This collection is divided into two main series: Account Books and Day Books.

Available for research.

Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law (Title 17 US Code). Individual researchers are responsible for using these materials in conformance with copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.

Processed by Sarah Downing, prior to 2001.

Encoded by Kelly Grimm, August, 2009

Nags Head, North Carolina has been a summer gathering spot since prior to the Civil War. Planters and merchants from the Albemarle region of North Carolina and south eastern Virginia summered at Nags Head to take advantage of its ocean breezes and generally healthy seaside climate. Visitors arrived by sloops and steamers and often spent the entire summer.

The original resort was located on the sound side south of Nags Head Woods in the vicinity of Jockey's Ridge and Engagement Hill. A number of cottages were built, as well as a hotel that included a large ballroom. Confederate General Henry A. Wise used this hotel as his headquarters during the Civil War, and set it afire before retreating after the Battle of Roanoke Island in February 1862. It is shown on early maps of the area.

In 1866, another hotel, the Alexina, was built over the Roanoke Sound. It was owned by A. E. Jacobs, and named for his children. This hotel was fashionable for a number of years before it succumbed to encroaching sand and was torn down while a new hotel was built.

The new hotel, also built (in part) over the sound, was a three-story, wooden T-shaped structure. According to an 1881 advertisement, the hotel underwent substantial improvements and a wing was added. Later accounts give the total number of rooms as 100.

Ownership and proprietorship changed hands many times. A. E. Jacobs and his wife Eliza acquired the hotel and related buildings in 1886 from C. W. Hollowell, who was listed as grantee in later hotel transactions. Proprietors of the hotel include C. W. Hollowell, A. E. Jacobs, J. C. Perry and John Z. Lowe. During the 1890s, the Nags Head Hotel Company was formed and stock certificates issued.

The hotel caught fire and was destroyed in 1903. Mrs. John Z. Lowe, wife of the proprietor, died during the fire from an apparent heart attack.

Nags Head, North Carolina has been a summer gathering spot since prior to the Civil War. Planters and merchants from the Albemarle region of North Carolina and south eastern Virginia summered at Nags Head to take advantage of its ocean breezes and generally healthy seaside climate. Visitors arrived by sloops and steamers and often spent the entire summer.

The original resort was located on the sound side south of Nags Head Woods in the vicinity of Jockey's Ridge and Engagement Hill. A number of cottages were built, as well as a hotel that included a large ballroom. Confederate General Henry A. Wise used this hotel as his headquarters during the Civil War, and set it afire before retreating after the Battle of Roanoke Island in February 1862. It is shown on early maps of the area.

In 1866, another hotel, the Alexina, was built over the Roanoke Sound. It was owned by A. E. Jacobs, and named for his children. This hotel was fashionable for a number of years before it succumbed to encroaching sand and was torn down while a new hotel was built.

The new hotel, also built (in part) over the sound, was a three-story, wooden T-shaped structure. According to an 1881 advertisement, the hotel underwent substantial improvements and a wing was added. Later accounts give the total number of rooms as 100.

Ownership and proprietorship changed hands many times. A. E. Jacobs and his wife Eliza acquired the hotel and related buildings in 1886 from C. W. Hollowell, who was listed as grantee in later hotel transactions. Proprietors of the hotel include C. W. Hollowell, A. E. Jacobs, J. C. Perry and John Z. Lowe. During the 1890s, the Nags Head Hotel Company was formed and stock certificates issued.

The hotel caught fire and was destroyed in 1903. Mrs. John Z. Lowe, wife of the proprietor, died during the fire from an apparent heart attack.

[Identification of item], 33MSS-26, Nags Head Hotel Account Books and Day Books, Outer Banks History Center, Manteo, N.C., U.S.A.

Purchased from the Bibliobarn in New York in 1997.

Additional information on topics found in this collection may be found in the Manuscript and Archives Reference System (MARS)  http://mars.archives.ncdcr.gov/.

1. 33MSS-28: C. W. Hollowell Family Papers 33BOK-0-169:  Unpainted Aristocracy: The Beach Cottages of Old Nags Head, by Cynthia W. Bishir, 1978 33BOK-0-4425:  The Outer Banks of North Carolina: 1584-1958, by David Stick, 1976

The Nags Head Hotel Account Books and Daybooks consist of seven account and day books from the Nags Head Hotel Company. The collection also includes a freight book for the steamer  Clarence, and stock certificatees issued to C. W. Hollowell.

This collection is divided into two main series: Account Books and Day Books.

The Nags Head Hotel Account Books and Daybooks consist of seven account and day books from the Nags Head Hotel Company. The collection also includes a freight book for the steamer  Clarence, and stock certificatees issued to C. W. Hollowell.