Horace Dough Papers, PC.5298

[Identification of item], PC.5298, Horace Dough Papers, Outer Banks History Center, Manteo, NC, U.S.A.

The Horace Dough Papers, 1928-1961 and undated, contains correspondence; advertisements; clippings; catalogs; financial and business records; bulletins and other publications; informational packets; booklets; campaign stickers; event invitations, programs, and schedules; and construction notes, plans, costs, and sketches. Materials are arranged into three series: Fishing Guide Records, 1928-1934 and undated; National Park Service, 1932-1960; and Personal Papers, 1929-1961 and undated.

The Fishing Guide Records series contains materials produced and collected by Horace Dough during his time as a fishing guide. Materials encompass financial and official records connected to the business, clippings and other materials advertising Dough's services, advertisements and catalogs for fishing-related products sent to Dough during his time as a guide, and correspondence. Correspondents and party members discussed in the letters include U.S. Congressman Lindsay C. Warren, famous New York financier Louis Eliasberg, the Izaak Walton League, author Paul Gallico, and Joseph Patterson, founder of the New York Daily News. Alongside fishing seasons and the logistics of fishing in the Outer Banks, these letters touch upon other subjects such as crime in Manteo and visitor accommodations on Roanoke Island, including the Tranquil House and Ft. Raleigh Hotel. Materials date from 1928 to 1934.

The National Park Service series contains records, ephemera, and memorabilia related to Dough's position as monument superintendent for the National Park Service, as well as both general and Outer Banks focused National Park Service developments that occurred during this period. Materials include correspondence; event invitations and programs; informational booklets; conference bulletins and schedules; project notes; and construction plans, cost estimates, and sketches. Materials date from 1932 to 1960.

The Personal Papers series contains materials documenting Dough's personal life and interests, including clippings, advertisements, financial records and purchase invoices, business cards, campaign stickers, and booklets of jokes and sketches. The series also contains materials connected to Dough's involvement in the Manteo and greater Outer Banks community, including a juror summons, event programs and invitations, and correspondence regarding community businesses and the Manteo Grammar School. Also included is the July 4th edition of the publication "The Daily Independent" from 1937, which discusses Outer Banks businesses, the Virginia Dare Transportation Company, and the Elizabeth City State Normal School, an African-American teaching college that was at the time the closest institute of higher learning for black students to the Outer Banks. Materials date from 1929 to 1961.

Materials arranged chronologically within series.

Horace Dough was born 16 February 1893 to Walter and Elizabeth Dough. He married Martha Meekins in 1913. Dough began his career as a boatbuilder and fisherman. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, he expanded upon these skills by working as a fishing guide for groups of visitors in partnership with the Old Bay Line of the Baltimore Steam Packing Company. As a fishing guide he acted as a consultant on various fishing seasons in the Outer Banks, arranged for lodging and supplies, and accompanied his clients on daily excursions. These clients included famous New York financier Louis Eliasberg, the Izaak Walton League, author Paul Gallico, and Joseph Patterson, founder of the New York Daily News.

Later, Dough served as a laborer on what would eventually become the Wright Brothers National Memorial in the 1930s. After construction he was appointed temporary curator of what was then called the Kill Devil Hills Monument National Memorial, shortly before the monument's transfer to the custody of the National Park Service from the War Department in August of 1933. In early 1934, Dough was offered the permanent position of monument superintendent.

One of the first projects that Dough was involved in during his tenure of superintendent was the construction of monument additions including the superintendent's quarters, an associated access road, and a comfort suite from 1934 to 1936. He was later required by the National Park Service to move into the superintendent's quarters from his home in Manteo full-time. Other projects that Dough oversaw as superintendent included the hiring of night guards to discourage petty vandalism in 1937, moving the original Wright Flyer back to the Outer Banks from England in 1942, the installation of exhibits and environmental improvements to the memorial in 1947, and post-war proposals to change the name of the monument. He retired after twenty-nine years in the position.

Despite moving to Kill Devil Hills for his work with the National Park Service, Dough commuted frequently to his original home in Manteo and was closely involved in the Manteo community throughout his life, especially the local grammar school system. Horace Dough died 16 February 1973.

1. Fishing Guide Records, 1928-1934 and undated

2. National Park Service, 1932-1960

3. Personal Papers, 1929-1961 and undated

Eliasberg, Louis E., 1896-1976.

Gallico, Paul, 1897-1976

Warren, Lindsay C. (Lindsay Carter), 1889-1976

Patterson, Joseph Medill, 1879-1946

Baltimore Steam Packet Company

National Park Service

Wright Brothers National Memorial (N.C.)

Izaak Walton League of America

Edward vom Hofe & Co.

Elizabeth City State Colored Normal School

Gray Marine Motor Company

Old Bay Line

Construction--1930-1940

Transportation--North Carolina--Outer Banks

Bluefish fishing--North Carolina--Outer Banks

Channel bass fishing--North Carolina--Outer Banks

Fishing guides--North Carolina

Cape Hatteras National Seashore (N.C.)

Manteo (N.C.)--Social life and customs

Oregon Inlet (N.C.)

Pea Island (N.C.)

Roanoke Island (N.C.)

Donated by Fay and Brian Edwards, December 2009.

Processed by McKenzie Long, July 2019.