State

Tar Heel Towns By Gene Dugan Salter Path Ever since an unusual 1923 court order, this tiny unincorporated town on Bogue Island has led an enigmatic existence. You'll find it almost in the center i>l Bogue Island’s 28 miles of pris¬ tine beaches, stuck between Indian Beach and Pine Knoll Shores amidst the yaupon hollies and oaks that are characteristic of this Carteret County vacation niccca. Salter Path, an unincorporated vil¬ lage approximately seven-tenths of a mile wide that runs the width of the island from the Atlantic Ocean to Bogue Sound, is a place "where man¬ ners still exist," according to Peggy Smith, со of the town's William and Garland Motel. There also exists here a spirit of fierce independence brought on by early settlers called “squatters." One of them, Riley Salter, the town's namesake, lived here as early as 1880. Tile family names that make up the community today are those list¬ ed among the early arrivals, people from Markers Island and other “Down Hast" locales who emigrated to Bogue Island in the mid- 1 9th century. The land on the Island known today as Salter Path was originally purchased in 1900 by Boston businessman John A. Royall. Ownership soon passed to Alice Roosevelt Hoffman, a wealthy relative of former President Theodore Roosevelt who also had homes in New York anti Rhode Island. The settlement was well-established within a few years, as many dwellers laid out their claims and built homes from riprap found on the shores. Some brought their homes with them by skiff, as water transport was the easiest mode of travel to Bogue Island in those days. The settlers also brought livestock, which became the fuse for a confrontation in 1923 that played a large role in the history of Salter Path. •1.01,. Ir, («№ Dugan Pristine beaches are the rule at Salter Path. Hoffman had built a fine house called “Isle of Pines" and surrounded it with lovely gardens. When some cows from nearby wandered onto those grounds and destroyed the gardens, she ordered everybody off the island and took them to court. The “Judgment of 1923" said Mrs. Hoffman owned the land hut the squatters could stay hv light of occupation. But the court-imposed firm stipulations on activities ol Salter Path residents and the feeding habits of their cows. The settlement was restricted to 8-1 acres, and it was declared that only Salter Path residents and their descendants could occupy the land. When Carteret County raised the taxes on the property in 1973, the Hoffman heirs refused to pay. Two years later, the county took all the resi¬ dents to court in order to collect taxes from somebody. Property lines in Salter Path are not laid out in neat little squares as found in most new developments. By court order, all lots were surveyed and lines established as claimed by the settlers. It took four years to get matters settled and deeds were issued and taxes assessed on the basis of the surveys. The municipalities south from Salter Path on Bogue Island began with the The Slate/March 1996 10 “ incorporation of Atlantic Beach in 1937. Indian Beach incorporated in 197.3. but Salter Path was left standing alone, as nobody yet had a deed to the property. In 1987 there was an effort made to join the town with close neigh¬ bor Indian Beach, but the indepen¬ dence that brought the squatters to the area prevailed, and Salter Path remains an unincorportcd aberration. It is now surrounded by the town of Indian Beach, which absorbed the strip of land abutting Pine Knoll Shores to the east. Fishing, which brought the early peo¬ ple here, is still the principal occupation, and it is fishing and boating that bring in the visitors. Located on the ocean side of N.C. Highway 58, which runs the length of Bogue Island, is a place the locals call “Sand Dunes State Park." which is part of the 265-acre Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area. This 20 acres had been listed as off-limits to the inhabitants in the 1923 court decision. Hoffman willed the land to the family of Teddy Roosevelt. Roosevelt's grandchildren subsequently donated the land to the State of North Carolina in 1972. The park adds to the overall puzzle of Sailer Path. Although being a state nat¬ ural area, it is under the care and feed¬ ing of the Carteret County Department of Parks and Recreation, except that the nearby North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores conducts nature field trips to its dunes. The area is one of the few places on Bogue Banks where natural vegetation and wildlife habitats arc uninterrupted. The story of Salter Path is part of the fabric of Carteret County, with its tales of the squatters and the 1923 judg¬ ment. What is the future of this small parcel sitting between ocean and sound, planted within the bounds of an incorporated town? Both Indian Beach Mayor Buck Fugate and Smith, along with others, foresee an eventual absorption, but don’t expect it to happen overnight. Nothing, it seems, is ever very pre¬ dictable in Salter Path. Gene Dugan is a freelance writer based in Morehead City.