All the proceeds made at this cool shop benefit the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, the non-profit group that protects and cares for the northern beaches’ herd of wild Colonial Spanish Mustangs. Both Wild Horse Museum shops (1129 Corolla Village Road in Corolla and 1177 Duck Road, Scarborough Faire in Duck) feature everything for any age of horse lover. The shop staff can fill you in on the horse tours they offer and the mission of the Wild Horse Fund. Stop in, get educated, go horse crazy and help support a worthy cause! Shop for the official Corolla Wild Horse Fund calendar, local and California wines; etched wine glasses; pottery by local and American craftsman; dream catcher jars, horses, and coasters; note pads; horsehair bracelets;  earrings; sea glass jewelry; pashminas; key chains; plush horses; puzzles; tote bags; “Saving the Horses of Kings,” (the only book written exclusively about the wild horses of Corolla);  koozies;  hoodies; a wild horse documentary on DVD; long and short sleeve T-shirts;  pillows; switch plates; night lights; postcards; Breyer horses; necklaces; zippered and crew neck sweat shirts; horse books; matted photographs; cards; and so much more! The Corolla Wild Horse Museum Store is open year round and the Duck store is seasonal. Call for hours.


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The Cotton Gin

The Cotton Gin

For those traveling to the Outer Banks, The Cotton Gin is a beloved landmark with its large windmill and picturesque gardens. The Cotton Gin has stood in the same location since 1929, starting as a working cotton gin and growing to a gift store with 4 locations. Visitors are treated to a unique shopping experience in our main store in Jarvisburg, as well as our beach stores in Corolla, Duck, and Nags Head. Explore room after room filled with décor for your home and coastal fashions for both men and women. Discover the brands you really want, like, Vera Bradley, Vineyard Vines, La Mer Luex, Simply Southern, Lindsay Phillips, Scout, Pandora, Kameleon, Brighton, Spartina, Tommy Bahama, Southern Tide and Salt Life and Old Guys Rule - all under one roof!

 

Don’t forget the gourmet market, or shop our beautiful linens for your bedroom and bath. We also feature coastal books and fine art, or just a whimsical fun gift to bring home to family and friends. Stop by soon and don’t forget to try our estate grown wines in our stores or visit our vineyard and winery, Sanctuary Vineyards, located adjacent to the original Cotton Gin in Jarvisburg.

 

Most know The Cotton Gin as a must-stop shop for fine gifts, beachwear, souvenirs and so much more, but this retailer has a long-standing history within the Outer Banks. A local landmark that holds almost a century of memories, The Cotton Gin started from humble beginnings and continues to adapt to the times and tourists. Tommy Wright’s family has been in the Outer Banks for nearly 200 years. His great-great grandfather, Jacob Francis Wright, shipwrecked in Duck back in the early 1800s. Calling these barrier islands his new home, Wright and his family acclimated to their new environment.

 

Adaptation is a common theme for the Wright family. Tommy and his wife Candace, who continue to steer The Cotton Gin, have seen not only their business change with the times, but the Outer Banks as a vacation destination as well. A farm market in Jarvisburg eventually transformed and flourished into several retail locations dotting the Outer Banks.

 

“As the area changed and tourism took off in the 1960s, the family saw people coming for vacations, so they began to grow vegetables and things developed from there,” says Tommy Wright. The Wright family expanded upon the farm market and began to remodel a working cotton gin, later transforming the gin into The Cotton Gin general store in the late 1960s. While the additions to the farm store drew visitors, it was their encounters with the Wright family that kept people coming back year after year, which is something that remains true today.

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