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Historic Buildings
 The
Samuel Leffers Cottage is a perfect example of a “story
and a jump” or a story-and-a-half style house that was
typical in Beaufort’s colonial time. The cottage is
distinctive of the house that would have been occupied
by a local fisherman, whaler, or even the local
schoolmaster. It was once the home of Samuel Leffers.
Samuel Leffers was born in 1736 in Hempstead, Long
Island, New York. He came to Beaufort in 1764 as the
“sober and discreet qualified man” recruited to teach at
the Beaufort school that was established under the terms
of a Mr. James Winwright’s will. Two years later Leffers
met and married Sarah Hampton, probably the daughter of
Thomas Hampton, a local shoemaker. They had five
children.
While the Winwright will also made provisions for a
house for the schoolmaster, it was destroyed in a fire
set by the British in 1782 along with the schoolhouse.
Luckily, Mr. Leffers had a plot of land that he
originally purchased in 1775 for 30 shillings ($240.47)
from the town commissioners. The small house that he
built on the land is what is now called the Samuel
Leffers Cottage. The Leffers family lived in this house
for approximately 3 years.
In his almost 58 years in Beaufort, Samuel Leffers was a
very active member of the community. Though he came to
Beaufort to be the new schoolmaster, Leffers was also a
planter, surveyor, clerk of court and merchant. He died
on October 2, 1822 at 86 years of age.
The Daniels family of Charlotte and Beaufort,
descendants of Leffers, gave the Samuel Leffers Cottage
to the Beaufort Historical Association in 1983. It was
moved to the Historic Site from its original location at
the corner of Live Oak Street and Front Street in July
of the same year. Today, descendants hold their family
reunion in this house and support its continued
restoration through a special endowment.
 The
Beaufort Historical Association now uses the Leffers
Cottage as an educational tool for the next generation.
The rustic atmosphere allows children and adults alike
to see what it was like to live in the early 1700s. From
demonstrations of open hearth cooking to watching
weavers work on historic looms every Monday and
Wednesday, you can experience a time before electricity
and modern conveniences.
Leffers Cottage, c1778
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Carteret County Courthouse, c1796 | John
C. Manson House, c1825 |
Josiah Bell House, c1825
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The Old Jail, c1829 |
The Apothecary Shop
and Doctor’s Office, c1859
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