Our Story: Life in the Albemarle

The Albemarle is a unique place—half land, half water. Our ever changing relationship with the water has defined our way of life. Water is both a highway and a barrier, a source of livelihood and inspiration. The story of this place is Our Story, a tale of how our communities have adapted to challenges and opportunities of our unusual home.

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Permanent Fixtures of the Exhibit

THE JACKSON HOUSE

Daniel Jackson, Jr. and his wife Elizabeth had this house built in Pasquotank County about 1755. Its hall-and-parlor plan is larger and more finely finished than typical small farmhouses of that time. The children slept in the unheated loft above. Like many farmers, Jackson did other work, probably carpentry or coopering. The Jacksons’ widowed granddaughter, Polly Jackson Scott, moved back into the house in 1813, weaving linen and woolen cloth to support her family.

THE PROCTOR SMOKEHOUSE

Smokehouses were essential to the food supply on farms of every size. Hogs, the most numerous livestock, were slaughtered in the cold of winter. Meat was first packed in salt to draw out as much moisture as possible. Later it was hung and “cured” in the smoke of a low fire. To protect the valuable contents smokehouses were always locked. Built in Perquimans County between 1826 and 1850, this smokehouse belonged to the Proctor family for many years.