Mattie Midgette’s Store
Architectural and Historical Information
NRHP Listed Mattie Midgette’s Store, located on the west side of the Beach Road at Mile Post 13 in Nags Head, presents a buyer with a variety of unique opportunities in the heart of the Nags Head Beach Cottage Row Historic District.
Steeped in history, Mattie’s two-story c.1914, hip roofed store has 1,944 sq ft, and sits on an unusually large lot, 62’x300” ~ 18,600 sq ft, lot. It is currently a private residence and needs some renovation to secure the future of this iconic historic treasure. The two story property features 3 bedrooms and 1 full bath upstairs, with a 14’x18’ covered deck off the eastern bedroom. Downstairs there is one half bath, a laundry room, utility room, kitchen, and living room. The original store area, 18’x35’, is on the north east side of the first floor and provides a buyer with multiple options, including using it as an income producing space.
The property is zoned C-5, also known as the Historic Character Area Commercial District, a versatile, mixed use residential and commercial district that presents numerous options compatible with developing the site for business, preservation, or residential purposes. From 2003 through 2018, the old grocery served as the repository for the Nellie Myrtle Beachcomber Collection, and was opened periodically to the public. The collection is now an internationally recognized collection of seaside artifacts collected by Mattie’s Midgette’s eccentric daughter, Nellie Myrtle Pridgen. In November of 2019, it was carefully packed up and can be conveyed to a buyer interested in opening a full time heritage attraction on the site.
Once the hub of the Nags Head Resort community, a thriving grocery, seasonal tourist home, and commercial fishing operation, the property uniquely embodies the Outer Banks of a century ago. It has been called “The Soul of the Outer Banks.” The property has been the full time residence of the current owners since 1993. A coastal gardeners dream, the large lot size creates ample space for extensive garden options as well as micro climates that increase the viability of plants that would not normally thrive this close to the beach. Greenhouses are a permitted use in the C-5 District.
The property was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places in December 2004.
A Virginian Pilot article at the time quoted pre-eminent Outer Banks historian David Stick’s thoughts on this singular site:
“Let’s put it this way, I would say next to Jockey’s Ridge and the Wright Brothers Memorial, it is the most historically significant place on the northern Outer Banks. It is an integral part of the National Register Cottage Row Historic District.”
Statement of Significance
From the 2004 NRHP Nomination by Beth Keane: “The c..1914 Mattie Midgett Store is eligible for National Register listing under Criterion A for commerce. The central commercial establishment for Nags Head’s cottage families for over half a century, the store was built in Nags Head’s original soundside resort development and moved to the Beach Road not long after its construction in 1932. Also eligible under Criterion C for architecture, the Midgett Store, a commercial building with Shingle Style details, became a prototype for future commercial establishments in the area.”
It is the only private home in Nags Head that is Individually listed in the National Register.
The Future
After more than 30 years of stewardship of this historic site, the owners are now offering the property for sale as a preservation opportunity for a buyer to renovate and make their own. It is being sold “AS IS”. Being situated on the Beach Road at Mile Post 13, places it in the heart of the most serene, historic, and desirable location in the area.
Among the over 50 potentially permitted C-5 uses are; “Dwelling Large Residential, Owner Occupied Art Gallery, Museum, Artisan’s Workshop (3,000 sq. ft. or less), Yoga Studio, Home Occupation, Office, Short Term Rental, B&B, Coffee Shop, Retail, Commercial with Accessory Residential.”
This is an opportunity for a buyer to make history by writing the next chapter in the rich and storied legacy of this legendary Outer Banks Landmark. Bring your energy, your creativity, and your passion to this moment in time and create a one of a kind oceanside compound.
(Because there are no local preservation laws in place, the NRHP Listing places no restrictions on what a non-federal owner may do with their property.) FAQs – FAQs – National Register of Historic Places (U.S. National Park Service)
For more information including photographs, visit: www.oldnagshead.net.
