Bray Home & Inn

Located on the Canal Bank at Coinjock, the house and store (shown below) are connected.  Note third story in portion housing store on first floor.  Also note upper balcony.  Entire structure is said to be intact, as first built, with mortised and pegged construction.  One of the old school houses where Ezekiel Gilman taught stood near the left of the house and was torn down a short while ago.  It was a small one-room building.

Bray Store

Located on the Canal Bank at Coinjock.  Branson C. Bell bought it from W.C. Stone for $2500 on July 22, 1885.  He gave it to his daughter, Sarah Ellen (or Elenor) Bell, who married Thadeus Pannabaker Hall.  Susan Penelope Hall, daughter of Thadeus and Sarah (called "Sack"), married Benjamin Bray.  So it came down through the Bell line.  It was here that the famous "Yankee school teacher", Ezekiel Gilman, made his home.  He came to Currituck County in the later summer of 1840 from his home in Newburyport, Mass.  He died in 1900 at the age of 83, and it is said that he never left the community for more than a week at a time so long as he lived.  The Currituck Historical Society has a picture of Mr. Gilman taken in the second floor living room of the inn.  He is attired, as it is said he always dressed--long black Prince Albert coat, hard hat, and Wellington boots.

These photos and information are from the project "Old Homes in Currituck County to 1860" originally compiled June 1960 by Alma O. Roberts and Alice Flora of the Currituck County Historical Society.   We are indebted to Barbara B. Snowden, president of the Currituck County Historical Society for permission to reproduce this collection on the internet, and also to Gerri Andrews and Diane Ferebee of the Currituck County Public Library who provided digital copies of the photos.  No part of this document may be used for any commercial purposes; however, please feel free to copy any of this material for your own personal use and family research.  Images are for personal use only, not for redistribution.