lawsuit, which allows 1 1 leasees to occupy their 

 cabins under special-lease permits until Sept. 4, 

 2003, while officials assess the historic and 

 nonhistoric structures. 



"We will have a public planning process in 

 2003," says Bob Vogel, park superintendent. 

 "The Park Service is looking at a variety of 

 options for the use of the cabins, including 

 establishing a historic leasing program that 

 allows private citizens to lease structures in 

 exchange for maintaining them according to 

 historic standards. Six buildings in the historic 

 Portsmouth Village on the northern end of the 

 seashore are in that program." 



New Bern attorney Hugh Overholt, who 

 represented several leaseholders in the federal 

 lawsuit, says that the settlement was "reasonable 

 given the facts and circumstances." 



In addition to historic leasing, Vogel says, 

 other options will be considered, including 

 opening one or more of the structures to the 

 public as a museum or an educational center. 

 The Park Service also is considering using the 

 structures for administrative needs, such as 

 housing for volunteers and park staff stationed 

 on the Banks, he adds. 



Now, the brick Keeper's Quarters, which 

 was built in 1873 and sits next to the Cape 

 Lookout Lighthouse, is the only structure in the 

 historic district open to the public. 



The district — which is anchored by the 

 diamond lighthouse at the north end and the 

 former U.S. Coast Guard Station to the south — 

 contains 21 principal structures. 



Village 's Rich History 



From the 1870s to about 1920, the area 

 flourished as a fishing village. Fishing families 

 or U.S. Coast Guard employees built several of 

 the historic private dwellings as residences. 



After that, the Cape became a haven for 

 hardy vacationers. 



During World War U, the Cape was 

 buzzing with military activity. After Germany 

 U-boats attacked and sank many ships near Cape 

 Lookout in 1942, the Cape was developed as a 

 temporary defensive base. Along the beach on 



the Atlantic side, you can still find ruins of 



machine guns and searchlight towers. TOP: David Yeomans ' buoy tree in his front yard is favorite stop for tourists on Core Banks. 



Continued BOTTOM: The Coca-Cola House has a front porch that faces Core Sound 



COASTWATCH 9 



