All Bogue Banks is Divided into Three Parts...Part TWO

Part TWO...Salter Path

Much like Caesar observed that all Gaul can be divided into three parts, the modern history of Bogue Banks can be best appreciated if we divide its development into three phases. The first phase takes place in the 1800’s and focuses on the eastern third of the island, with the construction of Fort Macon and the development of Atlantic Beach, the oldest resort community on Bogue Banks. This first phase was the subject of my previous blog.

The second chapter in Bogue Banks history occurred in the early 1900’s and centers on the middle third of the island and that is the subject of this blog post.

The decline in the whaling industry in the mid to late 1800s and reports of good fishing off Bogue Banks, mullet primarily, prompted some residents in the town of Diamond City on nearby Shackelford Banks to relocate to the middle reaches of Bogue Banks. Some moved their houses board-by-board and others simply lifted them off their foundations and floated them across Bogue Sound on boats. The exodus picked up steam after a series of devastating hurricanes, the first two in 1878, another in 1879 and three in 1897 all hit Diamond City. and then two more in 1899, all hit Diamond City. The balance of Diamond City bankers threw in the towel and followed suit after a devastating hurricane hit Diamond City broadside in 1899. Most of these folks from Shackleford Banks settled in a place called Gillikin.

Gillikin? Like many of the Outer Banks fishing villages there is some debate over how Salter Path got its name. The one heard most often is perhaps a bit too logical:

A community of squatters grew up in and around present day Salter Path. Most of these squatters lived sound side on land without any deeds but the fish with commercial value, primarily schools of mullet, ran close to the ocean on the opposite shore. When the mullet were spotted, the squatter fishermen would quickly mobilize from the sound to the ocean, wearing a path in front of Mr. Owen Salter’s residence. Over time, this community of squatters and fishermen took on the name Salter Path. What happened to possessive “S” is lost to history.

Following John Royall’s death, Alice Green Hoffman, a distant relation of Teddy Roosevelt’s family and the daughter of a New Jersey Governor, acquired the land encompassing present day Salter Path, Indian Beach and Pine Knoll Shores. Ms. Hoffman developed an estate in present day Pine Knoll Shores and sued the squatters of Salter Path in 1923 because their cows were wandering onto her estate. A subsequent court decision permitted the residents of Salter Path to remain, but the cows were not allowed to graze on the Hoffman Estate. The court decision also established human boundaries, creating a village restricted to the 81 acres that the squatters occupied, and giving direct ownership of the beachfront to the village to use collectively. This ruling further stated that only current residents and their descendants could occupy the property, but the ruling did not give any individuals title to any of the land. This ruling remained intact until 1979 when a legal settlement permitted Salter Path residents to hold a title to their property, for Carteret County to levy taxes on the former squatter’s village and for real estate agents like me to sell homes and land in Salter Path.

So, there you have it: the history of Salter Path, a traditional fishing village located on Bogue Banks. When you are ready to make your contribution to the history of Bogue Banks by purchasing property here along the Crystal Coast like my clients Candace and Brad, give me a call at 919-308-2992. And return next week to this website for another blog post on Living Where You Vacation.

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