The Coca Cola House

Story

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Lauren Piner, cousin of Warren Davis painted the wall artwork–according to Meg Risser, Beaufort.

Built around 1928 and long known as the Coca- Cola House, the Seifert- Davis House was one of the first vacation houses built at Cape Lookout by people who were not native to Carteret County.

Charles A. Seifert, owner of the Coca- Cola franchise in New Bern, N. C., bought two lots from the Cape Lookout Development Company in 1927 and is thought to have built the present house the following year. His brother David owned a Coca- Cola franchise in Roanoke, N. C., and he may also have had a role in the building’s development and use over the years. Historically, the house was painted red and white and almost from the beginning was given the moniker, “Coca- Cola House” or “Coca- Cola Building.”

The Sieferts built and used the house primarily as a vacation resort. During World War II, military personnel may have used the house for social occasions, but that aspect of the house’s history is not well- documented.

In 1953 Seifert sold the house to Harry T. Davis, a trained geologist and long- time director of North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. Among other things, he initiated the first statewide survey of North Carolina’s archeological sites and led a major renovation and expansion of the Museum in the 1950s. He was an important figure in the state’s environmental movement after World War II and used his house at Cape Lookout as a base camp for field work on the barrier islands. In addition to his Coca- Cola House, Davis also owned a large tract on Core Banks and was a catalyst in the state’s efforts to establish a state park at Cape Lookout. Upon his death, the house was deeded to his nephews, who now hold the lease with the Park Service.

Built around 1928, the house is rectangular in plan, and with its low- pitched, hipped roof and exposed location, its distinctive form is a landmark at the Cape. The interior is partitioned with walls paneled with tongue- and- groove boards, but there are no ceilings, giving the interior an open character reminiscent of hunting lodges, “tents” at camp meetings, and other such structures designed for seasonal use.

Except for the installation of some modern plywood paneling on some walls and of a ceiling in one of the rooms, the interior has been little altered since the historic period. Since 1976, however, the building’s historic board- and- batten siding has been covered with modern plywood and many of the original wooden window sash have been replaced by metal storm windows. The porches on the southwest and southeast sides of the house were probably removed in the 1960s, and a garage was built on the southeast side of the house after 1976. (from Historic Structure Report)

“This place means everything to me”–“it’s my family’s history”–Wilson Davis   (from Ann Green interview)

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Credits

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1. NPS files and archives
2. Historic Structure Report–https://www.nps.gov/calo/learn/management/upload/Coca-Cola-House_hsr_508.pdf
3. Coastwatch excerpts–Winter, 2003–Core Banks Cottages Rich in Tradition–Ann Greene
4. Wall Mural photos–Stan Rule
5. Art by Jim Stegner, CALO Artist in Residence
6. Other references within text