Midgett, Rasmus, House
Why it's listed
This two-story frame house on Hatteras Island in Waves, North Carolina, grew from a mid-nineteenth-century hall-parlor dwelling into a central-passage house with a rear kitchen ell around 1890. It has wood shingle and weatherboard siding, brick chimneys at the gable ends and a porch across the front. A 1937 hurricane pushed it off its foundation, and it was moved about 200 feet to face the road. A family cemetery with graves from the 1860s onward lies behind it. The house is best known as the lifelong home of Rasmus Midgett, a surfman at the Gull Shoal life-saving station. During Hurricane San Ciriaco in August 1899 he rescued ten sailors from the wrecked ship Priscilla, entering the surf repeatedly, and he later received a Gold Life-Saving Medal. The house is also valued as a surviving example of a vernacular type built by fishing and life-saving families during the island's building boom of about 1890 to 1920. A restoration took place between 2007 and 2009.
Significance in brief: It is tied to Rasmus Midgett (1851-1926), a U.S. Life-Saving Service surfman who received a Gold Life-Saving Medal for rescuing ten sailors from the wreck of the Priscilla in 1899. It is also a well-preserved and increasingly rare example of the two-story, single-pile frame house with rear kitchen ell found on Hatteras Island.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 09000847, listed October 21, 2009. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 25438 NC Hwy 12, Waves |
|---|---|
| County | Dare County |
| Listed | October 21, 2009 |
| Reference number | 09000847 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1890; 1899 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Other: Vernacular Two-story, Single-pile House |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Maritime History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Restored 2007-2009; current function listed as commerce (business) with a cemetery on the grounds. The house was moved about 200 feet after a 1937 storm. |
| Acreage | 4.5 |
| Coordinates | 35.54529, -75.47155 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 09000847.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18217062
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.