Sharrock Family 



In neighboring Bertie County, the 

 Sharrock family designed furniture from 

 the late 1700s to 1800s. 



"The Sharrock furniture was from 

 the Roanoke River Basin School — neat, 

 plain and straightforward — because that 

 is what people preferred in this region 

 and in Virginia" says Marshall. "They 

 didn't use carvings on furniture like in 

 Philadelphia and Rhode Island." 



Sharrock furniture is highly sought 

 after by collectors because many of the 

 pieces were sold during the Depression 

 to northern collectors, according to 

 Marshall. 



In 2002, the N.C. Museum of 

 History bought a china press — used to 

 store ceramics and other household items 

 — for $45,000, she adds. 



The Roanoke River region also was home 

 to a mystery cabinetmaker, "WH," who carved 

 his initials on pieces. 



"His initials have been found on many 

 pieces, but historians have never been able to 

 identify who WH was," according to Marshall. 

 "He did neat and plain style and blockings, 

 suggesting that he was a German American. WH 

 also used distinct carvings over raised panel and 

 black substance to imitate ebony. His initials were 

 inlaid in white putty." 



From 1785 to 1795, WH made a lot of 

 furniture with Masonic symbols and squares. 



WH's furniture has become quite valuable. 



"A bookcase by WH sold for around 

 $98,000 in New York City," adds Marshall. 



By the early 1800s, cabinetmakers had 

 almost died out in northeastern North Carolina. 



"From 1840 to 1850, there was a shift of 

 cabinermaking to the Piedmont and western part 

 of the state," adds Marshall. 



Restoration Efforts 



Hobbs' furniture business evolved when he 

 and his wife, Jackie Hobbs, developed an interest 

 in old buildings. 



While working as math teachers in 

 Perquimans County during the 1970s, the couple 

 found a 1700s home on a neighboring property 

 and moved it to the family farm. 



That first acquisition was the Pratt House, 

 a two-story home that required three years of 



renovation and now is used as their 

 home and an office for the Beechtree 

 Inn. 



Gradually, they began to add to the 

 complex. 



"I got interested in early houses 

 and then started repairing antiques," 

 says Hobbs. "Building reproductions 

 was a natural progression. Then I began 

 studying the style of furniture here in 

 Perquimans County." 



After a few carpentry and 

 woodworking classes, Hobbs left bis 

 teaching job and began his cabinermaking career. 

 Over the years, he has made hundreds of pieces 

 of furniture — from tables that sell for $500 to 

 chests of drawers that sell for up to $5,000. 



"I learned about furniture making mostly 

 from reading books," he says. "I collected good 

 furniture and used it as examples. If I study a 

 piece, I can tell how to make a copy." 



In 1994, the Hobbs family opened the 

 Beechtree Inn as a bed and breakfast where 

 guests stay in cottages. 



A year after that, he started the school for 

 aspiring furniture makers. The classes are for all 

 skill levels. Five to eight students per class learn 

 how to use hand planes, scrapers, rasps, handsaws 

 and a host of tools. 



Tim Schreiner, then editor of Fine 

 Woodworking magazine, completed a 

 Chippendale-style chair class. 



CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Ben Hobbs 

 works on a Chippendale ehair along with students 

 from left, Bill House and Curt Ivey. This building is 

 used as a restaurant. The handsome sideboard was 

 made by Hobbs. Quests stay in the Bennetts Creek 

 House and other restored eottagcs. Hobbs shows 

 House and Ivey how to out a pattern for a chair. 



"Hobbs is a natural teacher with an easy 

 smile and a just-firm-enough approach to 

 woodworking," says Schreiner in the October 

 1999 issue of Fine Woodworking. 



Because of the large number of historic 

 buildings, restoration of the Hobbs' complex is 

 ongoing. Several buildings, including the jail, 

 aren't finished. 



While showing the jail, Jackie Hobbs says 

 that the studs are close together to prevent a 



HIGH SEASON 2005 



