rebuild closer 

to the village's center.

While the 1984 survey of Portsmouth's buildings recommended recording and demolishing 

the Styron House, subsequent loss of structures 

in the village forces a re- evaluation of that recommendation. Whatever the building's historical significance, its mere presence on the 

landscape certainly contributes to a visitor's 

perception of Portsmouth as a village, a perception that is made more difficult each time 

another building is lost.

In addition to interpretive considerations, a 

second set of issues to be considered in determining a treatment for the house surrounds the 

building's physical condition. Most of the Styron House's distinctive materials, features, and 

spaces are essentially intact and convey the 

building's historic character; but deterioration 

is widespread and extensive repair and replacement of materials will be required. Unfortunately, the nature of the building's present 

exterior finishes make a simple preservation 

approach to treatment impossible. In particular, the unique, textured, asphalt roof shingles 

are in extremely poor condition and must be 

entirely replaced. Although the shingle design 

is no longer manufactured, the shape of the 

roofing shingles could be rather easily replicated on site using stock shingles in the appropriate color, much as the NPS did with the 

unusual shingles at the Harry Truman Home in 

Independence, Missouri.13 Even so, replication 

of the shingle's unusual textured design does 

not appear to be a viable option.

Replication of the “brick” siding, which is entirely missing where the post- WWII addition 

was removed from the southwest end of the 

house, does not appear to be a viable option at 

all. Rolled asphalt roofing in an appropriate 

color could be used in order to protect the exposed woodwork while preserving the “brick” 

siding, which might now be considered a distinctive historic building material from the 

mid- twentieth century.

13.Thomas C. Jester, editor, Twentieth-Century Building Materials: History and Conservation (McGraw-Hill, 1995), p. 252. 
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However, given the park's treatment of the 

other buildings on the site and the National 

Register's definition of the village's interpretive 

significance as 1890- 1930,14 restoration of the 

Styron House's exterior to its appearance before the addition and brick siding were added 

in the 1950s is the best option. Although the 

house may have been relocated and reached its 

current form shortly after the park’s stated period of significance, that is not at all certain; 

and, in any case, its form, design, and materials 

are compatible with those typical during the 

historic period. This approach would require 

no conjecture since elements of all of the 

house's historic features and materials remain 

in place, if badly deteriorated. 

Issues of use are typically considered in developing a treatment approach, since use dictates 

most rehabilitative treatment. If the house were 

to be occupied, even seasonally, extensive work 

would be required on the interior. It might 

even be necessary to introduce modern utilities, although that might be avoided, given the 

kind of experience most visitors expect at 

Portsmouth. However, since no use has been 

identified for the building and there is no prospective tenant at the present time, there is no 

reason to go beyond repairing the building's 

structure and restoring its exterior in order to 

insure its continued preservation.

14.Sarah Olson, Historic Resource Study, 

Portsmouth Village, Cape Lookout 

National Seashore, North Carolina (NPS, 

Denver Service Center, 1982), p. 6, gives 

dates of 1890-1920 [sic] for the interpretive period for the village.
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Recommendations 

for Treatment & 

Use

The key to the success of any historic preservation project is good 

judgement in determining where replacement of a deteriorated 

building element is necessary. Deterioration in a portion of an element should not necessitate total replacement of the element, 

since epoxy consolidants and fillers can repair the damaged area, 

often without even removing the damaged element to make the 

repair. While total replacement of a damaged element is often 

recommended, especially in rehabilitation projects, the success of 

most preservation projects can be judged by the amount of historic material that remains. Even “replacement in kind” does not 

typically address natural processes that give the historic materials 

an aged appearance that cannot be duplicated except by the passage of time.

Site

• Preserve brick pad associated with the cistern at northeast end of house.

• Preserve wooden piers associated with missing addition 

at southwest end of house.
Recommendations for Treatment & Use

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Foundation

• Repair and repoint chimney as necessary.

• Replace modern wooden piers with 

wooden piers that more closely match 

the original.

Structure

• Repair roof structure, preserving 

existing rafters and reconstructing 

exposed rafter ends wherever possible.

• Repair or replace rear sill; raise and 

level building structure.

• "Sister" new floor joists to broken 

joists.

Roofing

• Remove existing asphalt and wood 

shingled roof, archiving examples of 

both materials.

• Reroof building with sawn cypress or 

cedar shingles.

Doors

• Replace both doors with new doors 

that match the door visible in the 1984 

photograph of the house.

Windows

• Replace damaged lower sash in the 

rear window in Room 101 and the mismatched sash in the front window in 

Room 102.

• Repair remainder of sash.

Back Porch

• Reconstruct rear porch deck, replicating existing decking and using wooden 

piers similar to those used under the 

main body of the house.

Exterior Finishes

• Remove existing “brick” siding, 

archiving as much material as practical 

for possible later re- use.

• Repair board and batten siding, 

replacing damaged and missing elements as necessary.

• Paint siding red, trim white.

Interior Finishes

Funds are not currently available for any treatment of the interior of the house. When funding is available, repairs to the tongue- andgroove walls, ceilings, and floors will be necessary.
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REFERENCE

Sources of 

Information

Atwell, Amy Elizabeth. “Cape Lookout National Seashore, 

Historical District of Portsmouth Village.” Unpublished 

manuscript, 1991.

Burke, Kenneth E. “The History of Portsmouth, North Carolina, 

From Its Founding in 1753 to Its Evacuation in the Face of 

Federal Forces in 1861.” Unpublished undergraduate 

thesis, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, 1958. 

Revised 1974, 1976.

Ehrenhard, John E. “Cape Lookout National Seashore: 

Assessment of Archeological and Historical Resources.” 

SEAC, 1976.

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

Seashore. Department of History, Office of Archeology 

and Historic Preservation, National Park Service, 1968.

Olson, Sarah. “Historic Resource Study, Portsmouth Village, 
National Park Service

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Cape Lookout National Seashore, 

North Carolina.” NPS- DSC, 1982.

Salter, Ben B. Portsmouth Island, Short Stores 

and History. 1972 (no publ. info)

Van Beck, Sara L. “Cape Lookout National 

Seashore, Archives and Records 

Management Review.” NPS- SERO, 

2000.
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APPENDIX A

Thompson

Drawings, 1984
Thompson Drawings, 1984

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The National Park Service cares for special 

places saved by the American people so that all 

may experience our heritage.