Although a permanent community of Outer Banks residents (mostly fishermen) was located in Nags Head Woods, by the 1830´s Nags Head was known throughout eastern North Carolina primarily as a summer resort community on the sound. By the late 1850´s the permanent residents had deserted the area, but summer visitors continued to flock to the resorts. They arrived by boat from towns all along the Albermarle waterways, rode rail cars to the sea to bathe, and traveled by horse-drawn cart to Jockey´s Ridge to climb the sand hills.

 The artist/writer for Harper´s News Monthly Magazine who visited Nags Head and described it in May 1860, seems to have been the first to put down in writing the now popular story concerning the name of Nags Head:  "Nags Head derives its name...from an old device used to lure vessels to destruction. A Banks pony was driven up and down the beach at night with a lantern tied around his neck. The up and down motion resembling that of a vessel, the unsuspecting tar would steer for it." 

Though the lantern story persists, other explanations for the name seem to date back even further. An English contractor and architect named Leigh migrated here from Virginia in 1832.  He is said to have given the area its name because it reminded him of a place called Nags Head on the English coast. In 1850 George Higby Throop wrote: "If I may credit half of what I hear of Nags Head in the olden times...the headland then bore some resemblance, in the sea approach, to the head of a horse."

 Even the American Beacon of Norfolk had an explanation, albeit somewhat gruesome, of the source of the name, as described in this 1851 story: "Many years ago there stood on the hills...a large live oak tree, whose branches were twisted and gnarled by the wind3;It was the practice of the horses and cattle, large numbers of which are still raised in this vicinity, to assemble under this oak, both for shelter and to rub themselves against its trunk and branches.  On one occasion a horse caught his head between the crooked limbs of the tree, and absolutely hung himself - his body remained a long time suspended but for many years after it had fallen away by the action of time, his head was kept secure among the branches, and hence the name of Nags Head was given to the hills."

By the 1920´s the Nags Head beach was lined with the distinctive oceanfront cottages that for years have represented the Outer Banks. Sided in unpainted cedar shingles that were allowed to weather to their natural dark gray and still standing today, they define the architectural style known as "Old Nags Head" cottages.

Nags Head incorporated in 1923, but because of inactivity the incorporation was allowed to lapse. Then, in the early 1930´s, the state highway was built along the oceanfront, and several hotels and the Post Office were moved across the beach from the sound to the ocean, beginning an era of uninterrupted growth for the town. Nags Head was re-incorporated as a town in 1961, and because of its long-time role as the true vacation destination on the Outer Banks, was the generic place-name for all of the Outer Banks.

Some of the most striking features of Nags Head are its sand dunes, the largest of which is Jockey´s Ridge, found in Jockey´s Ridge State Park and reputed to be the largest sand dune on the east coast. While visitors are attracted to the dunes for hiking, hang gliding, and kite flying, residents find the sand dunes provide attractive homesites offering spectacular sound-to-ocean vistas. As with Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk, Nags Head properties located between-the-highways or on the ocean tend to be weekly rentals or second homes. 

Properties on the west side of the US Rte. 158 Bypass are a mixture of second homes, rentals, and year-round residents. For golfers, a variety of homes and homesites are available along the greens and fairways of the Nags Head Golf Links at The Village at Nags Head. Tennis buffs will find four hard surface public courts in the vicinity of Kelly´s Restaurant. Nags Head is also the home to the new Outer Banks Hospital, the only in-patient facility on the Outer Banks.

The west side also harbors Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve, a 1,400 acre maritime forest owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. Towering oaks, hickories, and beech trees rise from steep, sandy hillsides; winding trails meander past peaceful, fresh water ponds; and migratory songbirds nest in tangled mats of Spanish moss throughout this unique landscape, providing a glimpse of the Outer Banks that most people never have a chance to see. Properties tucked up against this preserve are in demand because of the assurance that no development can take place on the preserve´s land.

South Nags Head, another area to consider when shopping for property, is defined by most locals as the area south of Whalebone Junction, where the Nags Head-Manteo Causeway (US 64) intersects with US 158. Although still primarily a resort area, South Nags Head has a more laid-back character than Nags Head proper. Contributing to this feel is a neighborhood pier where anglers can drop a line in the surf 24 hours a day during the summer season. Due to its proximity to Oregon Inlet, south Nags Head is a favorite for off-shore, on-shore and surf fishermen alike.

Fishing, surfing, the ocean, the sound, golf, boating, dining, shopping . . . let us tell you all about what Nags Head has to offer. Call us today.