New Hanover County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 225,702. Though the second-smallest county in North Carolina by land area, it is one of the most populous, as its county seat, Wilmington, is one of the state's largest communities. The county was created in 1729 as New Hanover Precinct and gained county status in 1739. New Hanover County is included in the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which also includes neighboring Pender and Brunswick counties.
Brunswick County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the southernmost county in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 136,693. Its population was only 73,143 in 2000, making it one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. With a nominal growth rate of approximately 47% in ten years, much of the growth is centered in the eastern section of the county in the suburbs of Wilmington such as Leland, Belville and Southport. The county seat is Bolivia, which at a population of around 150 people is among the least populous county seats in the state.
Bald Head Island, historically Smith Island, is a village located on the east side of the Cape Fear River in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. Compared to the nearby city of Wilmington to the north, the village of Bald Head Island is small and somewhat remote. It is accessible by ferry from the nearby town of Southport and by four-wheel drive vehicle along the beach strand from Fort Fisher to the north. Only government officials are allowed to drive the beach strand route. There are few cars on the island; instead, residents drive modified electric golf carts. Bald Head Island is nationally recognized for its sea turtle nesting activity.
Oak Island is a seaside town located in the southeastern corner of North Carolina, United States. Part of Brunswick County, the major portion of the town is on Oak Island which it shares with Caswell Beach. Founded in 1999 as the result of the consolidation of two existing towns, Oak Island's main industry is tourism. Per the 2020 census, the town has a permanent population of 8,396 while its summer population is near 50,000. It along with the town of Caswell Beach is part of the Wilmington, NC, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Southport is a city in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States, near the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Its population was 3,971 as of the 2020 census. The current mayor, Rich Alt, was elected to a two-year term in November 2023.
Carolina Beach is a beach town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States, situated about 12 miles (19 km) south of Wilmington International Airport in southeastern coastal North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,564. It is part of the Wilmington metropolitan area. The community of Wilmington Beach was annexed by the town in 2000.
Oak Island is located on the Atlantic Ocean coast in Brunswick County, North Carolina near the South Carolina border. A barrier island, it contains the towns of Oak Island and Caswell Beach, Fort Caswell and the Oak Island Coast Guard Station which is co-located with the Oak Island Lighthouse. Almost 13 miles long, the island averages about one mile wide. As of 2020 the island had 8,791 permanent residents, while the summertime population can swell to nearly 50,000.
The North Carolina Baptist Assembly is a Christian retreat owned and operated by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, the state's largest denomination. The grounds of the retreat, located adjacent to Caswell Beach on the eastern end of Oak Island, is the former site of Fort Caswell, a military base that was occupied by various branches of the U.S. armed forces for most of the period between 1836 and 1945. Most people still refer to the Baptist Assembly as Fort Caswell.
The Oak Island Lighthouse is located in the Town of Caswell Beach near the mouth of the Cape Fear River in Southeastern North Carolina. It sits next to the Oak Island Coast Guard Station on the east end of Oak Island in Brunswick County looking south out at the Atlantic Ocean. Featuring 16 LED lights which produce four, one-second bursts of light every 10 seconds, it has a luminous range of 20.5 nautical miles. Owned by the town since 2004, it is managed by a citizens group.
The Golden Isles of Georgia consist of barrier islands, and the mainland port cities of Brunswick and Darien on the 100-mile-long coast of the U.S. state of Georgia on the Atlantic Ocean. They include St. Simons Island, Sea Island, Jekyll Island, Little St. Simons Island, Sapelo Island, and Blackbeard Island. The islands are part of a long chain of barrier islands known as the "Sea Islands", located along the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida.
Supply is a small unincorporated community in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States, located around the intersection of US 17 and NC 211. Its name is derived from the use of the Lockwoods Folly River as a trade route in the 18th and 19th centuries. Residents of the nearby beach communities of Holden Beach, Oak Island, Ocean Isle, Caswell Beach, and Sunset Beach often formerly commuted to Supply for goods and other materials. This practice is still common, but development in the town of Southport and in the Intracoastal Waterway commercial districts has made traveling to Supply unnecessary.
Bird Island is approximately 1,300 acres (5.3 km2) adjacent to the town of Sunset Beach, North Carolina, US. Sunset Beach is on a barrier island and is the southernmost town in North Carolina. Bird Island can be reached by walking along the seashore toward the South Carolina border. Due to the contour of the Atlantic Coast at this point, the direction of travel to Bird Island is approximately West-Southwest. Previously, Bird Island was separated from Sunset Beach by a tidal creek that could be easily crossed only at low tide. Accretion of ocean sand has gradually filled in the tidal creek so that two separate islands became one.
Cape Fear is a coastal plain and Tidewater region of North Carolina centered about the city of Wilmington. The region takes its name from the adjacent Cape Fear headland, as does the Cape Fear River which flows through the region and empties into the Atlantic Ocean near the cape. Much of the region's populated areas are found along the Atlantic beaches and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, while the rural areas are dominated by farms and swampland like that of the Green Swamp. The general area can be also identified by the titles "Lower Cape Fear", "Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area", "Southeastern North Carolina", and "Azalea Coast". The latter name is derived from the North Carolina Azalea Festival held annually in Wilmington. Municipalities in the area belong to the Cape Fear Council of Governments.
Pleasure Island is a coastal barrier island in Southeastern North Carolina, United States, just south of the City of Wilmington. Pleasure Island is located within Federal Point Township, in New Hanover County. The coastal resort towns of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach, as well as the annexed communities of Wilmington Beach and Hanby Beach are located on the island. The southern end of Pleasure Island was separated from Bald Head Island by Corncake Inlet until the inlet was shoaled and closed in 1998 by Hurricane Bonnie; thus Pleasure Island and Bald Head Island are no longer separate islands.
Smithville Township is one of six townships within Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2000 Census, Smithville Township had a population of 12,019 and a population density of 152 inhabitants per square mile (59/km2). It is a part of the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
North Carolina Highway 133 (NC 133) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It traverses 46.6 miles (75.0 km) from Oak Island Drive in Oak Island to NC 210 in Bells Crossroads. The route serves communities such as Southport, Belville, Leland, Wilmington, and Castle Hayne. Additionally, NC 133 serves as an entry point for Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point located to its east. Much of NC 133 runs parallel to the Cape Fear River and Brunswick River between Southport and Belville. West of Wilmington, NC 133 runs concurrently with U.S. Route 17 (US 17), US 74, and US 76. The road follows another concurrency along US 74 and US 421, west of Downtown Wilmington, and crosses into New Hanover County on the Isabel Holmes Bridge. North of Wilmington, NC 133 exits to the north, serving several suburban communities north of Wilmington. NC 133 runs concurrently with US 117 through Castle Hayne, before bearing northwest toward Bells Crossroads.
Located in North Carolina on the Atlantic Coast, the Fort Caswell Historic District encompasses 2 sites, 43 buildings, and 23 structures; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. The fort itself was occupied by various branches of the U.S. armed forces for most of the period between 1836 and 1945 and is now a part of the North Carolina Baptist Assembly, a Christian retreat, owned and operated by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. It is accessible by the public to a limited extent per the conditions set forth by the Assembly’s Director.
The Oak Island Golf Club (OIGC) is located in Caswell Beach NC on the south side of Oak Island looking out at the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lower Cape Fear region in Brunswick County, Southeast North Carolina, it is one of the few 18 holes golf courses built on a barrier island. The privately owned 6,720 yard, par 72 course is open to the public and has 37 bunkers with water in play on 11 holes. Laid out with five sets of tees which present a wide range of playability, the back (blue) tees are course rated at 73.1 with a slope of 139. A pro shop/pub/snack bar along with a full practice facility to include a sand trap, both putting and pitching greens, and a driving range is also available to the public.
The Fort Caswell Rifle Range located in Caswell Beach NC, is a discontiguous part of Fort Caswell which defended Confederate positions on the North Carolina coast during the Civil War and served both as an army training ground in World War I and a patrol/ communications base in World War II. In 2013, the rifle range which was constructed during WWI, along with Fort Caswell itself, was designated as a National Register of Historic Places property.
Coast Guard Station Oak Island referred to locally as the Oak Island Coast Guard Station (OICGS) is located in the Town of Caswell Beach on Oak Island in Brunswick County, North Carolina. A part of the Cape Fear region, the station is in the United States Coast Guard 5th District which is charged with ensuring the safety and security of the oceans, coastal areas, and marine transportation system within the Mid-Atlantic Region. The district encompasses some 156,000 square miles of ocean, bays, rivers, wetlands and tidal marshes, geographic waterways, several major mid-Atlantic ports, and the Nation's capital. They also patrol the mouth of the Cape Fear River in Southport, North Carolina and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW)
