Mattie Midgett Store and House, Early 20th-century store and residence in Nags Head, United States.
The Mattie Midgett Store and House consists of a two-story frame store built in 1914 in the Outer Banks Shingle Style, with a hipped shingle roof, and a two-story T-shaped house built in 1933 with steeply pitched gable roofs. A one-story, one-room hipped-roof addition dates from 1944; the store was moved to its present site in 1932.
Built in 1914, the structure initially served the community as a store and was later expanded to include residential space. It became an important gathering point for commerce and daily life in this coastal settlement.
The store building holds the Outer Banks Beachcomber Museum, named for Nellie Myrtle Pridgen. Its collection consists of beach glass, feathers, shells, sand, bricks and bottles gathered on area beaches, so the displays are made of what the shoreline itself left behind.
The building sits on South Virginia Dare Trail in Nags Head and is straightforward to locate. Visitors can explore both the exterior architecture and the indoor exhibits at their own pace.
The store was moved to its present site in 1932, two years before the house was built in 1933. The museum inside is named for Nellie Myrtle Pridgen, whose collection of beach glass, feathers, shells, sand, bricks and bottles found on area beaches is on display. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
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