For over two and a quarter centuries, the Cupola House has stood watch from the north shore of Edenton Bay. It was built in 1758 by Francis Corbin, land agent for John Carteret, Earl of Granville. Carteret was one of the last famous Lords Proprietors who, in the 17th century, acquired vast territories south of Virginia from King Charles II. Corbin died in 1767, and Dr. Samuel Dickinson purchased the house the following year. His descendants called the Cupola House home for over 141 years.

With limited income, the last of the family were unable to properly maintain the house. Weather and time eventually took its toll. The Cupola House’s once formal gardens were overgrown and neglected. Exterior paint was worn away, and the building was suffering from disrepair. Its loving, but impoverished, owners found no recourse but to sell off family treasures, such as the magnificent first floor Georgian woodworks. The house was threatened, and an historic landmark was near death.