David Stick Archives - Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates

Dare County Celebrates Its 150th Anniversary–History and Culture Will Be Featured

Dare County Courthouse as it appeared in 1904 when it was built.

The 150th anniversary of the founding of Dare County happened just a few days ago. There will be a full year’s worth celebrations to mark the event.

When it was created there wasn’t much here, which has a lot to do with why Currituck, Hyde, and Tyrrell counties were willing to give up small pieces of their land to form the new county.

Named for Virginia Dare, when it was created the new county was a far flung sliver of swamp, maritime forest and barrier islands. The closest town to a central place was Manteo, so it became the county seat.

It was smaller than it is today. When it was created the northern border was just about where Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills meet.

According to author and historian David Stick, the land that is now Kitty Hawk, Duck and Southern Shores was added in 1920 because the state legislature realized that area logically should have been a part of Dare County all along.

A more colorful tale was told by Pops Scarborough of Duck in a 1997 interview. Approaching 100 years of age at the time of the interview, according to Pops, Currituck County was going to start taxing fishermen on their catch. Local residents approached Dare County commissioners and asked if they planned to tax fishermen on their catch. The answer was no, so they petitioned the state to become part of Dare County.

A colorful tale but difficult to prove.

From the first English child born in the New World to the Wright Brothers first flight, Dare County is filled with remarkable firsts and fascinating pieces of history.

The county is planning a number of event in conjunction with its sesquicentennial celebration. One of the biggest will be Saturday May 2 at Island Farms with interpreters dressed in clothing of the era.

Take the time to explore the history and culture of the Outer Banks. Book your vacation today and stay in a Joe Lamb, Jr. & Associates home.

Historic Home Weekend on OBX

By the front door at Sea Spray and 1958 flat top cottage.

Back in the 1930s, 40s and 50s when the historic homes of the Outer Banks were being built, it’s doubtful that anyone thought they would ever be historic. Rustic, a place to getaway, built usually from whatever materials were on hand, somehow they’ve weathered everything the ocean and climate have thrown their way and now stand as icons of a different time and way of life.

Southern Shores and Kill Devil Hills held tours of their historic homes this weekend. On Friday it was the Kill Devil Hills Tour of Local Historic Landmarks and Saturday the Southern Shores Historic Flat Top Tour.

The homes are as different as can be; the Kill Devil Hill houses are rambling cedar shake homes with floor plans that seem to have sprung from the imagination of the carpenter building it.

The Southern Shores Flat Tops were the creation of Frank and David Stick and they were built to a plan, yet there is remarkable variety in them. Built as cheaply as possible, local lumber was used—luckily that was juniper the perfect wood for the Outer Banks environment. Rectangular box construction, the walls are cement block with the sand usually coming from Outer Banks beaches, complete at times, with shells that were scooped up with everything else.

Certainly two days well spent. Talking to the owners about their homes what came through time and again was a remarkable sense of ownership and responsibility and a sense that preservation is important.

The Tale Behind the Tall Pine Bridge Replacement

Tall Pine bridge over Snow Goose Canal nearing completion in April.

After 55 years or so they’re finally replacing the bridges over the Southern Shores canals. Not a bad lifespan for a used bridge.

Residents and regular visitors to the Outer Banks know that the Tall Pine Bridge that spans the Snow Goose Canal is being replaced. The latest bulletin from the town of Southern Shores has the completion date of the project right on schedule in about a month.

The new bridge is a modern construct—looks like it will last at least 50 years and maybe 100. The old bridge. . . . well, it had a life before coming to Southern Shores and how it got there says a lot about David Stick who played such a pivotal role in the creation of the town.

David joined his father, Frank, in the early 1950s to market the new resort community of Southern Shores. Frank felt the beachfront properties were where the greatest potential lay. His son disagreed, viewing the soundside of the 2600 acres as ideal for year round residents.

To raise money he harvested the dogwood trees in the forest and used the money made from that to cut some roads and create canals to drain the swamp. However, after building the roads and cutting the canals there was no money left to build a bridge. Since the roads did not meet NCDOT standards, the state was not going to put a bridge in for him.

But NCDOT was replacing some bridges in Eastern North Carolina and David agreed to take the old bridges away intact. It was a classic win/win: David got the bridges he needed at the cost of moving them and the state didn’t have to pay to dispose of them.

They are getting replaced now.

For anyone coming down to the Outer Banks for the next month it’s important to know that there is no through traffic on South Dogwood in Southern Shores because the bridge over the canal is closed.

Tag: David Stick

Dare County Celebrates Its 150th Anniversary–History and Culture Will Be Featured

Historic Home Weekend on OBX

The Tale Behind the Tall Pine Bridge Replacement

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