For many decades, the "White House" and the Hammock House were believed to be one and the same.
However, the “White House,” which once stood between Fulford and Gordon streets, was first noted on Edward Moseley's 1733 map, "A New and Correct Map of the Province of North Carolina." There is no documentation as to when or by whom the “White House” was built. But, since Farnifold Green first owned the land (1707 to 1713), he could have possibly built it as an outpost - a place to stay when visiting his yet-settled wilderness by the sea. The "White House" did not appear on maps after 1780.
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| Hammock House (photo circa 1900) |
The Hammock House was built in 1800 by Samuel Leffers.
In an October 19, 1800 letter to his brother John in Long Island, New York, Samuel Leffers wrote:
"My
situation at present is agreeable, my new house is calculated to my
fancy and pleasantly situated, we have a fine prospect of the Sea, in
front have a good garden and spring of water and are about 200 yards
from the eastern most boundary of Beaufort town."
Leffer's
new house was built about 300 yards east of the White House, which was
100 yards west of the town boundary, the boundary described earlier as
"100 yards to the eastward of the hammock that Thomas Austin formerly
lived on." (Research and documentation is included in Historic Beaufort, A Unique Coastal Village Preserved.
