Wrightsville Beach

History

The first documented history of present-day Wrightsville Beach began when the Lords Proprietors granted land to Charles Harrison in 1725. The land grant was for located north of the present day Heide Trask Bridge that runs over the Intracoastal Waterway and was the first formal ownership of property near the beach. In the 1700 and 1800s the Hammocks (Harbor Island) were accessible by a footbridge from the mainland, but the beach itself was only accessible by boat. In 1853, the Carolina Yacht Club was founded by seven local men who loved to sail and race boats. It is currently known as the seventh oldest Yacht club in America. It was the first permanent structure on the beach and was only accessible by boat. This was followed by a few scattered cottages and commercial buildings began springing up on what was then known as Ocean View Beach. The town bears the name of Joshua G. Wright of Wilmington (1842–1890), who developed a local realtor company. A post office called Wrightsville was subsequently established in 1881. Accessibility to the beach improved in 1887 when Shell Road was completed, running from Wilmington to the edge of the current Intracoastal Waterway. The town was incorporated in 1899 as Wrightsville Beach, in honor of the Wright family of Wilmington and the community of Wrightsville on the mainland side of Harbor Island. By the late 1800s, ownership of the land had passed to the MacRae family of Wilmington. In 1887 passenger service began on the Wilmington Sea Coast Railroad from Wilmington, bringing people from downtown Wilmington to the edge of Bradley Creek. In 1889, the Ocean View Railroad built a track across Banks Channel to carry visitors to the oceanfront. Having already established a power generation company, in 1902 Hugh MacRae (March 30,…

Geography

The area's geography is composed of two islands separated by two different bodies of water. The Intercoastal Waterway separates the Hammocks from the mainland ("Hammocks" currently known as Harbor Island). The Hammocks are then separated from the beach by Banks Channel. Wrightsville Beach lies south of Figure Eight Island, separated by Mason's Inlet, and north of Masonboro Island, separated by Masonboro Inlet. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which 1.3 square miles (3.4 km2) is land and (44.40%) is water. Wrightsville Beach has used beach nourishment to replace eroded sand; storms including Hurricanes Bonnie and Floyd removed much of the sand placed during the 1998 nourishment project. The study found that about two-thirds of the 1998 nourishment fill disappeared from the above-water beach during its first year.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,838
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  8,860
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,079
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  7,653
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  7,619
• Laughing Gull

  Leucophaeus atricilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,861
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,688
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,334

Largest nearby schools

• John T Hoggard High
  High · Wilmington · 2,226 students · 19.9:1 ratio
• Emsley A Laney High
  High · Wilmington · 2,220 students · 18.8:1 ratio
• New Hanover High
  High · Wilmington · 1,466 students · 15:1 ratio
• Roland-Grise Middle
  Middle · Wilmington · 860 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• American Leadership Academy-Coastal
  Other · Wilmington · 777 students
• Williston Middle
  Middle · Wilmington · 683 students · 12.9:1 ratio
• Emma B Trask Middle
  Middle · Wilmington · 673 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• M C S Noble Middle
  Middle · Wilmington · 652 students · 16.7:1 ratio