February 24,2014 The following is quoted in part from an article in The Virginian-Pilot by Jeff Hampton on February 18, 2014. ECU Students hope to preserve Currituck Boats.
Currituck County is home to a trove of old working vessels made
by and for watermen who catered to business tycoons seeking to bag
their limits. More vegetation grew when an inlet closed in the
1800s, attracting millions of migrating waterfowl.
Local men were paid well to guide wealthy
entrepreneurs such as Joseph Knapp and Edward Knight for a day of
shooting on the sound. Hunting clubs were formed. Knight built the
Whalehead Club and hired a team of locals to operate it. The
Whalehead Preservation Trust has helped sponsor much of the boat
preservation and documentation.
Knapp contributed generously to local schools.
He founded the predecessor of Ducks Unlimited based largely on
waterfowl conservation efforts on his Knotts Island property.
Market gunners killed and shipped barrels of
ducks to northern restaurants until laws prohibited the practice
in the early 1900s. The Currituck Sound was renowned for
largemouth bass fishing a half-century ago.
They all needed boats built just right for the
sound.
From Rod Mann: This is the boat we have. However, it is
probably not that old, but built on the classic design of the old
Carolina skiff. We know the story behind this particular boat
which was passed onto us by Fred Waterfield because he thought
this would be an appropriate home for it with its White and Jones
Family connections. We live in the house of Laurel White Jones.
The story as Fred remembers it is that this
boat was built by Sidney White.The boat ended up at Edmund &
Erma White's. Their niece, Anne's husband, Bill Twomey, actually
owned it according to Fred. The Twomeys lived in Richmond most of
time, but left the boat here and it eventually became unused.
Years later after Edmund died, Erma (who was a Waterfield) sold
the boat to Fred and now we have it.
From Gary D. Jones Sr: I believe the boat was owned by Harold Jones and was built by my Grandfather Sidney White in the mid '70's, One of the last Granddaddy ever built. If the old boat could talk it could tell many hunting stories about when the hunting was good on Knotts Island.