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Around 1730 -1742, several people that had came to settle in this area of North Carolina obtained land grants from the King of England. There were five parcels of land that totaled about 4,500 acres. One of these individuals, an ancestor of Kern Everett, received a parcel of about 1,000 acres. The Everett's had lived in Maryland in the 1600's and migrated here to the Carolina coast. During the 1700's there were other families that settled in the area as well. Some of these family names, Yopp, Justice, Ennett, Chadwick, Snead & Grant, are familiar since their descendants still live here today
Onslow County was established in 1734. It was part of the Saint James Parish (Episcopalian), that formed the seat of what would ultimately include the present counties of Pender, New Hanover and Onslow Counties. The Church of England had a great influence in those times. As settlers up North were so inclined, those that moved to this area wanted to be free of government and simply go about their business. They farmed, cut timber and processed turpentine from the abundant pine forests. There was gradual migration towards the rivers White Oak, Cape Fear, Neuse and New, more for the need of water transportation rather than a fishing interest.
Contrary to general belief, our area's main road in the early days was not Route 17. that didn't come until the early to mid 1900's. The primary route prior to this was approximately the current path of route 172, crossing the New River very close to the new high rise bridge, and went north through what is now Camp Lejeune. As historians have noted, George Washington was a traveling man, and it is reported that on one of those tours he was supposed to stay overnight with a member of the Everett family who had become firmly settled here. However, the mosquitoes were so thick that George decide to go on. If you think mosquitoes are bad now, you should have seen it then. It is said that in those days mosquitoes were as thick as "jelly on a slab of bread".
By the 1800's there were about 300 people settled in this area of Onslow County. One of the oldest nearby cemeteries is at the rear of the Primitive Baptist Church in Holly Ridge. This cemetery was established between 1820 & 1830. It is the predecessor to the Everett Family Cemetery located in the Chadwick Shores subdivision. The Everett Family Cemetery was established in 1899 with the the first burial of, John A. E. Everett, Kern Everett's great great grandfather.
Somewhere around the 1850's and the advent of the US census, good records were beginning to be kept. The area started to develop churches and the small communities of Folkstone, Dixon & Holly Ridge . As the land grants were passed on to heirs, parcels were sold off and others were dissipated among the families.
Although farming still dominated, lumber and seafood began to be an important part of the economy. Another vital product, before and after the Civil War was salt. This was produced by evaporating sea water. Electricity and refrigeration were very slow to come to the North Carolina coast. Prior to refrigeration, salt was used extensively for the preservation of meats and fish
Shad & Herring ran up the rivers in great quantities in the Spring marking the end of Winter. Mullets were in abundance in the bays. A common staple was mullet that was salted down and put in barrels. Farmers would come to the rivers and net river herring that when salted, became the food for their tenants.
In the period between 1850 & 1900 both North and South Carolina growth stagnated. The move in this country was Westward. Gold had been discovered in California and the rush was on! In addition to the gold rush, the quality of our farmland had diminished when compared to other parts of the country. The increasing importance of Seafood was the salvation of the region.
In the 1940's International Paper purchased a 530 acre tract from Tink Everett that included the area now known as "Chadwick Shores". The going price was a small amount of money and a "couple of barrels of wine". At that time, beach land was going for about 20 cents an acre, if you could sell it at all. Maybe in those days, people had more sense than some developers have today.
Information Provided courtesy of
The Chadwick Shores Property Owners Association
Written by the Editor of the CSPOA monthly newsletter - March 2000
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Last Revised: October 20, 2006 02:33 PM.
