Marvin Murphy Camps

Marvin Murphy Camp

Marvin Earl Murphy interview—

June 23, 2026 ( 83 years old at the time— Pruitt Health, Beaufort, NC)

Ammie Willis had the first camps in the  Great Island area  Initially, a hunting guide, Ammie hosted Babe Ruth for hunts.

Dad and Alger had camps at about the same time—they worked together initially, then split to work their own camps—in the 1960s.

Marvin initially had a smaller, un-named  24 foot boat at the time he established his three camp structures on the Banks.  One three room cabin was flanked by two 2-room cabins.   Marvin Earl relates that his dad had a deed, but the camps were burned by the Park Service—indicating that the deed was not accepted as valid—his land was not purchased from him.   On the mainland, he had a store and dockage on a separate creek from Alger. ” Everybody had their own creek site. ” 

Marvin later got the 5 foot “Miss Paul” that would carry vehicles on her deck.

Fall of the year was the best fishing and in off-season Murphy found whatever he could to make a living.  “He did whatever he could.”. During season, they fished  especially for Red Drum but also anything else that would bite.

Fishermen came from western NC—Marvin Earl related that they “were good people to deal with.”   Marvin Earl (son) and Stuart Piggott (of Glouchester) helped Marvin.  Fishermen and campers needed ice and supplies.  Word of mouth let Marvin know what to bring, Marvin Earl believes.

The job was “seven days a week and daylight till dark”, Marvin Earl related.

Some campers would bring their own cars—not nice ones like they bring over now, but junk or old cars.  When the cars died, they were left in place or hauled in position to create a wall between the camps and surf—expecting a dune to form from entrapped sand.

“The beach was wide back then—now it is mostly gone.”

One off- season, the Coast Guard hired Murphy to bring bags of gravel over to the Cape to be used in construction of a new septic system for the station.  They utilized two ex-Army weapons carriers with balloon tires to move the gravel/rock once at the Cape.

Another year, Murphy was hired by General Motors to transport the gear and vehicles to the Cape to make a TV commercial.  A new Chevrolet was blown up as film rolled.  Lights and other film gear was transported.  Marvin Earl relates that a beach buggy was blown up as well—probably as practice before actual filming.

Before the fishing camps, Marvin was a shrimper and commercial fisherman.  He had been in the Coast Guard and stationed in Morehead City during WWII,  He was involved in anti-submarine warfare off the coast….his base was on the Morehead shore.

In the end, Marvin sold everything he could.  Marvin offered the camp to Marvin Earl, who turned it down.  The  individual cabins were sold to “different ones”—but  no one went on to run a fishing camp. They were bought for personal use.

Marvin “got cancer and died at 55”…. 5-27-1975.

Marvin Grey Murphy  b. 2-19-1920  (listed as Marvin Gray Murphy)—parents: Guy Murphy and Olive Babbitt

Marvin Earl Murphy b. 10-2-42 —parents Marvin “Grey” Murphy and Mabel Forrest Davis