299 NC Hwy 101

Beaufort, NC 28516

252.728.4611

countyhome@embarqmail.com

Here's what some of our guests are saying about their stay at the County Home B&B...

"What fun we had staying at your B&B. Walked right in and felt right at home. Am so glad we picked "the County Home"   Ian and Lynn Duguid

"...the atmosphere of home away from home is so comfortable and relaxing"  Dan & Katie Gillahan

"...This place is a gem!" Greg and Sylvia Fedro

"It is so clean, comfy and cozy and all the information on your web site tells it exactly like it is."  Keith and Mary Harrell

"A very welcoming, special place. Even my dog, Thatcher, felt lots of love and at home here - we'll be back" Kathie Hubbard.

Julian and Betty Rogers just happened upon the "County Home" on their way to buy one of Harkers Islands famous crab pot trees and were so pleased to find such a welcoming and relaxing place to rest after their search for the "perfect tree" 

"It's a fantastic B&B at a perfect location" Jan and Mary Phillips

"Best blueberry muffins ever"  Linda and Robert Garza

"What a darling place! Loved the decor and the donuts were delicious"  Perry and Greg Powell

"We came 3000 miles to stay here! Zoe picked this as her top vacation spot because of Charlotte (the dog!) The decor is lovely and all your personal touches are terrific." Betsy, Avery and Zoe Krut

"We're quitting our jobs up north and moving in permanently! Thanks for your hospitality and for making us feel so welcomed!"  Jim and Julie Wile

"Truly a wedding to remember that our family celebrated here together"  Roy and Sheila Kouba

"Another divine visit to "the home"  Thanks isn't enough for the great time we had here. Charlotte's the best! Dawn and Thom Wilkinson ("the piano man")

"Terry and Nan seem like family as they always welcome us with enthusiasm.  What a treasure and a place for making memories." Sam and Ann Bagley (who were "charter guests" having stayed in one of the first rooms completed while the remainder of the building was being renovated. We thank them for their sense of adventure!!)

"What a perfect time to come-when your gardens are in full bloom."   Pat and Becky Fay

"The surroundings are lovely! The decorating details are so pretty and the hot muffins in the colorful baskets were great to wake up to. Thanks to our gracious hosts and of course, Charlotte (the dog!) for making us feel so welcome."  Stephen and Sherrill Weary.

Here's what Randall and Maryellen Duckett are saying about us in their new book,

"100 Secrets of the Carolina Coast...

"Going to the Poor House"

If you come across a brochure for the Carteret County Home Bed and Breakfast, one of two things will happen. You’ll either be scared away by the owners’ promise of "grumpy hosts, a nasty cat, lumpy beds and bad food" or you’ll be curious enough about what a poor house turned bed-and-breakfast looks like that you’ll drive the mile out of downtown Beaufort, North Carolina, to have a look. The first choice may seem the wiser one, but opt for the second! You’ll be pleasantly surprised, and you’ll decide either the owners - Terry and Nan O’Pray - have a great sense of humor or simply a misguided marketing campaign.

The Carteret County Home was indeed a poor house from 1914 when it was built until 1942 when Social Security was enacted and Carteret County decided it didn’t need to lodge its poor, aged, and infirm. The next year it re-opened as a place to house farm laborers helping with the war effort, and then it as converted into apartments. By the mid-sixties the place was abandoned and was one step away from the wrecking ball in 1996 when Terry purchased it, unbeknownst to Nan.

"We were living on our boat in Naples, Florida and I came home one day to find Terry rocking in a deck chair with cigar and mint julep in hand announcing that WE are the proud owners of a ‘plantation’ in North Carolina," recalls Nan. "Then he showed me pictures of this place that was literally falling down, and though pictures are worth a thousand words, I had only two…’oh, no!’"

After the shock wore off, or maybe before it fully set in, the O’Prays set sail for Beaufort and began the backbreaking work of turning an eyesore into a unique and comfortable home away from home for travelers. With lots of sweat, probably more than a few tears, and perhaps some Irish luck, Terry and Nan have resurrected a pearl from what could have easily become a parking lot. And their pride and joy is far from poor or grumpy or lumpy.

The Carteret County Home doesn’t bear the least resemblance to the stereotypical Victorian home most people imagine when they picture a bed and breakfast. It’s a long Federal-style building of ten rooms, each with private entrances strung along long porches that run along the front and back of the building. Each room is actually a tastefully decorated studio apartment complete with kitchenette and dining area, a small refrigerator stocked with juices, fruit and yogurt, and some rooms even have stove tops for heating up mugs of late night cocoa or preparing a light meal. There are private baths with showers, cable television, VCR, and phones in every room, plus the O’Prays’ careful attention to quality and detail. Terry, a building contractor, and Nan personally renovated each unit. And since there was no running water, electricity, or insulation back in 1914, the O’Prays basically kept the shell of the original building and created everything else from scratch. The gleaming hardwood floors, freshly painted walls, crisp linens and warm, antique accents make each unit a welcoming place to call home for a night, a week or even a month.

Mornings brings the O’Prays, wicker basket in hand, to the door delivering fresh muffins and bagels. And if there’s a nasty cat she keeps herself scarce; instead Nan is often accompanied by the lovable Charlotte, a golden retriever mix who found the O’Prays one day and decided to call the Carteret County home her home too.

Sitting out on the long front porch where the less fortunate county residents once swapped tales of woe, you can watch your kids play croquet on the front lawn or wave to the neighbors driving by. You get the idea from their quizzical looks that some of them couldn’t imagine paying good money to stay in the poor house, but obviously they’ve never been on a tour of the updated, O’Pray version, which is now listed on the National Register Historic Places.
 

Some long-time residents of the county remember being afraid of the home when they were children," says Nan. "Since we moved in we’ve been embraced by the community for taking on this project, though. Their words of encouragement really kept us going when we got overwhelmed."

*This is a wonderful new book that explores the beaches and back roads of North and South Carolina and should be your premier travel guide.  We highly recommend it and we can't wait for our "off season" so we too can discover the secrets of our coast.  For more information on the book, e-mail Randall and Maryellen at Carolinas@100Secrets.com.