Wrightsville Beach is a town located in New Hanover County in the state of North Carolina, United States of America. Located immediately east of Wilmington, the city of Wrightsville Beach is a member of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time of the 2010 census, the population was 2,477 people.
In addition to a 4-mile (6-kilometer) long beach island, the town also includes an internal island known as Harbor Island and small pockets of commercial property on the mainland. It was used as a filming site for the television show Dawson’s Creek.
The oldest recorded history of present-day Wrightsville Beach dates back to 1725, when the Lord’s Proprietor granted land to Charles Harrison. This was the beginning of the area’s documented history. The land grant covered 640 acres (259 ha) and was placed north of the present-day Hiede Trask Bridge, which spans the Intracoastal Waterway. It was the first time that a formal ownership of land along the shore was established.
During the 1700s and 1800s, the Hammocks were accessible from the mainland by a footbridge; however, the beach itself could only be reached by boat at the time. The Carolina Yacht Club was started in 1883 by seven local men who shared a passion for sailing and boat racing.
It is currently ranked as the seventh-oldest yacht club in the United States of America. It was the first permanent construction on the shore, and it could only be reached by boat at the time. This was followed by the construction of a few scattered houses and the establishment of business structures on what was then known as Ocean View Beach.
Originally known as Wrightsville, the community was named after Joshua G. Wright of Wilmington (1842-1890), who founded a local real estate company. In 1881, a post office named Wrightsville was established in the vicinity. Shell Road, which runs from Wilmington to the edge of the current Intracoastal Waterway, was finished in 1887, making it easier to get to the beach and enjoy the scenery.
Wrightsville Beach was established in 1899 as a municipality in honor of the Wright family of Wilmington and the settlement of Wrightsville on the mainland side of Harbor Island, which served as the inspiration for the name.
Wrightsville Beach has been through a lot of storms. In the year 1899, two deadly storms struck the United States. The first hurricane of the season struck on August 17, making landfall on the North Carolina coast and wreaking havoc on Wrightsville Beach. On November 1, during high tide, a second storm made landfall just south of Wrightsville Beach, just south of the first.