top of page

the history of 

turtle hall Harbour

it starts with 'turtle haul'...

Steeped in coastal history, the Turtle Hall neighborhood dates back to pre-Revolutionary War times. North Carolina, one of the original 13 colonies, granted two estates on 640 acres extending from Shandy Point to Deep Inlet (now Hewlett's Creek) to John Watson in 1735. Dr. James Eustace, a friend of British writer Laurence Sterne, lived on one estate. Sterne authored the novel "Tristam Shandy". In the book, Tristam lived in an estate next to his uncle, Toby Shandy. Historical documents state that Eustace started referring to the two estates as Shandy Hall and Toby Hall and the name stuck.

Eustace's original house burned sometime in the early 1800s, and was rebuilt in 1812. In 1920,

two German fishermen who fished and harvested turtles used Toby Hall as a working farm. The property was deemed 'Turtle Haul' and the name later evolved to Turtle Hall.

More information about the history of Turtle Hall can be found here. Compiled by Toni Meyer.

(Excerpts of this history are gratefully borrowed from Wrightsville Beach Magazine's "At Home Outdoors" article by Michelle Saxton. August 2016)

Becoming tURTLE HALL...

After the 1930s, Turtle Hall continued to be owned by Daisy Page and her husband. The Page Family sold the property to John C. Drewry in 1967. David and Peggy Block purchased the home in 1971, but from 1967 to 1977 the house remained vacant. In 1977 the home was sold to Robert and Regina Doyle.

 

The property on which the Turtle Hall estate was located was owned by three families Frederick and Geraldine Block, David and Peggy Block, and Richard and Edith Dunlea. In 1976, they deeded the property to developers and the Turtle Hall Subdivision (aka "Turtle Hall Association") was formed. The land was divided into 34 residential lots. 

it continues with turtle hall harbour...

In 1987, Turtle Hall Harbour was established and developed by Davenport Properties. Turtle Hall Harbour is a group of 40 residential homesites located within the Turtle Hall subdivision. Also included within Turtle Hall Harbour is Chambertin Villas - a townhome community built in 1991 and the Turtle Hall Harbour Marina - a private marina situated on the Intracoastal Waterway between Bradley Creek (N) and Shinn Creek (S).

 

Some of the original owners in Turtle Hall Harbour still live in the neighborhood, including: Beatrice and Al Schomp ('89), Susan and Doug DeGroote ('88), Barbara and Sherif Botros ('89). and Lettie and John Lancaster ('94).

bottom of page