Atlantic Beach

The resort that is now Atlantic Beach, North Carolina was first visualized in the 1870’s by Appleton Oaksmith, one of the most colorful characters of mainland Carteret County. His vision for east Bogue Banks was that of a new resort by the sea. He first chose Fort Macon, but was unsuccessful. He then turned his attention to the area which now comprises all of Atlantic Beach and a portion of east Pine Knoll Shores. He soon acquired title to all of this property in the names of two straw ladies, his wife, Augusta, and her sister, Ellen Mason. But alas, Oaksmith was not to achieve his dream, for on July 4, 1879 he lost four of his daughters in a tragic accident and lost the will to fulfill his dream. It remained for John J. Royal of Morehead City and Winfield S. Chadwick of Beaufort to begin the construction of Oaksmith’s vision. In 1887 they built the first bathing pavilion on Bogue Banks in the location of present day Club Colony. They had a ready-made clientele that Oaksmith did not visualize, the patrons of the new Atlantic Hotel across Bogue Sound in Morehead City. The old Atlantic Hotel in Beaufort had been destroyed by the hurricane of 1879 and in 1880 the Morehead City Hotel Co. constructed the “New Atlantic Hotel” in Morehead City at the terminus of the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad in order to make hotel accommodations in the area more convenient for the former patrons of the old Atlantic Hotel. They were quite successful, since many of the old Atlantic customers became patrons of the new hotel. Many of its guests desired to bathe in the ocean surf, but there was no bathing pavilion on the ocean side of Bogue Banks to accommodate them. So, Royal and Chadwick provided one, and the resort of Atlantic Beach was begun. Patrons of the Hotel flocked to the newly accessible beach in droves, and a brisk ferry trade to the Banks ensued. In 1898 Royal and Chadwick split their holdings, with Chadwick getting the east portion and Royal the west. Royal then built his own pavilion on a much grander scale in the location of today’s Sportsman’s Pier. This was the beginning of the development that became known eventually as Money Island Beach. After Royal’s death in 1909 the development passed through many hands, and a hotel was eventually built near the present site of Courie’s Villa. This new beach development, begun by Royal, thrived over the years while the original pavilion declined in popularity. This resort had many names over the years including Atlantic View Beach, Ocean Beach and finally Money Island Beach. In 1922, another bathing pavilion and ballroom was opened just east of the present Triple-S Pier by V. Asbury. The development was known as Asbury Beach and the following year was reserved exclusively for blacks, since these were the days of segregation. In 1926 an event occurred that signaled the eventual decline of Money Island Beach and the demise of Chadwick’s and Asbury’s pavilions. In that year a group of Morehead City and Beaufort investors formed two corporations, one to buy and develop a new resort on Bogue Banks and the other to build a modern bridge across Bogue Sound to this new development. By the summer of 1928 both goals had been achieved and the new “Atlantic Beach” opened for business. This new resort was located west of the Royal Pavilion in an area that became known as the “Circle”. Initially it contained two bathhouses (formerly known as bathing pavilions), one each for men and women, separated by a large ballroom style dance hall called the Pavilion. There were also several accessory buildings constructed nearby along with an office building in the center of unopened West Bogue Boulevard at its intersection with West Drive. All structures were oriental in design, and referred to as Pagoda, a feature that distinguished them from all past and future construction. More importantly, this new beach was accessible by motor car while the others were not. Thus, the new “Atlantic Beach”, which could b