Research

Some of the most exiting things to have been discovered in the past year are photographs of Mrs. Knight. Previously, we could only speculate on what she looked like. One of our researchers tracked down a descendant of Mrs. Knight's aunt who had old family photo albums in his attic. One photograph which can be seen on the home page is of Mr. and Mrs. Knight with her little white dog. Long time residents of Corolla remember hearing tales of this little dog.


Sisters - The photograph here is of Mrs. Knight (right) with her younger sister Claire Amanda LeBel and was probably taken in the late nineteenth century. Claire Amanda was a nurse who lived in Manchester, New Hampshire. She often visited her sister. The descendant who gave us the photographs said that his mother had written a description of Mrs. Knight on the back of the first photograph. The description says that Mrs. Knight had been married twice to wealthy men and for a time she was an actress. We are trying to find out more about this. We would love to hear from any one who has information on the Knights and their family members. More information on the Knight's guests and members of their staff is also being sought.  Photo courtesy of Ron Bouchard.

Recently, another mystery associated with the Whalehead Club has been solved.  Expert testing has determined that many of the architectural and decorative details that were used were previously part of another building.  A short time ago, a descendant of one of the Knight's employees in Middletown, Rhode Island discovered old photographs of a house that sports some of the exact architectural details that are on the Whalehead Club.  We believe that the house in these photographs was Caprice, a building that was torn down by Mrs. Knight and replaced. Photo courtesy of Brad Hamilton.

The Whalehead Preservation Trust is now in the furnishing stage of the restoration. Active research is being done on how the Knight's furnished and decorated their house. Four photographs were discovered in the UNC Archives that show one view each of the library, dining room, Mrs. Knight's room, and Mr. Knight's room. These photographs have been an invaluable help but we would love to see more rooms and views. Often people think that a photograph is of no consequence because they can not identify the people in the photographs, but it is in the background details that much information can be gleaned. If anyone has photographs from the Whalehead Club, please let us know.

Ideally the Knight's original furniture is wanted. In fact, we recently acquired the chair in this photograph.  Not all of the Knight's furniture was of an extremely high quality. Many pieces in the guest and staff rooms were probably medium quality, quite ordinary furniture. If you remember what any of the original furnishings looked like, we would be interested in hearing from you.

One of the newest research projects is finding out how the kitchen was furnished during the Knight's time. This kitchen is getting ready to go under restoration. We know that the Knights owned the newest style of Frigidaire of the day. They also had a stove that used both coal and gas. We believe that a butcher block table was in the center of the room. More information is being sought. For example, what dishes were served, what did the pots and pans look like, and where were they kept, are all questions that need answers.

If you have even the smallest bit of information on the Whalehead Club's furnishings during the Knights time please email the Curator, Jill Landen.

Other members of the research team include:

Jean Dunbar, Historic Interiors Consultant 

Carren Kaston, Consultant Historical Research