Hampstead

Hampstead, the fastest growing community in Pender County, has absolutely no valid statistics about growth rates available. Why? Because the fastest growing community is unincorporated, with nebulous boundaries, no government other than the county government that is headquartered more than 25 miles away in Burgaw, and no local zoning laws.

What has developed in Hampstead is an area with a number of things going for it. There is a good school system, thanks in no small part to the supportive parents of the students who attend them. There is a library in Hampstead that is about to expand, thanks to the dedicated efforts over many years of a group known as the Friends of the Library. Hampstead’s close proximity to two fabulous beaches – Topsail Island is about 20 minutes north and Wrightsville Beach is about 20 minutes south – and easy access to the attractions in Wilmington are among the appeals. Taxes in Pender County are very modest and housing prices are relatively low. The types of homes available are diverse too, with everything from modest bungalows to huge multistory mansions facing the Intracoastal Waterway available. The community is diverse, stretching as it does from the Intracoastal to more than five miles inland.

There are still farms in Hampstead, though more and more are being sold off for residential development. Nonetheless, you can buy goat cheese on-site from the farmer who makes it. Fresh vegetables are available in season and you can pick your own blueberries and blackberries from the farm where they are grown.
Fish and seafood can be purchased from those who caught it, and fish is packed, processed and shipped on a daily basis from Atlantic Seafood Company located in Hampstead to the major markets on the East Coast, including New York City. Hampstead, by the way, bills itself as the seafood capital of the Carolinas, and no one has disputed that.