The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1927-03-11
WHEN ONE HASAN IDEA
AND KEEPS PLUGGING
Capt. Dan Hayman Didn't Have Money, But
He Stuck To His Idea and The Money
Came And Is Still Coming

In the sudden development
of the North Carolina Coastal
region as a year round resort
center, with talk of big hotels,
country clubs, golf courses, the
bridging of Currituck and Roa-
nokc Sounds, let it not be over
looked that the daddy OF this
spectacular development is a
young native Of that coast
country.
At the bottom Of the remarkable
real estate activities that promise
to make our. North Carolina coast
look like a strip Of Florida within
the next few years Is Capt. Daniel
Webster IIayman, a native OF Kitty
Hawk.
A hundred years ago or such
matter all ocean freighter went
ashore near Kill Devil Hill on the
North Carolina cOust and among
the shipwrecked crew was a Ger
man seaman by the name OF Henry
IIayman. Henry Hayman fell In
love with the picturesque coast
country on which he had been ship
wrecked, settled there far from his
fathcrland, married, and founded
a considerable family in Dare COun-
ty. He was the great great grand.
father OF Capt. Daniel Hayman.
Capt. Dan IIayman inherited all
of that remote ancestors love for
the picturesque beauty of the Kitty
Hawk country with Its mammoth
sand dunes, its oak studded and
vine clad hills, its fresh ponds and
its unusual seascapes. But II he
had stayed right there nothing
much would have come out Of his
love for and appreciation Of the
beauty of the region.
The wandcrlust caught Dan Hay
man early in life and at the age Of
nine years he SHIPPED as mess boy
on u three mast schooner trading
up and down the Atlantic seaboard.
He saw more Of the Atlantic coast
in those days, but nowhere did he
find bit of coast country that SEEM
cd SO fair, so beautiful and SO ideal
as the North Carolina eoast. =,
At the age of Is young Hayman
took up steam navigation. But al
ways he kept In tough with Kitty
Hawk. In 1917 he entered the. U.
s. Coast Defense SERVED ana was
master of many Ships LAT different /.
times in patroling Our ebast. III
1921 he went with the Northern
Transportation Go. whose sen going
tugs piled mp and down our sch.
board, from POrtland 10 Key West.
He saw more ulnl EOrt Of the At
lantic coast.
In Jan. 1924 Barron 6. Collier
was looking for a master for his
yacht Florida. Capt. Hnyman took
command of Mr., Golfers yacht.
They crniscd in Florida waters that
winter. when the Florida real estate
boom was at its height. Up and
down the Florida coast Capt. Hay
man saw the possibilities in Coastal
real estate. But nowhere in Florida
did he find such coastal real estate
as his own Kitty Hawk, Dare Coun-
ty. And here were millions Of peo-
pie going wild over the bare. hot
sands of Florida where life Is pleas
urablc only four months in the year.
In North Carolina they could easily
make eight or ten months Of 1t.
Then and there Capt. IIayman got
an idea. lie returned To- North Caro-
lina in 1925, went back to the old
home place mt Kitty Hawk, built
himself a cottage and began TO write
letters.
In his travels he had met scores
and scores Of castcrners and north
crncrs who seemed TO be interested
in what he had told them about
the North Carolina coast. He be.
gan now to write and tell them
more Of its beauties and its pOssi-
biitics. He got an option on 1900
acres owned by his uncle NJ. ID.
IIHymnn. He was offered S25,000
for il by certain New Workers who
wanted it for q shooting preserve.
He would not consider the offer.
But he had no money with which
TO operate.
lie went to Norfolk bankers and
tried TO show them that from an
initial investment Of $4,000 he
could produce a quarter Of a mil.
lion dollars for them. They laugh.
cd at him. To-day they do not
laugh.
In May 1926 Capt. Hayman fin
ally succeeded in interesting Nor
folk rcaltor who agreed to advance
Continued on page Four)