Stew In Brunswick
(Continued From Page 41)
Along its cast-west trending barrier
islands, maritime forests dominated
by live oaks and yaupon once grew.
Inland, several miles of estuarine
marshes border the lower stretches
of south-flowing blackwatcr rivers
such as Lockwood Folly River and
Shallotte River. The ridge and swale
systems in the upland areas near the
Intracoastal Waterway used to bris
tle with longleaf pine forests and
quake with pocosins.
And positioned on the low-lying
Coastal Plain, the county embraces
almost the entire inventory of the
slate's wetland habitats. There's the
Green "Swamp and its associated
longleaf pine savannas and poco
sins. There are the limesink ponds
in various spots around the county,
and a complex of wetlands near
Boiling Spring Lakes. In the Cape
Fear River are extensive tidal
marshes ? saltwater marshes at its
mouth and freshwater marshes near
Wilmington. The Waccamaw River
is a blackwater river with extensive
bottomland swamps and stands of
Atlantic white cedar; the Cape Fear
is a brownwater river. There are
oxbow lakes and 200-year-old
millponds like Orton Pond.
One of the only land forms it
doesn't have is a mountain, but per
haps if it had, William Hilton might
not have found the weather as much
to his liking on the first English
voyage of discovery up the Cape
Fear River in 1662. The county's
temperate climate had a lot to do
with its role as one of the earliest
areas in the state to be explored and
settled, bestowing a rich cultural
history on the county. Large planta
tions once lined the river, crowned
by Orton Plantation featuring its fa
mous gardens. Fort Caswell's Civil
War redoubts lie at the end of Oak
Island, while the ruins of Old
Brunswick Town, the earliest settle
ment in the couity, are located not
far from another old city, Southport,
with its lovely live oak-lined streets.
Back at Sunny Point, we move
from pond to pond, chatting, admir
ing the surrounding longleaf pine
flatwoods that are open and airy.
This was the way most Brunswick
County was not too long ago ? biol
ogists say that most of the county
was longleaf pine savanna ? and
we're able to catch a glimpse of the
past here because Tony Gaw, Sunny
Additions ? Porches ? Decks
Boardwalks ? Docks ? Cabinets
No job too big or too small,
' we do them all to your satisfaction! .
19 YEARS EXPERIENCE
MGF BUILDERS, INC.
842-3259
MARTI M FELDT ? HOLDEN BEACH
Point's natural resource manager,
keeps his woods in fine fettle with
regular burning. "I burn what I
can," he says with a laugh, "but
with all that ordinance rolling
around here all this ? winter, we
couldn't bum and I'm a little behind
schedule."
We're back at the last checkpoint,
our ID cards removed. The wary
young GIs wave us through, this
time without a camera check.
We're off public land now, back
in Brunswick County. Back to the
future.
The Brunswick Bustle
You can hear it on NC 133, on
the outskirts of the base. You can
hear it on US 17, hear it in the traf
fic around Shallotte, around Lock
wood Folly, where the congestion
gets worse each year. You can see it
on Oak Island and other island com
munities, in the subdivisions and
golf courses that weren't here five
years ago. Tourist brochures tout the
more than 100 golf courses within
an hour's drive. It's a steady din of
more and more: houses, marinas,
golfers. But it's a din that threatens
fewer fox squirrels, magnificent
ramshoms, crawfish frogs. It's the
Brunswick bustle.
Some experts predict that in the
coming years, more than 75 percent
of all Americans will live within 50
miles of an ocean or Great Lakes
coast. It's as if the country were
creased in the middle, with both
halves lilted toward the coasts, peo
ple from Ohio and Minnesota slid
ing ocean ward year by year. Bruns
wick County, like other coastal
counties, has experienced a lot of
that in-migration in the past 20
years, and most observers say that
the completion of .1-40 to Wil
mington will hasten the process.
State and county planners see
Brunswick's growth as a natural
spin-off from Wilmington's growth
and the inexorable commercial
march northward from Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina, along US
17.
The county's population grew
42.5 percent from 1980 to 1990,
next to Dare County the fastest
growing county in the state.
(Although this rate is high by any
measure, it's actually less than the
r
Brunswick's Dazzling Diversity
A sampler of outstanding natural areas, from barrier
island to inland swamp, that distinguish Brunswick County.
Orton Pond
Millpond and surrounding uplands provide
breeding habitat for anhinga, osprey, fox squirrels,
alligators, red-cockaded woodpeckers and a rare
snail (Planorbella magnified). The Natural
Heritage Program rates this site as having national
significance. Restricted access.
Boiling Spring Lakes Wetland Complex
The largest group of pocosins, Carolina bays
and savannas in private ownership. Several rare
plants have been found here, including the rough
leaf loosestrife. National significance. Restricted
access.
Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point
The 12,000-acre military base contains a large
number of limesink ponds, longleaf pine forests
and pocosins which provide habitats for many rare
and endangered plant and animal species. National
significance. Restricted access.
Waccamaw River Aquatic Habitat
The habitats associated with the Waccamaw
River contain rare plants, including the disjunct
Plymouth gentian, and several rare fish and shell
fish. National significance.
Bald Head Island
Diversity of high-quality maritime communi
ties, including the largest remaining maritime for
est in the county. The island also hosts the state's
only locations of cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto).
Large numbers of loggerhead sea turtles nest on the
island's beaches. National significance.
Green Swamp Preserve
Owned by The Nature Conservancy, the
15,700-acrc Green Swamp Preserve consists of an
extensive pocosin wetland system associated with
probably the best remaining longleaf pine savannas
in the state. Provides unique habitats for 14 insec
tivorous plants and a variety of wildlife, including
the black bear, American alligator and red-cockad
ed woodpecker. National significance. Call The ;
Nature Conservancy for information about field
trips. (919)967-7007.
Battery Island
The maritime forests on this natural island in
the lower Cape Fear River host the state's largest
breeding colony of herons, egrets and ibises. More
than 5,500 nests have been counted. National sig
nificance. Restricted, access.
Brunswick/Cape Fear River Marshes
The extensive freshwater tidal marshes in this
area support one of the largest populations of alli
gators of any North Carolina river or estuary.
Statewide significance.
Sunset Beach Wood Stork Ponds
In late summer, these ponds arc visited by post
breeding wood storks from Florida and Georgia.
The ponds are the northernmost localities on the
Atlantic coast used by wood storks. Statewide sig
nificance. Restricted access.
Bryant Mill (Greenbank) Bluff
Located along the southern shore of the Cape
Fear River, this bluff contains a variety of wet and
dry habitats sheltering several unusual plant
species, including large-leaved grass-of-Parnassus.
National significance. Restricted access.
Zeke's Island Estuarine Sanctuary
Complex of islands, marshes, tidal flats and
shallow estuarine water on the northern end of
Bald Head Island. An important nesting site for
loggerhead sea turtles and colonial nesting water
birds. Statewide significance. Resiricted access.
Source : National Heritage Program
Note: Most sites are either privately owned or have
extremely limited access.
48-percent growth it experienced
from 1970 to 1980.) Like other
coastal counties, Brunswick has en
joyed a high seasonal population, as
vacationers sought the sun for a
week at a time in rented beach cot
tages, but more and more people are
opting to put down roots. The coun
ty's permanent population has more
than doubled from 1970 to 1990,
from 24,223 to 50,985, and in the
next 20 years it is expected to dou
ble again. Many of these migrants
are retirees, and the county expects
the population to become progres
sively older in the coming years.
More important, however, is
where these extra bodies are going.
Not surprisingly, the attractive
beach communities ? Sunset Beach,
Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach,
Long Beach, Yaupon Beach,
Caswell Beach and Bald Head
Island ? are among the fastest
growing areas of the state. A
brochure promoting "The Bruns
wick Islands" summarizes their al
lure: "47 miles of clean beaches,
history at every turn of the road,
scenic beauty in abundance, water
and land sports, and a slowed
Down-East pace that soothes the
spirit and body." Yet the county is
growing even faster in inland areas
just across the Intracoastal Water
way where the tidal creeks rapidly
are being embellished with subdivi
sions and golf courses. As a result,
during the 1980s the townships of
Lockwood Folly and Shallotte grew
the fastest of any area of the county.
"Growth is happening throughout
the county, both east and west, north
and south," says Haskell Rhett,
(See STEW, Page 44)
Beautiful decorator
lamp shades, all sizes
and shapes, some
hand-painted. Plus
exquisite mirrors,
a variety of prints,
finials and candles
Remember-Bring your lamps!
Buying a lampshade without a lamp
is like buying a hat without a head!
?Shades &
Shadows
We also oner lamp
repair & custom
lamp making.
Take Hwy. 130 West, Near Whiteville
640-2758 ? Open Mon.-Sat. 10-6 ? (Just past BEMC)
CI W1 THE BRUNSWICK BEACON
Continental bi
MOTEL & APARTMENTS
Sunset Beach ? North Carolina 28459
919-579-6772
Randi Moon, Resident Manager
? Located on Sunset Beach Island across street
from ocean and fishing pier
? Swimming Pool
? Bicycle Rentals
? Cable TV ? Telephones
? Family Atmosphere
? Calabash Seafood Restaurants and Charter Boat
ocean Ashing just 6 miles
?15 Golf Courses within 6 miles (call for Golfer's
Discount in spring 8ifall)
? Real Estate information available (Ask for area
listings upon making reservations).
? Outdoor Worship Service on Sunday mornings