Checking in on the Inn; As restoration continues, new ideas surface to enhance Ocracoke landmark
It has been two years since Ocracoke’s Island Inn & Commons project got a second wind thanks to a new wave of volunteers, and the results of these efforts are undeniably visible.
Debbie Wells, who offered to spearhead the landscaping portion of the multi-faceted project in 2023, has transformed the patchy grounds into a work of natural art, with hundreds of trees, bushes, and flowers bordering winding paths and benches.
A new event space sprang to life this past winter, and the Island Commons’ gardens continue to grow, with upcoming landscaping projects spreading to the steps of the inn itself.
Meanwhile, the 1901 Island Inn has slowly transformed into its future role as a visitors’ center, particularly on the outside where 18 new windows have been installed and repainting has occurred, matching the exterior to the Inn’s original turn-of-the-20th-century color scheme.
New and much-needed public restrooms were completed last year, while finishing touches were also recently made on an outdoor shed that’s used by several organizations to store holiday lights and supplies.
But like any lengthy renovation project, the more that’s uncovered, the more that’s added to the list of tasks to complete, and this recent flurry of improvements has led to new opportunities to enhance the Island Inn & Commons even more.
“The more you’re getting done, and the more that happens, the more potential we see,” said Ken DeBarth, President of Ocracoke Preservation Society (OPS), which is leading the restoration.
One notable example is the upcoming addition of a full kitchen at the Island Inn – an idea that naturally surfaced after the event space was created.
“Once we finished the event space, we realized that folks would need a kitchen to keep food cold, or to prepare [food] for events, like weddings or community events,” said DeBarth. “So, we had to figure out where the kitchen was going to go, and how to add the electric, and there have been a lot of ideas like that where our original plans and design have changed.”
The background of the Island Inn Project
The 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 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 elevating 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 included 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 since 2023.
What has changed in the past few months
Over the past several years, Wells and a team of other volunteers have planted hundreds of new plants and trees, (including more than 20 types of native Ocracoke species), added benches and paths, and created a community park and gathering space.
Completed in phases, Wells and her team have been focusing on the event space in the past few months, adding benches and pergolas that border a grassy lawn that’s ideal for community gatherings, weddings, and other celebrations.
This past winter, with the help of professional landscapers Kathy Koss and Southern Rain from Pittsboro, 16 fig trees were also planted in the event space area, with a total of eight different varieties that are native to Ocracoke Island.
Though a January winter storm caused a little stress to some of the plants in the new landscape – thanks to 8.3 inches of snow on Ocracoke Island – Wells says that the majority of newly-planted species are thriving.
“We might have lost a thing or two, and some of the plants that we moved at the very end of the fall look a little bit iffy, but on the whole, everything survived just fine in the snow,” said Wells.
Meanwhile, the Ocracoke Civic and Business Association, Ocracoke Preservation Society (OPS), and Tourism Development Authority replaced the old port-a-potties with brand new restrooms in the summer of 2024, and restoration work on the 1901 building itself continues to steadily turn the structure into a revitalized visitors center, with recent work mainly focused on the exterior.
The most noticeable additions to the Inn itself are the exterior paint and the 18 new windows, as well as the front porch, which was recently constructed but remains a work in progress.
“The most immediate next step, because we have some money right now, is that we’re going to finish this front stairway, and add a deck and railings system,” said DeBarth.
What to look forward to in the months ahead at the Island Inn
The annual Ocracoke Island 4th of July Parade is a generations-old tradition, and back in the old days, the parade winners were announced from the front porch of the Island Inn.
“We’d really like to bring that tradition back this year, so our goal is to get the railings and stairs done by July,” said DeBarth.
Another upcoming community asset will be the installation of Starlink internet, so that the public can relax in the gardens and easily get online, or community members will be able to connect to the outside world in the event of a communications outage.
“The TDA gave us some money to install Starlink, so that’s also next on the list,” said DeBarth.
There are still several exterior sides of the structure that need some repairs and painting, too, but the main focus of the years-long restoration project is slowly turning to the inside of the building.
The Island Inn has a lot of potential when it comes to possible uses, and the volunteers involved are slowly mapping out how to best utilize the three-story space.
The main floor will be a visitors’ center and gallery, but there’s a fresh idea to carve out a little storage space so that the Inn can feature rotating exhibits throughout the year.
The second flood will be home to offices for different community organizations, but there’s a new idea to possibly create a sleeping or residential area upstairs, or in the large attic, so that visiting volunteers and groups have a place to stay.
“There have been a lot of new ideas – like the new kitchen to accommodate the event space – that have just become clear as we go along,” said DeBarth. “Of course, all of this work requires money to get started.”
Fundraising has been a constant mission since OPS purchased the Island Inn a decade ago, and there will be more opportunities ahead for residents and visitors to support the project.
In 2024, the OPS created personalized bricks as a fundraising initiative, (which were recently added to the Island Commons’ walkways), and in just a few prime summer weeks, all 357 bricks were sold.
Due to the fundraiser’s popularity, roughly 700 additional personalized bricks will soon be available for sale, which will create the walkways that lead to the Island Inn’s front porch.
A dedication ceremony and celebration is also planned for May 18 when the gardens will be at their colorful best, and the OPS is constantly applying for grants and other funding opportunities to keep the project going.
“We’ve been doing this project in small stages, as money becomes available,” said DeBarth. “You could say that raising funds has always been the hardest part of this project.”
In the meantime, while Ocracoke residents see the enhancements every day, visitors who haven’t explored Ocracoke Island in a year or two can look forward to being amazed at just how much has already been accomplished.
“It’s a transformation,” said DeBarth. “And the more we get done, the more we see all the uses that the Island Inn can serve in the future.”
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.
