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Beautiful Oak Island
Oak Island Beach Access
Town of Oak Island

Beautiful Oak Island

Nancy Wilson, a long time Oak Island resident and employee, remembers that 1983 marked a turning point for development on Oak Island, especially for the Town of Long Beach. “We experienced a selling frenzy and building boom that lasted from 1983 through 1985.

“The businesses we had on the island were comparable to the ones we have now, just not nearly as many. We had about four or five seafood restaurant. Then, as now, the main one was Jones’. If you were raised in the area, you worked at Jones’ Restaurant at some time or another. We had one large grocery store, the Red and White, owned and operated by John W. Vereen, II. There were several other mom and pop convenience store operations.

“We had three very active fishing piers, the Yaupon Beach Fishing Pier, the Ocean Crest Fishing Pier and - what was known as the longest pier in North Carolina - the Long Beach Pier, which was torn down in 2006 to make way for residential development.

Flourishing Real Estate

“As usual in a tourist related area, there were just a plenty real estate offices, the main ones at that time were Shannon Realty, Conley Realty, Margaret Rudd and Associates, Canal Associates, Cape Fear Realty owned and operated by Tommy Bowmer, Ferrell Real Estate, and (the original one) Real Estate Services owned and operated by Ed Morgan.

“It was strictly a family atmosphere. Of course, during the summer it would get busy, but during the winter it was a quiet and peaceful little town. We had three churches, the Ocean View Methodist Church, the First Baptist Church of Oak Island, and the Oak Island Presbyterian Church. Everyone enjoyed living in the close knit neighborhood; fishing was good and we loved attending our churches.”

Nancy Wilson lived in Oak Island for 13 years before building a home in Southport in 1985. She was employed by the Town of Long Beach for eight years, for Yaupon Beach for 13 years and has worked for Oak Island ever since the two towns consolidated in July 1999. She says Southport and Oak Island are among the loves of her life.