News Flash

Aug. 31, 2016 – The small park at the end of Beach Road recently received an upgrade. The park is home to ruins of the once longstanding Back River Lighthouse, which was destroyed in 1956 by Hurricane Flossy.

Resident Jamie Chapman and several neighbors began revitalizing the park last summer, hoping to bring the community together.

“It started when we found a piece of wood and turned it into a bench,” Chapman said. From there neighbors took turns mowing the grass, pulling weeds, and tending to the garden boxes. The group then turned their efforts to the sagging seawall that borders one side of the park.

“We thought it would be nice to just make that wall better,” Chapman said.

Neighbors pooled their resources and contributed materials. This summer they worked together to paint a scenic mural on the seawall.

The location of the lighthouse is now a pile of rocks in the surf north of the park, but the lighthouse will live on thanks to painter and resident Linda Williams, who designed the mural.

The painting depicts the historic Back River Lighthouse and a boat floating nearby that bears the same name as the hurricane, Flossy. The wall also has a display fittingly named “Off the Wall,” a gallery that features old lighthouse photos and historical information.

The park has drawn more residents to the area as they revisit old memories of the neighborhood or simply enjoy the space.

“Jamie spearheaded this,” Williams said. “Morale has been down lately but this has been a way to bring it up – it’s brought our community together.”