WilmingtonNColor Heritage Tour: Wrightsville Beach

WilmingtoNColor Heritage Tours launched a new Shell Island Historical Presentation, a 60-minute immersive experience designed to bring to light the little-known Black history of Wrightsville Beach and the historic Shell Island Resort.

The presentation traces the early beginnings of Wrightsville Beach while centering the Black experience that has largely been excluded from traditional narratives — most notably the story of Shell Island Resort, a thriving Black-owned beach resort that operated during the Jim Crow era in the 1920s. Shell Island served as a rare space of recreation, freedom, and community for Black families at a time when segregation restricted access across much of coastal North Carolina.

Through a visually engaging, historically grounded presentation, guests will learn how Shell Island came to exist, who it served, and why its story matters today as Wrightsville Beach continues to evolve. The experience also addresses broader themes of segregation, resilience, and land ownership, connecting past realities to present-day conversations around equity and historical memory.

“This experience was created to make sure people understand that Black history didn’t begin or end in the city limits,” said Cedric Harrison, founder of WilmingtoNColor. “Shell Island reminds us that Black families built joyful spaces even in the face of exclusion, and those stories deserve to be preserved, taught, and remembered — especially here at the beach."

The tour will start at 10:00 AM. Pickup will be in front of the Conference Hotel (Holiday Inn Lumina). The tour is approximately 60 minutes and will conclude back at the hotel.