page_title: Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
section_title: Establishment
hierarchical_section_title: Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina / History / Establishment
caption_attribution_description: English: Wrightsville Beach is a popular spot for young people and students of UNC-Wilmington
context_page_description: Wrightsville Beach is a town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. Wrightsville Beach is just east of Wilmington and is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,477 at the 2010 census. The town consists of a 4 miles long beach island, an interior island called Harbor Island, and pockets of commercial property on the mainland. It served as a filming location of Dawson's Creek.
context_section_description: The first documented history of present-day Wrightsville Beach began when the Lord’s Proprietor granted land to Charles Harrison in 1725. The land grant was for 640 acres (259 ha) located north of the present day Hiede 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 were accessible by a footbridge from the mainland, but the beach itself was only accessible by boat.
  In 1883, 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.
caption: Wrightsville Beach is a popular spot for teenagers and students of the University of North Carolina Wilmington nearby
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