~ Seabreeze Community ~New Hanover County

a historic community of color

For over 150 years. . . Working Waterfront (started in 1855 by the Alexander & Charity Freeman)

Freeman Park (Freeman family Heirs contribution to the community)

1920s coastal recreation community Past 4 decades Zoned Commercial(B2) waterfront

Changes - Good or Bad

County Commissioners Decision - August 6 Lend your voice

Stop Loss of Working Waterfront

Zoning decision to eliminate Commercial / Public accessZoning decision to eliminate Commercial / Public accessZoning decision to eliminate Commercial / Public accessZoning decision to eliminate Commercial / Public access

Help the Commissioner with this critical decision - balance the historical interest with the pressures of development?

A significant waterfront parcel of the commercial district (zoned B2) is under petition by the owner to reverse over 4 decades of commercial/public access. Requesting a change to R15 zoning and blocking commercial/public access.

This 2.5 acre tract has over 200 ft of waterfront, a rarest of assets for the community & all citizens of New Hanover County & North Carolina, both for it historical and future commercial use.

Only two sites in New Hanover County allow a driver on a public highway to view the Intracoastal waterfront. Seabreeze Road offers all our community a vantage point, it is the southern bookend for the stretch of New Hanover county along Masonboro Island and Freeman park. How do we price the value this offers?

How casually would our county leadership accept a request to permanently block over 200 ft of the scenic overview of Airlie Road?

The Star-News had it right in its last article on Seabreeze, a change is underway, but they were dead wrong to think that converting 2.5 acres of commercial waterfront to residential / private homesites is an improvement. This is a shortsighted view of progress, reversing over 4 decades of history & permanently eliminating the potential for long term jobs and commercial growth in our community.

Let's rethink our options here and get our community leadership to focus on the longer view. One day it may be enough to inspire found memories driving through this coastal overlooks and pondering about the big one that did not getaway.

Loss of 200 Ft of Commercial Waterfront

• Re-zone 2.5 acres & over 200 feet of waterfront

• 50% loss Working Waterfront asset to the community

• From Commercial/Public Access to R-15 Private Residential

• The planning board approved with a 5 to 1 vote. The Planning staff supported & encourage the reduction in Working Waterfront & access.

• The Commissioners' will move forward to approval at the next meeting (Aug-6)

• Abandoning over four(4) decades of commercial zoning and 150 years of the community services, historical values & Christian fellowship.

Our Coastal community impacts

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway(AICW)

• A primary feature of our community

• Protected waters / access point - Masonboro Island & Freeman Park

Scenic Overlooks that bookends our County

• Airlie Road - North

• Seabreeze Road - South

Airlie Road on the North . . . public views

Airlie Road - Commercial District

Active business & local services

Fresh catch Seafood - local

Ecotourism & Education Tours

Boating & Fishing services

Masonboro Island access

Private Yachting & Coastal Cruising Gateway

Seabreeze Road on the South . . .public views

Preserve a historic commercial waterfront &

local jobs

Commercial(B2) / Public Access

Commercial(B2) / Public Accessor Privacy Fences and Homes R-15

Commercial or Residential . . .

Can we afford to loose our most valuable job creation Zone ?

Does this support our community’s long term interest . . .

Small Business development with waterfront access

Community based neighborhood services

WATERWAY

Commercial waterfront impacts

Sustainable Jobs & Small business development

• Fresh catch Seafood - local

• Ecotourism & Education Tours

• Boating & Fishing services

• Masonboro Island & Freeman park access

• Private Yachting & Coastal Cruising Gateway

• Emergency services - waterfront access

The Area

Commercial zoned working Waterfront for over 4 decades . . . preserve the opportunity for this significant, limited, and irreplaceable natural resource to remain in use by the public at large and retain an opportunity for renewal of productive waterfront activities.

Preservation of scenic values . . .A notable land use feature is the ability for the public & especially elderly citizens to enjoy a scenic overlook - and observe the waterfront activity . . . and access to prime fishing grounds

The Beginning / Not the End

In 1855, Alexander and Charity Freeman, who were freed slaves, bought 99 acres of land near Myrtle Grove Sound. They were of mixed African and American Indian heritage. In an 1860 census, of 72 households, the Freemans were one of only 8 “colored” or “mulatto” households on the Federal Point peninsula. By the time of Alexander Freeman’s death, the couple had acquired 180 acres at the head of Myrtle Grove Sound.

Following Alexander Freeman’s death, his son, Robert Bruce Freeman (b. 1830) inherited the land, and parlayed the investment to become one of the largest landowners in the county. In 1876, Robert Bruce Freeman and his wife Catherine used cash to purchase 2500 acres of land from the Cape Fear River to the Atlantic Ocean, which included Gander Hall Plantation and Satgeley Abbey Plantation, which were renamed the Old Homestead. The purchase stretched along 3,450 feet of coastal waterway. Freeman had strong ties to the community, and so two major donations of land were made from the newly acquired tracts; 10 acres were given to St. Stephens AME church in Wilmington as a campground near the Cape Fear River, and the other major donation was land for a public school for colored children at Federal Point. It opened in 1877, and had 34 students led by teacher Charles M. Epps. In 1886, Freeman sold 24 acres of land, which became the northern end of Carolina Beach, to William L. Smith, which would be used to build a railroad. Freeman approved this construction in exchange for free passes for colored people on Mondays. Eventually, these passes would be revoked altogether, and black individuals would not be allowed to visit Carolina Beach except as workers for the white patrons.

Robert B. Freeman had learned the logging business, a trade he passed on to his children. He had six children with his first wife, Catherine, and 5 children with his second wife. Robert B. Freeman died in 1901, and was buried in the family cemetery which had been created on Freeman property. After his death, his youngest son by his first marriage, Ellis G. Freeman, took over the management of the family's land. Ellis Freeman obtained a $50,000 government permit to sell yellow granite, and created a profitable business carrying people out on the ocean to fish.

In the 1920's, they began to develop a recreational community known as Seabreeze. During the Jim Crow years, Seabreeze was the only beach community in the state that black families could visit. When black people were forbidden from even travelling through Carolina Beach to get to Seabreeze, the family bought a boat to ferry people back and forth to the resort.

Today many members of the Freeman Family still live in the Wilmington area, and some still own the small community stores that have been in the family for generations.

References:Henson, Elaine Blackmon. Carolina Beach. Charleston, SC. Arcadia Pub, 2007.Reaves, Bill. “Strength through struggle”: the chronological and historical record of the African-American community in Wilmington, North Carolina 1865-1950. Wilmington, NC. New Hanover County Public Library, 1998. Slate, Hartman. Family Album; A Series on the Cultures that Make Up the Cape Fear Region; Freeman Family Has Rich History in Region. Star-News, December 25, 1994.

Links

http://www.savefreemanbeach.com/index.html

http://www.gullahgeecheecorridor.org

SaveFreemanBeach.com is a project of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice.

http://southerncoalition.org/preservingheirsproperty/freemanbeach

Background

How to focus a community on change?

• Engage the parties

• Know the issues

• Partner

• Vision

• Build teams

• Define success

• Become a force for good

Get the attention of successful community developers