· Built in the early 1700’s as an “ordinary” or an inn. Some say it was built by ship captains or pirates to provide a sanctuary and a guide when entering Topsail Inlet.
· Some say that Blackbeard had The Hammock House built and stayed there very frequently, rowing in from his ship in The Creek and tying his dingy to the front porch. Some say there was treasure buried in the yard.
· The Town Court and the Town meeting of commissioners met in the Hammock House in 1727, after a hurricane destroyed both the schoolhouse and the courthouse.
· The Hammock House was also used as a schoolhouse following the burning of the existing schoolhouse in 1782 by the British.
· It is possible and logical that the Hammock House was used as a fortified shelter for the settlers. Longtime residents say there was a tunnel from the house to the creek that formerly existed to the east. The tunnel was used as an escape route from the house. Under the Hammock House parlor, one can still see where a trap door was cut after the house was built. This trap door led to the tunnel.
· Legend has it that Blackbeard captured a ship off of Cape Lookout, made the entire crew walk the plank, except for a young girl, whom he brought, screaming, to the Hammock House. On the next full moon, he hung her, still screaming, from a Live Oak tree in the yard. He buried her body in the yard and left. Some say that you can still hear her screaming on a full moon when walking past the house.
· Over the years, the entire yard of the house has been dug up by treasure seekers. If any has been found, it has not been reported.
· According to family history, the Rustuls were living at the Hammock House in 1747. The story is that Richard, returning that year from a sea voyage, took a slave up to the 3rd floor to beat him. The slave broke away, pushing Richard down the steep steps to his death. The family covered up the cause of his death. Various legends about returning blood stains on the stairs and of a roaming ghost have evolved from this tale. Another version of this story has Rustul returning to find his wife with another man and was killed during the ensuing duel.
· One Spanish pirate, during the invasion of 1747, was cornered and caught in the attic of The Hammock House, where he was killed on the spot.
