The Casablanca House (also known as the Baker-Holderness House), located near historic Cape Village on South Core Banks, is one of six historic structures that have become unrecoverable/NPS

Barrier islands aren’t designed to stay in place. They shift and move about as the oceans and storms pound them. As a result, manmade structures on barrier islands are always at risk of having to confront the surging waters and buffeting winds. At Cape Lookout National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, not all structures survive those encounters.

During the last three years, unrecoverable damage has occurred to the Casablanca House (also known as the Baker-Holderness House, Cape Village), the Setzer-Dawsey House (Cape Village), the Jetty Worker 1 House (Cape Village), the TT Potter House (Portsmouth Village), the Frank Gaskill House (Portsmouth Village), and the Battle Brothers Hunting and Fishing Lodge (near Portsmouth Village). While these structures are representative of important parts of the Outer Banks’ history, they now pose a serious threat to visitors and will have to be demolished.

“As many of you know, I have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into trying to get us back on track with the preservation of these buildings,” said Jeff West, Cape Lookout’s superintendent.

“Deterioration, lack of attention, and our environment have all contributed to the loss,” he added. “I truly regret it and will do everything I can to get the remaining structures repaired. To honor the women and men who made a living out of these buildings, we will put up waysides at each location to commemorate their contribution to the culture and history of the banks.”