About PHT

Peaked Hill Trust was founded in 1986 with the principal mission to protect, maintain and preserve for use, primitive cottages owned by the National Park Service in the Provincelands of the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Central to this mission is the goal of providing time and space in the dune colony to artists and makers, as well as the community-at-large, predicated on the belief that low-impact living in the unique beauty and solitude of the Outer Banks is of intrinsic value to all people. 

In the beginning, many shacks were slated for demolition. Original shack owners Hazel Werner, Boris Margo, and Zara Ofsevit generously offered PHT the use of their cottages for a pilot project dedicated to shack preservation. After their deaths, the Seashore allowed the Trust to continue with a year-to-year special lease. Today, PHT manages five dune shacks: Euphoria, Thalassa, Zara, Margo-Gelb/Boris and Ray Wells with the same terms. At present, efforts are underway to expand the Trust’s lease with the park to five years.

PHT shacks are maintained by dedicated volunteers and are available by lottery to Trust members and through juried residencies on a weekly basis May through October. To participate in the lottery, members must renew annually by December 31.  The PHT lottery system is designed in such a way that members who don’t receive a shack, move up on the lottery list each year so that over time, their chances of getting a shack increase.

The Trust’s five dune shacks are managed by 15 Board of Directors, 10 Board of Advisors, 12 Caretakers, 5 Exterior Maintenance Captains, 5 Interior Shack Captains, and 12 Utility Captains (Gas, Truck, Repairs, Privies, etc). Volunteer work hours average 672 annually.  Part time staff manage PHT operations and include an Executive Director, Administrative Director and Bookkeeper.

PHT manages two juried residency programs. The Outer Cape Artists in Residence Consortium (OCARC) is an arts residency founded by the National Seashore.  OCARC is made up of four non-profit organizations -- the Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill and the Peaked Hill Trust. Each year, OCARC awards six two-week art residencies at the Margo-Gelb/Boris shack.

PHT’s Arts and Science Program is managed by the Trust and is designed to encourage a broad sweep of creative projects in the arts and sciences over 12 weeks in each of the five PHT shacks.

A PHT year:

  • PHT’s calendar is 24 weeks long, running mid-May through mid-October

  • 84 weeks are awarded to PHT community members

  • 12 weeks are awarded to Arts + Science residents

  • 12 weeks are awarded to OCARC residents

  • 12 weeks are shared with volunteer caretakers, who provide essential transportation and shack orientation

  • In all, 120 shack weeks are occupied each season

Since organizing as a non-profit, PHT has:

  • Assisted in gaining eligibility in the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district worthy of preservation, which has protected the dune shacks from demolition.

  • Received support from local conservation, historic, and artistic organizations.

  • Hosted volunteer maintenance and repair gatherings each season to make the cottages habitable,  and ensure that these historic structures withstand the test of time.

  • Designed, built and maintained environmentally friendly composting privies.

  • Developed and managed the Arts and Science Residency Program offering 12 weeks of juried residencies in each of the 5 PHT managed shacks.

  • Managed the Outer Cape Artists in Residence Program (OCARC) that offers 12 weeks of juried residencies in the Margo-Gelb/Boris shack.

  • Sponsored annual exhibitions for OCARC and PHT’s Arts and Science residents in local exhibition spaces.

  • Helped the Cape Cod National Seashore to define conditions under which cottages might be leased through their Historic Leasing Program.

  • Collected affidavits, submitted to the CCNS, affirming the cultural and personal value of the cottages. Additional affidavits on file.

  • Published a book of art, prose and poetry on the dunes and dune cottages.

Looking Ahead

The Peaked Hill Trust’s 2024 priorities include:

  • Continued shack maintenance

  • Re-designing and stabilizing the well at Boris

  • Solar upkeep in all shacks

  • Peaked Hill Trust (PHT) truck maintenance

  • National Park Service (NPS) and Peaked Hill Trust (PHT) long-term lease secured

  • Residency scholarships expansion

  • Continued commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion

Support the Trust.

Peaked Hill Trust was formed as a non-profit organization dedicated to the maintenance and preservation of the dune shacks of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Whether you look forward to staying in the cottages in the future or simply agree with the idea that they belong in seashore, we invite you to make a contribution and thank you in advance for your generous support.