Development Plans

The Army Corps of Engineers announced in 1912 that a coaling station and "harbor of refuge" would be established at Cape Lookout Bight. Sand fences were installed in 1913 and 1914 to stabilize some of the dunes, and in 1915, work began on a rubble- stone breakwater to enlarge and protect the Bight. [This worked very well and extended the length of the sand "spit" by over a mile.] The project's most ardent supporter was U.S. Representative John H. Small (Democrat, Washington, NC), who envisioned a railroad from the mainland that would help make Cape Lookout a significant port. Small was Chairman of the House Committee on Rivers and Harbors at the time and, after leaving Congress, became President of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress, founded in 1901 to promote use and development of America's waterways.

Intending to capitalize on those plans, private developers organized the Cape Lookout Development Company in 1913 and laid out hundreds of residential building lots and planned a hotel and club house to serve what they were sure would be a successful resort community.

However, there was less demand for a harbor of refuge than supporters had anticipated, and funding for the breakwater was suspended before it was completed. Then, when plans for a railroad from Morehead City also failed to materialize, the development scheme was abandoned as well.

This was not the only development plan for Core Banks. As reported by newspapers in 1939, a local developer, …Simpson, planned a significant residential development for the area between the light station and the Coast Guard Station. This plan included a road to be constructed, evidently, from Harkers Island to Core Banks. Fortunately, these plans never were implemented and WWII eliminated further interest in development on the islands.

In the early 1960s, development of Bogue Banks beyond the small communities of Atlantic Beach and Salter Path began and there were fears that this type of development would extend to uninhabited Shackleford and Core Banks. Thus, the State of North Carolina, with rare foresight, began the process of purchasing these islands in 1964, with the idea of creating a coastal state park.