On Ocracoke Island, a new village attraction is coming together nicely at the site of the historic Island Inn on the corner of Lighthouse Road and Irvin Garrish Highway. The Historic Island Inn & Commons project, spearheaded by Ocracoke Preservation Society (OPS), supported by Ocracoke Tourism Development Authority and Occupancy Tax Board, and featuring the work of many volunteers and organizations, has transformed the site into a park-like greenspace with much-needed public restrooms, and a visitors center in the historic structure is under restoration.
A team of volunteer gardeners led by OPS board member Debbie Wells have spent over a year landscaping the site, and the results are stunning. What was once a blank slate of patchy grass and portable toilets is now an inviting public park and gathering space with much greenery including trees, bushes, plants and flowers. Kathy Koss, owner of Southern Rain LLC, a landscape company from Pittsboro, North Carolina, served as director of planting, and she and volunteers did most of the planting labor pro bono. Among the lush greenery are benches, a pergola, walkways and a short nature trail, public restrooms and murals, all of which invite visitors into the space to look around and a take a rest.
Originally the 1901 building was an Odd Fellows Hall and the village school. Photo: Ocracoke Preservation Society
History of the Site
The building on the site was originally built in 1901. It housed the island school on the first floor and the Odd Fellows Lodge on the second floor. The island got its own school building in 1917. During World War II, the Navy used the upstairs as a Officers Club. After the war, there were additions to the building and it became a hotel, The Silver Lake Inn, which was later changed to The Island Inn. Two wings were added to the property after WWII.
The Island Inn was a hotel, restaurant and an island gathering spot (including a dance hall) for decades. However, situated at ground level for its entire lifespan, the inn had flooded numerous times, which required costly repairs. The hotel closed in 2015, and the property was put up for sale. Ocracoke Preservation Society, with help from the Tourism Development Authority, bought the property in 2018 with visions of a visitors center and commons.
The Project
The Island Inn & Commons project faced delays with Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, but momentum began building after the pandemic. In 2022 the McDermott family donated four lots adjacent to the site to OPS, with the stipulation that they remain in a semi wild state. A 150-foot-long shaded nature trail has been created on that property.
Ocracoke Preservation Society, Ocracoke Civic and Business Association and the Ocracoke Tourism Development Authority built the public restroom building, which includes four unisex stalls and a handicapped accessible ramp. The restrooms have been very popular with visitors. The site is at Tram Stop #2.
The site layout and landscaping plan for This Island Inn & Commons Project
The landscaping and site work began in earnest in 2023 and looks amazing, but there are more plans in the works. The site includes hundreds of plantings, including more than 20 different types of native Ocracoke Island species. The greenspace and pergola, which will be surrounded by a fig garden, will be a place for public and private events. OPS board member and Island Inn & Commons landscaping chair Debbie Wells says all of the substantial funds for the landscaping project were raised through private donations and sponsorships.
"We had a lot of help from a lot of people who love Ocracocke," she says. "We raised a lot and have spent all of it, and we still have a lot more work to do."
Wells explains that about two-thirds of the landscaping project is done, including the main garden and hardscape items like a retaining wall, the pergola and a tool shed. Next month they will plant the fig garden around the pergola. The committee still has another third of the project to complete, including landscaping leading up to and around the building when the building is finished.
"Everyone with OPS and the Garden Committee is so grateful for all the support we have had," Wells says. "The community backing is what has made this possible. We implemented the project, but they paid for it, so this is a true community garden in every sense of word. I want Ocracoke to feel ownership the space."
The garden pergola was recently installed.
The 1901 building, which OPS elevated after Dorian, is seeing lots of work but still has a long way to go. The two wings had to be removed because they were beyond repair, so what remains is the original 1901 structure. OPS President Ken DeBarth says the building is being restored to the National Historic Register standards of the U.S. Department of Interior.
A new historically accurate cedar shake roof is on, and 11,600 linear feet of siding has been added and is almost all completely painted as of this week. Twenty-four historically accurate window frames and sashes containing no plastic have been custom built and are being installed. Then the interior needs to be refinished with historically accurate finishes and modern plumbing and electrical systems.
DeBarth says it is estimated that an additional $360,000 is needed to complete the building project. They have three grant applications in process and receive some assistance from the Ocracoke Occupancy Tax, but OPS is continuing to seek private donations to keep the project moving along.
"Money availability has been a huge challenge," De Barth says, adding that at this point work progresses as money comes in. "But community support has been fabulous, and donations and investments are keeping us going. We are so thankful for all of the community support."
You Can Help Keep the Project Going
Contributions to the Island Inn & Commons project are most welcome and very much needed.
To make a donation, visit the Ocracoke Preservation Society website. You can make a general donation or specify your donation to the General Fund, Landscape Fund or Building Restoration Fund.
Checks can be mailed to Ocracoke Preservation Society, P.O. Box 1240, Ocracoke, NC 27960. On your memo line, specify where you would like for your donation to go.
DeBarth welcomes anyone to the OPS General Membership Meeting on Tuesday, November 12. He also encourages Ocracoke lovers to keep a lookout for upcoming fundraisers in 2025 as well as a new buy-a-brick fundraiser in 2025.
About the Author Molly Harrison
Molly Harrison is managing editor at OneBoat, publisher of OuterBanksThisWeek.com. She moved to Nags Head in 1994 and since then has made her living writing articles and creating publications about the people, places and culture of the Outer Banks.
