Tar Heel Towns
Bv Elizabeth Cozart
Salter Path
This small communin' on Boguc Banks remains a village of
fishermen who always have time for their neighbors.
The- hairier island of Boguc Banks
in Carteret County is home to
some of the most diverse i om*
nninitics in North Carolina. At die east¬
ern end is rowdy Atlantic Beach, home of
wall-to-wall beachc ombers. To the west is
serene and upscale Emerald Isle, with its
Fancy gated developments But right in
the middle of the island is its most unusu¬
al and, some would say. most interesting
village.
Salter Path, which is surrounded bv the
town of Indian Beach, has survived more
or less intact while development and
growth threaten to sink die rest of the
island.
It’s a small place, somewhere that
motorists in a hurry might not even real¬
ize they’ve passed. The smell of frying fish
Tills the air at lunchtime Driveways of
many of the modest homes arc paved with
crushed seashells rather than gravel. The
“hokoidet " accent, a leftover from Eliza¬
bethan times, is strong among the natives.
But it s a gentle little place, a village
where, in some respects, time has not
changed many tilings.
An unincorporated community. Saltei
Path remains a village of fishermen and
others who make dieir living from the sex
The ocean has been good to these peo¬
ple, but they work hard in gathering her
bounty. County officials estimate ilu* v il¬
lage's population at 500. though it’s hard
to say for sure. North Carolina Highway
58, also known appropriately as Saltei
Path Road, is the only byway through
town. There are several small motels,
some wonderful seafood restaurants, .1
couple of small shops aud a little grocers
store. Bui that's pretty' much it. business-
wise. Rampant commercialism hasn’t hit
tliis hide burg the way it has done in so
Salter Path is still a dose-knit fishing idUage today.
many other beacli conuminides. One
condominium development aud an
amusement park are the only signs that
growth may be knocking on the door.
Otherwise, it remains the same small,
close-knit fishing village it has been sinc e
the first settlers arrived more than 100
years ago.
According to Judgement land, a Salter
Path historv written by Kay Roberts
Stephens, the first permanent settlers in
the area were Riley Salter and his wife,
|ulia. who set up housekeeping here
sometime during the |8K0s. Fishermen
dragging nets full of mullet out of the
ocean wore .1 permanent path alongside
the Sillier home, and that Saltei “path" is
how the settlement got its name. A por¬
tion of the path is still visible today.
( )ther families slowly joined the Salim,
and In die early part of this century the
village 1 overed 80 acres They were fami¬
lies wiih names like Willis and Guthrie,
names that aie sdll common in the town
lodav. None of these early' Salter Pathers
actually owned the land, hut settled
according to squatters' rights. The village
land was owned bv .1 woman named .-Mire
Green IIofTman. In 1923, llollman took
the head of each village household to
court when some of their cows wandered
onto her estate and trampled a garden. In
what came to he known as the 1 923 Judge¬
ment. Hodman retained ownership of the
land but the squatters and descendants of
those families affected by the 1923 Judge¬
ment were filial I v awarded deeds to the
land they had been occupying.
Through all the lawsuits and heavy
island development, however, Salter Path
has remained relatively isolated and
unchanged.
“There’s Still a core of villagers who
stick to the old customs." Kay
Stephens says. "Even today, they
still go in and out of each others’
homes without knocking, maybe
see whai they’re having for supper
and get some. Hicy're very family-
oriented and community-centered
people."
"The village itself hasn't changed
much at all." says Cathy Daniels,
who has lived and worked near
Salter Path lor 25 years. The peo¬
ple here are verv supportive of each
other. If someone's ill trouble,
they’ll all help out. F.vetvone will
rally to help their nrighljoiv"
“I’m so glad God let me live long
enough to meet these people,' says Jane
McCnnlugue, owner of Salter Path's
trendy new ait gallery and toffee shop,
the Saltei Pa til Gallery. I he presence of
this
ршк
stucco building with its local
crafts and line coffees is one sign that
commercial progress may be inevitable
for Salter Path.
"They're good people," McConloguc
says. "Everybody helps out when one of
their neighbors needs it.” She goes on to
tell a storv about one of die local fisher¬
men 11 lending his net
"All ol a sudden." she recalls, “there
were pit kup trucks cveiywhere and 15 or
20 men helping to mend dial net."
Thelma ( .inline is a Salter Path native.
I ler “lioi-toider" accent is a dead giveaway
of her roots and die glint in her eve is a
due to her sassy sense ol humor.
“How has Saltei path changed?" she
asks. "Well, for one thing, we now have
espresso coffee." She points to the new
coffee shop and grins. “Bui the people
here are really the same. They're com¬
mercial fishermen and thrv do it because
their forefathers have alwavsdone iL It's
PWU..I,. Ellfatvcl L'urirt
The SUUvDcccmbcr I9 M
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