Hammocks Beach State Park

Hammocks Beach State Park. Jacksonville.Onslow African-American Heritage Trail. , Onslow County, with its beautiful beaches, rivers, streams and woods, was considered an ideal destination for many out of town sportsmen in the early 20th century. Dr. William Sharpe, a New York based neurosurgeon, began visiting Onslow County in 1914 to partake of its bountiful supply of fish and game. He became close friends with John Hurst, a local African-American hunting guide. Sharpe decided he wanted his own acreage for sportsman activities and requested that John Hurst commence a search for an ideal tract for his planned retreat., Dr. Sharpe’s desire that it be “beautiful, isolated, and have an abundance of fish and game,” was fulfilled when Hurst discovered 4,600 acres on the mainland, and Bear Island with its beautiful stretch of beach. Managed by John and Gertrude Hurst, the Sharpe family enjoyed The Hammocks for over 30 years. Sharpe originally intended to will the property to the Hursts, but he suggested and alternative; Gertrude Hurst agreed that he deed it to a black teachers organization, the North Carolina Teachers Association in 1950 for use as segregated beach resort. They donated the island in 1961 to the state for further development as a park., Today, Hammocks Beach State Park is a haven for the loggerhead turtle, migratory birds and other wildlife., (sidebar) , John Hurst , John Hurst was highly respected by Dr. Sharpe, who gave him full responsibility as his property manager. This did not please some of the locals who believed that it was not Mr. Hurst’s place to hold such a job. Dr. Sharpe asserted his faith in Hurst by offering a $5,000 reward for the arrest of anyone who might threaten the Hammocks or any of its employees. In his later life, reflecting on their friendship, Dr. Sharpe praised John Hurst as a “philosopher” and a man who “functions expertly in domains that other men would abandon.”