Terry Dedmon Camp

Story
Decoys
Credits

Dedmon camp on south end of Sterling dixon camps

🟡 AVERAGE RESEARCH VOLUME

OWNERS

Terry Dedmon

late 60s and 1970s

OTHER ASSOCIATIONS

Sterling Dixon

LOCATION
Southern Core Banks, at Sterling Dixon camp–across form Davis NC

Story

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Terry Dedmon

Terry had a long standing association with Sterling Dixon. This camp, like most in this area, supported fishing adventures on the Banks.

Terry Baxter Dedmon (excerpts from interview 3-25-2022)

Leaving Davis, from Sterling Dixon’s dock–reaching the banks, the water was shallow–channels led to different camp sites.

Photo of Sterling with a boat loaded with fishermen was typical of a Saturday morning trip. Vehicles had to wait for later trips. Sterling kept a waterproof structure on a pole at the dock–a book inside was a site to write what you needed–bread, etc.–later that day, it would be on your porch or steps.

Through the shallows–approaching the camp

About one mile down from Sterling Dixon (click for more about Sterling Dixon) was Marvin Murphy’s camps–off the first channel to the south.

Sterling Dixon had more than 30 camps at his landing–more density because he had taken a well rig over and dug a deep well to provide water–not for drinking but for other uses–if you had a cabin from him, you could have water for showers, bathroom etc–there was a large tank elevated and connected to a gasoline engive powered pump that kept the tank filled.

Dixon camp area

A variety of camp structures “grew up” in the area

Sterling developed heart trouble in his 50s and offered Terry the sale of his camps. Algier eventually bought them, expanding his holdings.

Carlie Willis had camps set off to the north on a seperate channel branch–about 10 cabins

Sterling and later Algier, positioned cars in an arc betwen surf and camps–to catch sand and develope dunes–he would stack other cars atop cars for developing dunes–this caused ocean overwash to be deflected around the camp area and to the sound at its margins–the NPS removed the cars at takeover and “the next storm took things away”.

Abandoned cars were widespread–often left where they “died”

Terry Dedmon and friends placed their camp 600 feet or so to the south —away from the others and outside the man-made dune–they elevated their camp on pilings for protection. The camp was built by Leonard Aluminum Products in his hometown near Mocksville snd with special highway permit—carried it to Davis. Marvin murphy was completing his new shrimp trawler and the deck was completed without rigging as yet–the camp was loaded onto the trawler and taken over—their truck was loaded onto Sterling’s boat and taken over–passing the trawler and offloading to be ready to remove the camp structure from Marvin’s boat..

After the task, Terry went to pay and Sterling said “just give me $20”—Terry replied-”I;m not going to give you $20”–Sterling-”why, do you think it’s too much”—-Terry-”N0, I’m going to give you $200”–a fee Terry split between he and other owners.

Loading the new camp onto Marvin Murphy’s boat

The trip over to the Banks

Marvin Murphy’s trawler, the Miss Paula, lies rotting ashore in Marshallberg

Setting up on th site

Algier rented rooms in his home for fishermen and hunters coming in–in the morning , you went down to the kitchen for breakfsst. If you didn’t stay there, you could still walk-in for breakfast. This is what Terry and friends did–often arriving in Davis at 3-4 am for the trip over–waiting for the second load so their jeep could go across, they went up for breakfast thru the path from Sterling’s landing.

You could rent a cabin for $3 per head and a beach buggy for $10-$15 per day-providing your own gas. Once they owned their cabin, they could pay $2 per head for having supplies brought over and being looked after.

Mike Wagoner and George Johnson inside the camp with Terry

Screenshot

Addition attached for the bathroom/shower

Terry’s camp added-on a bathroom and shower to the structure carried over. They dug and buried their garbage.

“I always wanted that beach buggy”-relating to photo of an army 4-wheel truck with cabin built atop.

One photo shows telephone poles disappearing into the water–the NPS cut them off at the ground/ or water level–after exploding the new inlet, tidal wash moved the sand and uncovered them again along with large changes in banks shorelines in the area.

One pic shows the 40-some Dodge beach buggy Terry had–with “suicide doors”.

Les and Sally, he told, owned land at the Cape bight going from sound to ocean–Les offered and planned to use his home-made wrecker to tow Terry’s camp down to his property along with a select few others, to help them avoid the NPS takeover mandates. Little did he know that they would lose their land and store and not even recieve a 25 year lease.

Les had a rope fence marking off his land–a sign asked people to stay out, “except fishermen, who it said could pass through or use the area.

Les kept the flats cleared for planes to land–one pic shows a plane on the area.