Emerald Isle, North Carolina

Emerald Isle is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Crystal Coast and is located entirely on Bogue Banks. The population was 3,655 at the 2010 census, but as many as 50,000 visitors inhabit the area during the summer season, filling up vacant rental properties that do not count toward official census results.Today, the oceanfront is lined with both large and small homes and duplexes. While there is a large scattering of condominiums, there are no oceanfront hotels, and Emerald Isle has maintained a family-oriented atmosphere.Recent beach renourishment projects in North Carolina, including Emerald Isle, have been both praised and questioned.HistoryFrom about 1 AD to colonial times, Emerald Isle was home to Native Americans. Later, the area was settled by a small number of whalers and fishermen.In the 1920s Henry Fort, who owned the Emerald Isle beaches and land surrounding them, hoped to open a large summer tourist attraction and ocean resort. Fort worked with developers, but the plans never materialized. After his death, his daughter Anita Maulick inherited Emerald Isle.In 1951, seven individuals purchased the 12mi stretch of island for $350,000 from Anita Maulick. Emerald Isle was sliced into 54 blocks of, each going from ocean to sound. The partners drew from a hat for the ownership of blocks. Because they wanted Emerald Isle to be family-oriented, the owners limited commercial development and mobile homes to five blocks each.