Checking in on the Island Inn & Commons Project in Ocracoke Village

Annual Ocracoke Island visitors who haven’t had a chance to peak in on the Island Inn & Commons project in a while are going to be in for a big surprise.

At this time last year, the endeavor was gaining a second wind after being stalled for years due to 2019’s Hurricane Dorian, followed by the Coronavirus pandemic. Back in the spring of 2023, a multi-pronged effort was launched to tackle varying aspects of the project, from the historic 1901 Island Inn itself to the addition of new public restrooms – a much-needed addition for Ocracoke Village.

Fast forward a year, and the Island Inn & Commons have been transformed.

The grounds surrounding the 1901 building are covered with flowers and trees of all varieties, while benches provide a nice break from the center of busy Ocracoke. A new, short nature trail has been created that feels like another world when compared to adjacent N.C. Highway 12, and the public restroom facilities are open and are arguably one of the most popular spots on the site.

The transformation feels like an overnight improvement – especially for visitors who only visit Ocracoke Island once or twice a year – but it’s a project that has been years in the making, with many more miles to go.

The background of the Island Inn Project

The two-story Island Inn is an unmissable site along N.C. Highway 12, and the structure was first constructed in 1901 as a lodge for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with Ocracoke’s K-12 school operating on the first floor until a new school was built in 1917.

As tourism trickled into the village after World War II, the structure became one of the island’s first hotels – the Silver Lake Inn – and it doubled as a dance hall and a social gathering spot for residents.

The site remained a popular hotel, restaurant, and social hub until the 2000s, but it ran into financial issues and eventually fell into foreclosure, as well as disrepair.

In the mid-2010s, the Ocracoke Preservation Society (OPS) was presented with a plan by a group of concerned Ocracoke citizens to purchase and preserve the site. The complicated sale took a year to piece together, but the renovation itself would prove to be a much bigger challenge.

Situated at ground level for its entire lifespan, the Island Inn had seen untold cycles of flooding over the course of 120 years. By 2018, the “new” additions to the property – namely the wings that were added after World War II – were completely unsalvageable.

The OPS subsequently razed and removed these add-ons to the structure, including both wings, the kitchen and apartment portions, and two small outbuildings, leaving the original 1901 structure standing alone.

The OPS had funds in hand to start installing public restrooms and elevate the property, but before these next steps could occur, Dorian hit Ocracoke Island in September 2019, and everything came to a standstill. Additional restoration work was piecemeal as funds and labor became sporadically available, and the grounds surrounding the structure remained bare.

But in late 2022 and early 2023, after the haze of Dorian and the pandemic had lifted, a new group of local residents and organizations came together to create a plan to revitalize the site.

These long-term plans include the renovation of the building itself, a new commons and garden area, a new event space, a new public restroom, and all of these corresponding projects have had waves of progress over the past few months.

What has changed as of 2024

Debbie Wells is a force of nature. In 2023, she offered to spearhead the landscaping portion of the project – no small feat considering the size of the property and the inherently sandy soil – and she drafted an ambitious design that was a stark contrast to the flat, barren grounds surrounding the Island Inn.

As of the summer of 2024, the first phase of that original landscaping design has sprung to vivid life.

Wells has no idea how many trees, flowers, and shrubs have been planted over the past year, but the number hovers in the hundreds.

There are more than 20 different types of native Ocracoke Island species in the new community garden and park, as well as hardy perennials that add big bursts of color, and which can stand up to the salty, breezy environment. Benches are stationed throughout the gardens so folks can catch their breath, and butterflies and birds are regular visitors, in addition to small waves of humans who tend to linger.

“So much care has gone into the development and the maintenance of [this space], because gardens just don’t grow like this by themselves,” said Wells, who is at the site almost every day alongside other volunteers to water, weed, and maintain the gardens.

“Really, this main garden is done – it just has to grow,” said Wells. “But the [change] is astonishing, even for me, and I’ve been here for the whole thing.”

On the edge of the community gardens sits the new-in-2024 restrooms.

With funds from the Tourism Development Authority and a portion of Hyde County’s occupancy tax, the public restrooms feature four stalls, a handicap-accessible ramp, and natural lighting via the structure’s skylights. Though not “officially” open, on busy summer days, the restrooms are already a popular pit stop for visitors strolling through the village, and they are conveniently located next to one of Ocracoke’s 11 tram stops.

The gardens and new restrooms are easily the most eye-catching portions of the project, but there’s another new addition that’s worth a visit, just across Lighthouse Road.

In 2022, the McDermott family donated four substantial lots on the edge of N.C. Highway 12 to the OPS, with the requirement that the properties remain in a semi-wild state. In 2024, a new nature trail was added on two of the lots, which is steps away from the highway, but feels like a purely natural slice of Ocracoke.

The nature trail is just 150 feet long, but it has a collection of benches, abundant shade thanks to old and untouched live oaks, and a variety of wild native species. Only the not-so-distant sounds of traffic on N.C. Highway 12 hints at the fact that this site is steps away from the heart of Ocracoke Village.

“This has got to be a very valuable piece of land – it’s 75 feet away from N.C. Highway 12 – but the restrictions on the deed were very carefully worded and very detailed about what could be done with this space, and now it’s forever wild-ish,” said Ken DeBarth, President of OPS.

“It will never be more developed than this – it will never be a Wings,” added DeBarth. “People come to Ocracoke because there are still open spaces, there are still historic structures, there are still native plants. So, we’re really proud of this [trail project.]”

Arguably, the slowest-moving part of the multi-pronged Island Inn & Commons project is the Island Inn itself, but that is very much expected.

Restoring the structure to its 1901 heyday requires meticulous work, attention to historical detail, and tons of funds, and small parts of the project have been completed over the last few years as labor and donations trickle in.

New and accurate windowsills have been added, and in the months ahead, custom-made windows will likely arrive, and the installation of the new siding will begin.

“We need 11,600 linear feet of siding – so two miles of siding,” said DeBarth. “So that part of the project will take a little while to complete.”

Eventually, when the Island Inn has been completely rehabilitated – likely a couple of years down the road – the site will be home to a visitors’ center, second-floor offices for local organizations, and will be a “new” historic attraction for Ocracoke explorers.

What’s next for the Island Inn

As the restoration work on the 1901 structure continues, Wells is working on the next phase of the landscaping aspect of the project, which will be an outdoor event space that straddles the Island Inn and the new community gardens and public space.

Native fig trees will be planted on either side of the event space, (which includes all seven varieties that grow naturally on Ocracoke Island), and the plot of land will be able to host public and private gatherings of all varieties.

“That’s the next phase,” said Wells. “To have a small, outdoor space for events is something we need here, so that’s what we’re working on now.”

There are also two more wild lots donated by the McDermott family to be semi-developed, and another new nature trail might be added in the future, but the concrete plans and timeline for this next project haven’t been finitely determined.

A lot has been noticeably accomplished at the Island Inn & Commons for sure, but there is still plenty of more work to do, which is why fundraising through multiple initiatives continues in earnest, and will continue throughout the summer.

In fact, from 3-6 p.m. on July 3, the Island Inn & Commons will host a community fish fry with T-shirts for sale that outline all the native species that have been planted in the new gardens. Stickers, notecards, and fig pathway bricks will also be for sale at the event, and the fish fry will be moved from the grounds of the Island Inn to the Community Center in case of inclement weather.

In the meantime, the public is free to explore the new nature trail, relax in the new gardens and public space, and even use the new restroom facilities – a whole new opportunity that didn’t exist just a year ago.

“It’s a transformation,” said DeBarth. “Sometimes, I think we are moving too slowly, and then I look at this space and remember where we were just a year or two ago, and how much we have accomplished.”

How you can help the OPS and the Island Inn project

Donations are always accepted online and can be made via the OPS website. More information on the OPS, which includes a link to the online gift shop, can be found at https://www.ocracokepreservationsociety.org/shop.