Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Williams Homeplace

Last week a reader asked about the Caswell and Zilphia Williams house that was moved sometime around the turn of the 20th century. I included Caswell and Zilphia's granddaughter's account of the move in our January 9 post. Della Gaskill wrote the account in her book, A Blessed Life, Growing Up on Ocracoke Island.

The reader wanted to know if the house is still standing, and if there were any photos of the house. I visited Della a few days ago. She assured me she has photos of the house, but was unable to locate them. However, she reminded me that the cover photo for her book is a picture of her standing in the front yard, with the house in the background.



















The two story house is still standing, and retains it's original interior charm, although it has been raised and several rooms have been added. Caswell and Zilphia's great-grandson lives in the house today.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is Capt. Rob Temple's poem, "A Pirate's Christmas." You can read it hear: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news122116.htm.
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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:02 AM

    The photos of early residents PH publishs often feature fetching frocks. OI residents were sharp dressers. I find the garments to be of wonderful quality. Was there an Island seamstress, or everyone had a sewing machine and was a gifted tailor?? Did The WPA ever send a photographer to OI to document life? No doubt the National Geographic has published an article or two featuring the rugged beauty that had been. Before the Land Developers came along.

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    1. Philip8:57 AM

      National Geographic documented life on Ocracoke and the Outer Banks a half century ago. Look for a blog post about that article sometime next month, if not before. Also, Standard Oil of New Jersey sent a photographer here in the mid-1950s. I believe the Ocracoke Preservation Society has access to those photos. I will do some searching.

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  2. Anonymous11:15 PM

    As A child I recollect seeing a "magazine" 8 maybe 16 pages of pictures and some text. A childhood friend had copies, perhaps her parents were stockholders of Standard Oil, hence the presence of the publication. In Any Event I discovered a "treasure trove" of back issues at the local library one summer. Perhaps, I saw that issue featuring OI. It was b/w photographs early on and well it made an impression on me to say the least. PS I grew up in S. Florida where a Monastery was disassembled and moved and re-assembled to its then location in Northern Dade County. I do believe I visited it once while I lived there. however I Drove past it many many times.

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    1. Anonymous11:20 PM

      P SS It is called Ancient Spanish Monastery and it is in N. Miami Beach Fl. Lord Have Mercy please google the name to learn more. my browser is out of date so I have been informed.

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