Historic Outer Banks cottage moved twice to escape the ocean before it was destroyed by fire

Corinne Saunders, The Virginian-Pilot
·2 min read

KILL DEVIL HILLS — The original owners of the Birdsong/Phelan Cottage in Kill Devil Hills had their oceanfront house lifted and moved westward twice “to escape the approaching ocean.” On Friday morning, it fell to fire.

The home at 1825 N. Virginia Dare Trail in Kill Devil Hills caught fire around 2:20 a.m., claiming three lives and injuring three others. The cottage is “a total loss,” according to the town spokesperson.

The house was a vacation rental, managed by Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates, according to a posted sign.

Before the fire destroyed it, the four-bedroom, four-bathroom house built in 1948 had many original elements intact — including its wood floors, juniper wall covering, interior doors and many bathroom fixtures, according to the 2018 “Town of Kill Devil Hills Guide to Historic Landmarks.”

Thomas “Tom” and Virginia Birdsong of Suffolk were the original owners of the house, according to the town’s guide. They sold it to the Phelan family in 1989, which still owns it, according to Dare County tax records.

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The 1,921-square-foot house was valued at $262,800, but the building together with the land is valued at over $1.2 million, according to the online tax records.

The Birdsong/Phelan Cottage was designated as a historical home in 2011, town spokesperson Rachel Tackett said at a news conference Friday morning, the house still smoldering behind her.

Owners of homes predating the 1960s can apply for the town program, which offers a tax deferment and other benefits, and is part of the town’s goal of preserving “these older Outer Banks homes,” she said.

Charles B. Godwin of Suffolk had bought three lots in a row in 1948 and split the middle one in half so that there were two 75-foot-wide oceanfront lots, according to the guide. Godwin kept one and sold one to Birdsong, and the identical houses were built simultaneously that year. Each lot cost $400 and each house cost approximately $14,000 to build, according to the guide.

The Birdsongs salvaged many materials for their house, including windows, doors and oak flooring from barracks being demolished in Portsmouth after World War II, the guide noted.

The Birdsongs had the cottage moved westward twice to escape the Atlantic Ocean, according to the guide. The first move took place in the late 1960s, and the house was also raised to its current height in conjunction with a 1981 move. Sometime between the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Birdsongs replaced the asbestos siding with wood lap siding and also replaced the windows.

Since 1989, the Phelans made several improvements to the house, including enclosing portions of the covered deck on the northeast side and southeast side. The northeast side’s enclosure expanded the dining area and the southeastern enclosure converted a small bedroom into a master bedroom and bath, but these changes did not increase the structure’s original footprint, according to the guide.