Moving the Bridge

Help Us in A Move to Preserve History

First Came the Bridge…

Before there was a town called Sunset Beach, there was an island called Bald Beach. In 1955 Mannon C. Gore bought that island and began building a causeway and a bridge. His little bridge opened to traffic in 1958 and the people began to come to experience this piece of paradise. He called the island Sunset Beach.

That little bridge became the gateway to the beauty and peace of the island and the beach. It made possible the many trips back and forth, for vacations, beach combing, fishing, kite flying, watching our breath taking sunrises and sunsets, and making memories.

Over the years, the thump-thump-thump of cars crossing the bridge became the heartbeat of Sunset Beach. Visitors returned year after year, houses were built and a community was formed. It's harder to hear the heartbeat now, but it's still there.

On Veterans Day in 2010, our little bridge opened to car traffic for the final time, as the last pontoon swing bridge on the East Coast. The new Mannon C. Gore Bridge towered majestically over the waterway. In the months prior, three local women began a crusade to save the Old Bridge and convert it into a museum and interpretive center. With the assistance and support of many people, The Old Bridge Historical Society was established as a  nonprofit 501(c)(3) and the Old Bridge found a new home, on property generously loaned to us by Ronnie & Clarice Holden. The property is now for sale and the Bridge must be moved.

So, the time has come for the Old Bridge to move to its forever home, a gift from Mannon's son Ed Gore, right next door to our current location. It will become a bridge over the wetlands on the property, and we will build a new museum and environmental center within view of the Intracoastal Waterway and the wonderfully varied plants, birds and animals there.

This isn't an inexpensive project, but together we can make the dream come true. Our fundraising is a two part plan with an overall goal of $750,000. We're well on our way in Phase 1, moving the Bridge. Phase 2 will be the creation of a new and larger museum to tell more of our area history and house the many stored artifacts that won't fit in the Tender House museum now.

Help us move forward into our new, shared history!

Want to donate online? Use the button below.

Prefer to write a check to OBHS?  Mail it to Old Bridge Historical Society,

404 3rd St., Sunset Beach NC 28468   (We do not receive mail at our physical address.)

Every donation, whether large or small, helps us move forward.

Thank you for your support of Old Bridge Historical Society!