Nags Head's Historic Cottage Row District--on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977--stretches a mile along North Carolina's Outer Banks, forming a pattern of angles and lines the color of driftwood. Porches wrap around dull gray houses like wide-brimmed hats; shutters propped open like lazy eyelids cast shadows on sand and horizon. Defined by weathered wooden shingles, sweeping gable roofs, single full-width dormers, and protruding benches built into the arms of porches, this simple architecture is the patina of Old Nags Head, what old-comers think of first when they see this beach in their mind's eyes.
The story of the families who helped settle one of North Carolina's oldest beaches is told in Nags Headers. It is a blend of oral history and narrative that allows readers to share in the summer lives of Nags Head's oldest families. The story traces the history of Nags Head through successive generations, from early settlement before the Civil War, through the turn of the new century and the emergence of modern times. Vivid oral history is woven into the fabric of the narrative, drawing the reader into the story as the Nags Head cottagers settle the beach and make it their own. These oral interviews and profiles introduce us to people like S. J. Twine, the carpenter responsible for the distinctive Nags Head look, and Reverend Dr. Robert Brent Drane, the first summer rector for St. Andrew's-By-the-Sea Episcopal Church, which was built in 1915. Also featured are Mary Buchanan Flowers, who tells about the luncheon her family hosted for President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he visited Nags Head in 1937; 100-year-old Virginia Flora Hall, who relates her experiences as a young mother during the Hurricane of 1933; and 88-year-old Beulah Wadsworth, who describes what life was like behind the scenes in the servants' quarters.
The book is complemented by historical photographs, personal photographs from private family collections, and contemporary black-and-white photographs. As the Atlantic Ocean encroaches on the original cottages known as the Unpainted Aristocracy more with each passing year, it becomes even more important to document Nags Head's compelling 150-year history.
