High Hills Camp

Story
Decoys
Credits

🟡 LARGE RESEARCH VOLUME

OWNERS

Lambert Morris

Date

OTHER ASSOCIATIONS

Jeffrey Smith and Pat Patterson

Mark Smith

listed as #215 and 216 on NPS structure status report

Tract #113-01
LOCATION
High Hills, near Whalebone Inlet, North Core Banks

Story

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High Hills Retreat–“High Hills”

“High Hills”, on North Core Banks, currently is still acive.

Lambert Morris (judge, hunter, decoy carver and much more) purchased 100 acres of the banks stretching from sound to surf. (The deed encompassed 260 feet of shoreline at the surf–the whole stretch from sound to ocean.) The “High Hills Retreat” was built on this site. The original camp burned in the late 60s–unlikely accidental–Ira Morris was accussed of the burning following a big squabble with Lambert. The fire was witnesed by “Walt” Nelson, a progger who often stayed over at the banks with only a kerosene lantern and a piece of tar paper to sleep under. This first camp was, Mark Smith thinks, a simple one and like a small fish camp.

Clay Fulcher remembered that Lambert Morris’ original camp was built from a garage building placed onsite. James Earl Willis helped him construct a floor by digging out the base and laid in sand-fencing as flooring. Insulation was added and the structure was sealed to prepare it for winter weather. They ran copper tubing from an old motorcycle tank to the heater/stove. Stuart Daniels, the Havelock principal (originally from Wanchese) was often there in the 70s. This camp fell victim to criminal burning and Morris rebuilt it. Across the creek was the camp of Melvin Styron. Styron held out “the longest” to his claim in the fight with the state takeover to create the seashore. Pat Patterson of Kinston purchased the camp from Morris.

The current camp was built for Morris in the late 60s or early 70s by Cecil Tooten, who just passed this year (2022). The camp was erected in one day. Being assembled in Atlantic, it was then taken apart in sections and reassembled at the camp. They intended to sleep at the camp the same nite but the paint on the floor was still wet, so they traveled home.

The camp has been used by Morris and later owners as a hunting camp and a vacation spot. One “big” wedding occurred at the camp.

High Hills was 16 by 24 –with a bathroom added on the back and accessible by a door in the back. Bunks were in three corners and the kitchen area with a sink was in the far right corner on opposite side from the front porch. A detached kitchen was added to the right and back of the camp when looking from shore–a shed was to the back and left, containing a generator and storage. A porch ran the length of the front and decking was added connecting all parts and structures. To the right, facing the camp, was the deck which is elevated 25 feet and has a 12 x 12 top-railed landing–the site for the wedding mentioned earlier. It began as a plan for an erectable shorter tripod tower but the result expanded to much more. (Mark Smith)

Jeffrey Smith, locally, and Pat Patterson (banker from Kinston-Wachovia) purchased the camp from Lambert, Jr. for $4,000. Mark Smith inherited 1/4 ownership from Jeffrey Smith , who was his cousin. They were close and had spent a lot of time together at the camp.

The initially intended tripod tower grew into a more substantial structure which can be seen from the Portsmouth beach and far across the sound.

The camp has a couple of marsh blinds but most hunting is done from box blinds. The blinds can be seen from the tower. The area around the camp was previously all tidal marshes and favorable for hunting pintails, geese, teal and black duck-as well as, redheads. It is all vegetated now which changes the hunting. Brant were not common in the area–being more prevalent at the Evergreens and Portsmouth.

Jeffrey and Will Ellis Smith put out several hundred pheasants around the camp a couple of times–some are still present today. Something in the habitat that they eat enables their survival.