Salvo Post Office
Also known as: United States Post Office,Salvo,NC
Why it's listed
Measuring only eight by twelve feet, this wood-frame building in Salvo on Hatteras Island served as the community's post office for most of the twentieth century. Lafayette Douglas, a fisherman and carpenter, built it around 1910 for his wife, postmistress Marcie Douglas. It stood in a postmaster's yard like an outbuilding, and succeeding postmasters bought it and moved it to their own property, so it occupied three sites. It has a vertical tongue-and-groove exterior, a steep gable roof and two small rooms, a lobby and a workroom. Most Outer Banks post offices of the period were in stores or homes, which makes a purpose-built one unusual. In 1988 the Postal Service ranked it the second smallest post office in the nation. An arson fire in October 1992 damaged it, and community volunteers restored it by May 1993 under State Historic Preservation Office supervision. It is significant for its place in local postal history and as a vernacular building type.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is a rare surviving example of an uncommon Outer Banks building type, a structure built specifically as a post office rather than housed in a store or home. Under Criterion A it represents early twentieth-century postal service as a source of identity for a remote island community. Under Criterion C it is a vernacular building type adapted to an unusual community use.
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 93000997, listed September 23, 1993. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | NC 12 W side, 0.1 mi. S of jct. with Park Rd., Salvo |
|---|---|
| County | Dare County |
| Listed | September 23, 1993 |
| Reference number | 93000997 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1910-1943 |
| Architect / builder | Douglas, Lafayette |
| Architectural style | OTHER: plain gable-front building |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed function is vacant/not in use. A fire in October 1992 damaged the building, and it was restored by early May 1993 with community funds and labor; supporters were seeking to reopen it as a post office. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 35.54014, -75.47373 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 93000997.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18217216
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.