Early last year, builder Mark Batson received a shock when clearing a building site for a custom home on North Carolina’s southern coast.
Buried in the sand dunes under layers of sand, shells, and sediment Batson and his excavation crew found the remnants of a shipwrecked boat. He halted the site work until the jumble of wrought iron and 60-foot-long timbers could be identified.
Batson brought in Nathan Henry, lead conservator of the North Carolina Underwater Archeology Division, who identified the findings as the wreck of The John S. Lee, an 1870s lumber steamer that disappeared along the North Carolina coast 140 years ago. It sailed out of the Cape Fear River in April 1877 bound for Venezuela, two days before a storm lashed the Carolina coast, Henry says. The boat and its crew were never seen again.
Henry determined that the timbers were probably part of the ship’s keelson, a girder that ran central within the length of the ship. He said he knew of only seven wrecks reported near the site and quickly deduced which one it was by the look of the fragments.
“Heavy keelsons and ceiling timbers fastened with numerous iron drift bolts were a hallmark of the late 19th century schooners and their remains are numerous on the Outer Banks, so much so that identifying individual vessels can be challenging,” he wrote in his report. “Not so much at Cape Fear where the relatively small number of wrecks makes the process considerably easier.”
Once the remains were cleared away, Batson and the project team--including architect Michael Kersting—commenced work on the luxury ocean-view home, which was completed late last year. To help it stand up to the private barrier island’s harsh weather and to support the rooftop pool, they speced steel framing for the entire structure. “We made it work for our environment,” Batson says.
Engineered to withstand blistering nor’easters and Atlantic hurricanes, the home is a model of resilient building materials like Fry Reglet rainscreen cladding, James Hardie manufactured concrete panels, resilient sapele siding, and Kawneer Glass Systems, were selected for their ability to stand up to coastal storms.
Inside, a linear fireplace on the west wall warms the open concept floor plan that places living, dining and cooking areas under one ceiling. Finishes include wenge wood cabinets, marble countertops, and wormy maple floors. The homeowners—NASCAR entrepreneur Will Spencer and his wife and their dogs--enjoy views from both the master suite’s second-floor porch and rooftop deck that sits 40 feet above sea level.
Fitting for a dwelling located near the site of a historic shipwreck, the house contains many nautical references, including a boat-shaped bar on the roof and the swimming pool’s glass walls with surrounding ipe decks and cable railings. The lumber from the wreck was salvaged, mounted on poles, and is displayed at the entrance to the driveway as a reminder of what happened here more than 100 years ago, says Batson.
