The History of Nags Head

A Little History on Nags Head

How the town got its name

Sometime around 1700 the first settlers arrived in Nags Head, and that seems to be about the time the town got its name. The most colorful legend holds that during storms, residents would walk a horse back and forth across Jockey’s Ridge with a lantern attached to its harness. The swaying motion of the light mimicked a ship safely at anchor, luring ships to the shoals where the shipwreck would be easy pickings. Colorful but doubtful.

Nags Head is a very common place name in England, the most likely source for the town’s name.

An Early tourist destination

Nags Head was the first tourist destination on the Outer Banks and was probably one of the first true tourist towns in the United States.

In the 1820s, hoping to escape the heat, misery and malaria of the state’s coastal plain, Perquimans County plantation owner, Francis Nixon, built a vacation home on the soundside of the town. His neighbors followed his example, and by the 1840s there was a thriving tourist industry that included the Nags Head Hotel with accommodations for more than 200 that boasted a wooden walkway to the ocean.

The hotel was burned to the ground by retreating Confederate forces in 1862 to prevent it from becoming the Union army’s headquarters. Rebuilt after the Civil War, the migrating sands of Jockey’s Ridge proved too much to overcome and the building was abandoned in the 1870s.

The Unpainted Aristocracy

With its reputation for cool breezes and soft sand, the oceanside development of Nags Head began around 1855 when Elizabeth City, NC physician, Dr. W.G. Pool, bought 50 acres of beach front land for $30. He built his cottage then sold lots for $1.00 to his friends.

By the 1880s the beachfront of Nags Head had homes lining it but the real boom came when Elizabeth City builder SJ Twine began building houses at the turn of the 20th century.

Favoring native woods, and designed with porches that faced east and south to take advantage of the best breezes, the homes are distinctive in their look. They tend to have a slightly disheveled look, so much so that Jonathon Daniels, editor of the Raleigh News and Observer, dubbed the Nags Head homes the “unpainted aristocracy” in the 1920s.

The homes that remain, often treasured family heirlooms, comprise the Nags Head Historic District.

Nags Head Business District

There are two very distinct parts to the town: Nags Head and South Nags Head. The dividing line can be described as running from Whalebone Junction--where US 64 ends and US 158 begins--to Jennette’s Pier.

Although there are rental properties and motels south of Jennette’s Pier, the only commercial property in South Nags Head is the Outer Banks Fishing Pier.

North of Whalebone Junction, the commercial districts of Nags Head are focused on the Beach Road and the Bypass.

As is the case with the oldest beach towns on the Outer Banks, the more traditional shops and businesses are found along the Beach Road. Typical of beach towns, businesses along the Beach Road tend to be lined up with no true center.

There is, however, an exception to that at Jennette’s Pier. Within easy walking distance of the pier, there is Sam and Omie’s Restaurant, one of the oldest restaurants on the Outer Banks, a nice little motel and cottage court—Seahorse Inn and Cottages, and Cahoon’s Market, a wonderful small grocery convenience store that opened its doors in the 1960s. There is also Fat Boyz Ice Cream just to the north and Dune Burger, that has been serving burgers, fries and milkshakes since 1950 just to the south.

Along the Bypass one place to check out is Kitty Hawk Kites across from Jockey’s Ridge. The store has one of the largest collections of kites anywhere as well as clothing, footwear and more.

The Nags Head Bypass does have a number of large shopping plazas including three supermarkets.