Updated August 13, 2010.
The Ed Brumley House From a KITV show.
In the 1920's this house was lived in by Ed Brumley and family, purchased from Mr. Romie Cason. Bob and Martha Burns became owners with the death of Minnie Brumley in 1989. The current residents are Mr. and Mrs. Roy Clark and children. The two story portion of this house is the older part. When Bob and Martha Burns did the renovations they found these things of interest that lead to more evidence that this house has been around since the chimney was put there. The house was built of cypress wood, how long has it been since a house has been built of cypress on Knotts Island? Found railroad spike nails had been used, not the machine made nails of recent late years. The floor joist were just huge, nothing like we see in houses today. The builder had actually cut a tree limb and used an axe or whatever they used in the years gone by to dress out the cypress limb and the limb was then used as corner trim. Martha Burns said you could still plainly see that it was a limb. This was obvious a poor country persons house. The upstairs bedrooms when the Brumley family moved there in 1920 were unfinished. The older children remembered how snow and rain would come through the cracks until the late 30's, when money became available for sheet rock. The chimney on the back side has writing on the bricks located about 8 feet from the ground, The type of lettering that is shown on the bricks was defiantly the style utilized in the 1700's. The chimney dating seems to indicate that the Brumley house is quite old, possible the oldest on Knotts Island, maybe even in Currituck County. We also know that the surveyors set the official state boundaries for Virginia and North Carolina in the year 1728 from the sign at the end of the Marsh Causeway. Some people have mentioned that maybe the chimney is not original, but built from bricks from another house, Sue Austin doesn't think so. Believe that this is possible as there is no sign at all of fire damage from any previous house. Also the bricks at the chimneys base are loosening greatly as you would expect after over 258 years of just standing. Chimney building was a type of profession and just like now not everyone knew how to do it probably. People took pride and marked their work. The bricks are a line in such a way as to advertise the names of whoever did the job in 1738. Sue Austin would like to know more about the marks that appear on the chimney and what the series of dots actually stood for in those days. Only the back half of the house is the older portion that which attaches to a newer portion. Prior occupants were John and Etta Waterman. Also Marshall Litchfield.
