Caswell Beach, NC

Caswell Beach occupies the eastern end of Oak Island where the Atlantic meets the mouth of the Cape Fear River. The 2020 census counted 395 year-round residents, even though the beach road and rentals bring a much larger summer population. Fort Caswell sits at the island's eastern point, and the Oak Island Lighthouse and Coast Guard Station stand nearby. The fort was built between 1826 and 1838 and taken over by local forces in 1861; the lighthouse followed in 1958, making it North Carolina's youngest lighthouse.

Caswell Beach incorporated in 1975, and the town's built edge stays concentrated along the island's ocean side with about three miles of beach, dunes, and sea-turtle nesting areas. Oak Island Golf Club is the town's sole business, while Fort Caswell remains a large historic compound and the lighthouse parcel has belonged to the town since 2004. The result is a small municipal footprint with two very different landmarks: a former coastal fort at one end and a working lighthouse at the other. Drive the length of the beach and Caswell Beach makes its geography plain.