[[{"fid":"5830","view_mode":"default","type":"media","attributes":{"height":"311","width":"207","style":"float: right; margin: 5px 3px;","alt":"Currituck historic lighthouse","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]Corolla’s history is truly an interesting one that goes back hundreds of years, well before the area became known for endless beaches, picturesque dunes, and relaxation. The Native American tribes that resided on the Currituck mainland used the northern barrier island for hunting and fishing grounds. Because of the abundance of geese that stopped on the barrier island to feed as they headed south each fall, the Native Americans named the island “Currituck,” meaning “land of the wild goose.” The Europeans that began to settle in the area later applied the word Currituck to not only the island, but the county, the sound, and the two inlets.
Until the early 1800’s, Corolla was only accessible by boat, and few early European settlers chose to reside on the barrier island – most resided on the mainland. By the mid-1800’, a few tiny communities popped up along the northern Outer Banks, which included Poyners Hill (between Corolla and Duck), Wash Woods, Seagull, and Jones Hill (where Corolla now lies).
The early residents of Corolla and the northern Outer Banks lived a rugged and modest lifestyle that included fishing, hunting, gardening, raising livestock, and recycling items that washed ashore from shipwrecks. A few also worked as hunting and fishing guides for wealthy sportsmen from the north. Residents traveled by boat to the mainland every so often to sell fish and waterfowl, and to pick up supplies and see friends.
In 1873, construction began on the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, which was finished and lit for the first time in December of 1875. The US Lifesaving Service established the Jones Hill Lifesaving Station in 1974 (later known as the Currituck Beach Life Saving Station) just east of the Currituck Lighthouse. Seven local men were responsible for living in and manning the station from December through March, while their families lived nearby in the village. This station was one of the seven original life saving stations across the Outer Banks.
While many of the northern Outer Banks villages petered out as life became difficult over the years, Jones Hill hung in there, most likely because of the jobs that came from the lighthouse and life saving station. In 1895, a post office opened in Jones Hill, and a contest was held to change the name of this Outer Banks village. The name “Corolla” was submitted, referring to the inner part of a flower; the name was chosen by the Postal Service, forever changing the name to the Corolla that we know now.
In 1922, Edward Collings Knight Jr, a conservationist and waterfowl hunter, began construction of Corolla Island, a massive home in Corolla, now known as the Whalehead Club. This brought about many work opportunities for the Corolla locals, and in the 1930’s, Corolla was known to have around 100 residents. During World War II the US Coast Guard leased the Whalehead Club to be used as a training base. Soon hundreds of sailors were stationed in Corolla, and barracks and support buildings were set up around the village.
After the war, many of Corolla’s residents left to seek out jobs on the mainland, and the area’s population hit an all time low in 1950. The lighthouse, now electric, no longer needed to be staffed, and the school, church, and Whalehead Club all sat empty. Corolla became rugged and overgrown, and the road down the beach became filled with giant potholes. In the 1970’s, only about 15 people lived in the village, but adventurous vacationers started to make their way to the beautiful sandy shores and grassy dunes.
Meanwhile, real estate developers started to see the commercial appeal of this beautiful stretch of the Outer Banks, and they began buying up large pieces of the land along the Currituck Outer Banks. Whalehead and Ocean Sands, north of Duck, were the first modern developments in the area. A private road was created from Duck to just short of Corolla, with a guard gate designed to keep people out of these developments. The state took over this road in 1984 and extended it to pass through Corolla. Once this happened, real estate interest immediately spiked, and development of vacation homes nestled along the beach grew rapidly. 422 homes existed on the Currituck Banks in 1984, and that number quickly grew to 1,966 homes in 1995, and to more than 2,700 in 2000. The majority of the homes built in the last twenty years or so are second homes and vacation rentals, bringing a large influx of vacationers to Corolla’s barrier shore each year.