Seabreeze Not the Resort it Once Was

From the June 27 2009 Wilmington Star News "Sea Breeze not the resort it once was, but the fishing remains" by Amy Hotz.

The small town of Sea Breeze is noted for its fresh fish and clams. It was established in the 1920s and soon became a favorite destination for black tourists since the other beaches were segregated and it was one of the few places they could go.

At one time, there were ten restaurants, several hotels (one of which was three stories tall) and many nightclubs and beach cottages. There was even an amusement park. The restaurants were well-known for their clam fritters.

The town is all but deserted today. The Civil Rights movement opened other beaches to blacks and the town began a slow decline. In 1996, Hurricane Fran wiped out most of the remaining structures.

Sad to see success destroy a historical town like this.

It was not on the ocean, but on the waterway near Snow's Cut. I have seen a sign for the town along US-421, but have never been to it. About twenty miles away, there was the Town of North Topsail which catered to blacks and was on the ocean. To the south, near Myrtle Beach, there was a black beach town called Atlantic Beach which is in similar decline.

That Sea Breeze. --RoadDog