Clockwise from left: 



Whalehead gunners j>ose with an abundant 

 quarry of geese. • Thenew education center 

 offers a variety ojdkplcm highlighting the 

 Outer Banks. • The docks near Poplar Branch 

 were a starting j>oint -for mary adventures on 

 Currituck Sound, • Whalehead Club decoys 

 were stored intke boatkouie bft. • Ik ike early 

 20th century, it was common, for Currituck 

 hunters to shoof scores ojumterfowi in a. single 

 outing. • The Center jor Wildlife Education 

 hopes to complete an educatimd trail that will 

 mnfrmt the smnd to the beach. 



Most clubhouses were rustic cabins that 

 provided simple shelter for the gunners. The 

 draw of each club lay in its claim to private 

 hunting grounds. 



Private ownership in an area already 

 considered "remote" promoted Currituck's 

 unique self-identity. Isolated locals lived off the 

 abundant natural resources — fishing, farming 

 and hunting for a living. 



"Hunting gave locals a much-needed 

 income stream at a time when farming or fishing 

 was at an end," says Nickens. Many of the local 

 men were market hunters — selling their quarry 

 to fowl dealers, who 

 then shipped the 

 birds by the barrel 

 to northern game 

 markets. Historical 

 records show 

 that from 1903 to 

 1909, 400 men in 

 the Currituck area 

 made a combined 

 $100,000 annually by 

 market hunting, with 

 canvasback ducks 



commanding the highest price at $5 per pair. 



When market hunting was banned in 1918 

 the private hunt clubs fueled the local economy. 

 Men became caretakers and guides, women 

 worked as cooks and maids. Boat builders and 

 decoy carvers found steady demand for their 

 crafts. 



LEGENDARY LODGES 



E.C. Knight was a long-time member of 

 a Currituck gun club until he married Marie 

 LeBel, his second wife, in 1922. 



After pulling on layers of heavy wovtews, 

 the men coiled skoirguns and hot coffee 

 from, the gunroom before boarding small 

 boats Uden with decoys, dogs and guides. 

 The guides imaneuver the skiffs to the 

 dub's private hunting blinds, then arrange 

 hundreds of decoys in the open water. 



LeBel was 

 not the "typical" 

 aristocratic 

 lady of the day. 

 She preferred 

 wearing riding 

 habits to 



corsets and skirts, and enjoyed hunting with her 

 husband. Knight's club, like the others, did not 

 admit women as members. The couple decided 

 to purchase 2,000 acres of land to build a club 

 they could both enjoy. From 1925 to 1934, the 

 Knights spent every hunting season at their 

 island home. Records show that 751 birds were 

 killed in the club's first hunting season. 



At 20,000 square feet, the five-level 

 house — originally named the Corolla Island 

 Club and now known as the Whalehead Club 

 — commands a striking presence on the 



landscape. The house was built in the Art 

 Nouveau style, which uses flowing curves and 

 floral embellishments inspired by nature. The 

 home's styling reflects the landscape, instead of 

 dominating it. 



"Running along the outside of the house is 

 what we call the 'kissing swan frieze.' We often 

 see swans on the sound in the winter, so it really 

 is appropriate," says Jill Landen, curator of the 

 Whalehead Club. 



It was the second owner, Ray Adams, who 

 gave the home its more curious name. Adams 

 was building an airstrip, and during excavation 

 he discovered the skeletal remains of a whale, 

 giving the club its now-famous moniker. 



Adams leased the property to the U.S. 

 Coast Guard during World War H In the late 

 1950s and early 1960s the property was a 

 boys' boarding school. From 1962 to 1965, the 



8 Coastwatch I High Season 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 



