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C−History
History · Wrightsville Beach

Wrightsville Beach dates to 1853

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Wrightsville Beach was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1942 on, and the census since 1900.

1853founded
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wrightsville Beach’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wrightsville Beach began

When was Wrightsville Beach founded?

1853

Wrightsville Beach dates its founding to 1853 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 22 in 19002020 census: 2,473173 years

How historic is Wrightsville Beach?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1941.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wrightsville Beach’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wrightsville Beach is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wrightsville Beach’s overall grade.
Founding era1853, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.0% of homes (±3.7) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NC town 12.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder

North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Wrightsville Beach’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1853.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Wrightsville Beach’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.Lost villages5 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · People over time

Wrightsville Beach, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000190019201940196019802000202054 in 1910Low: 20

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wrightsville Beach’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Wrightsville Beach’s post office has been open since 1941.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Channel AcresMelrose Mobile Home ParkParmele IslesShell IslandShore Acres

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Wrightsville Beach came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wrightsville Beach.

Read it all →

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 640 acres (259 ha) 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.

ChaptersEstablishmentDevelopment

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wrightsville Beach, 1853 to 1998

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853
    FoundingWrightsville Beach is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1941Post officeThe Wrightsville Beach post office opens
  5. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 2,937
  7. 1998In the archiveFEMA - 792 - Photograph by FEMA News Photo taken on 09-22-1998 in North Carolina
By decade

Wrightsville Beach, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s8 items
FEMA - 792 - Photograph by FEMA News Photo taken on 09-22-1998 in North Carolina1998FEMA - 792 - Photograph by FEMA News Photo taken on 0…FEMA - 794 - Photograph by FEMA News Photo taken on 09-22-1998 in North Carolina1998FEMA - 794 - Photograph by FEMA News Photo taken on 0…FEMA - 797 - Photograph by FEMA News Photo taken on 09-22-1998 in North Carolina1998FEMA - 797 - Photograph by FEMA News Photo taken on 0…FEMA - 799 - Photograph by FEMA News Photo taken on 09-22-1998 in North Carolina1998FEMA - 799 - Photograph by FEMA News Photo taken on 0…FEMA - 147 - Photograph by Dave Gatley taken on 09-16-1999 in North Carolina1999FEMA - 147 - Photograph by Dave Gatley taken on 09-16…FEMA - 198 - Photograph by Dave Gatley taken on 09-16-1999 in North Carolina1999FEMA - 198 - Photograph by Dave Gatley taken on 09-16…FEMA - 199 - Photograph by Dave Gatley taken on 09-16-1999 in North Carolina1999FEMA - 199 - Photograph by Dave Gatley taken on 09-16…FEMA - 28 - Photograph by Dave Saville taken on 10-12-1999 in North Carolina1999FEMA - 28 - Photograph by Dave Saville taken on 10-12…
Today15 recent
Sunrise At The Blockade Runner2013Sunrise At The Blockade RunnerStorm On The Horizon2013Storm On The HorizonFire On The Water2013Fire On The WaterBoating Into The Mist2013Boating Into The MistBirds At Sunrise2013Birds At SunriseWrightsville Beach 22012Wrightsville Beach 2Wrightsville Beach 12012Wrightsville Beach 1WrightsvilleBeach2009WrightsvilleBeachUS Navy 091107-N-9936B-656 Hospital Corpsman Derrick Cooper, assigned to Operational Support Unit Wilmington, hands a w…2009US Navy 091107-N-9936B-656 Hospital Corpsman Derrick …US Navy 091107-N-9936B-031 Damage Controlman 3rd Class John Pate, assigned to Operational Support Unit Wilmington, hand…2009US Navy 091107-N-9936B-031 Damage Controlman 3rd Clas…Wrightsville Beach Sunrise-275272007Wrightsville Beach Sunrise-27527Wrightsville Beach Sunrise-27527-22007Wrightsville Beach Sunrise-27527-2Wrightsville Beach Pano-275272007Wrightsville Beach Pano-27527Wrightsville Beach2006Wrightsville BeachNCMap-doton-WrightsvilleBeach2004NCMap-doton-WrightsvilleBeach
On the map

Wrightsville Beach on the map, 1942 to 1997

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wrightsville Beach. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Wrightsville Beach on the 1942 USGS mapWrightsville Beach on the 1970 USGS mapWrightsville Beach on the 1997 USGS map1942Wilmington sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wrightsville Beach.

Famous people

Famous people close to Wrightsville Beach

Nobody well known was born in Wrightsville Beach itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Ariana DeBoseAmerican actress · b. 1991
Sugar Ray LeonardAmerican boxer · b. 1956
Charlie DanielsAmerican singer and musician · b. 1936
Lara TrumpAmerican television producer and campaign advis… · b. 1982
John Baptista AsheAmerican politician · b. 1748
William Shepperd AsheAmerican politician · b. 1814
Help out

Finish Wrightsville Beach’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFEMA - 792 - Photograph by FEMA News Ph…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Wrightsville Beach’s history

What year was Wrightsville Beach founded?

In 1853, according to Wikidata. Wrightsville Beach’s post office opened in 1941, and the census of 1900 counted 22 people here.

How does Wrightsville Beach rank for history?

Wrightsville Beach is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Wrightsville Beach?

8% of Wrightsville Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1978.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (23), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.