06/30/2023
Hatteras Island wasn’t always a tourist destination. It wasn’t always a national park.
As young adults, brothers Stockton and Anderson Midgett wanted more for the beloved seashore they so lovingly called “home”. They grew to have unmatched experience in tourism as they inherited the Manteo – Hatteras Bus Line only two months into its inception due to their father’s unexpected passing. It was his vision to fill gaps in transportation before the time of paved roads and bridges on Hatteras Island, to which they, along with their older brother, Harold, would successfully grow for the next 35 years.
As infrastructure finally came to the Outer Banks, they realized they could continue their life’s passion of sharing the island with the outside world, and really make something of this hidden gem in the process. Staying within that realm of hospitality and tourism, Midgett Realty was born along with a variety of other business ventures, and an assortment of campaigns to promote them. The young entrepreneurs would play an integral role in establishing the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on January 12, 1953, and they would also take part in promoting the Dare Coast Pirates Jamboree, a costume-heavy celebration created to get people to the Outer Banks. Stockton, Anderson, and other prominent island fixtures would travel off-island in their pirate gear, sporting real beards that they started growing months in advance, to promote the days-long festival that would include dune buggy racing, dory racing, elaborate fish fries and plenty of drink! Their life’s work would be to shape Hatteras Island just as much as it shaped them, setting the groundwork for this place that we know and love today.
Laid to rest in 2012 and 2019, respectively, Midgett Realty is still owned and operated by the children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren of Stockton and Anderson Midgett, touching every department, with guests frequenting from all over the United States, Canada, and beyond.
With deep island roots, when you stay with Midgett Realty, know that you are staying with THE local company on Hatteras Island. Locally grown, locally owned, internationally known!
