On one of the trips to "The Rocks, Joseph Lloyd Winner of Wilmington, NC, got off at Sugar Loaf on the Cape Fear River and walked across to the beach on the ocean. He bought a large tract of land fromJames T. Burris in December 1880. (The land had previously been owned by blacks.) He laid out streets and named a new town St. Joseph. It failed to prosper because of its remote location and lack of transportation. However, St. Joseph Street is still in town and Winner's descendants still play a major role in Carolina Beach.
Seeing potential, Captain Harper, William Smith and some others bought a 24-acre strip of land for $66.50 from Robert Bruce Freeman which essentially is the north end of Carolina Beach today. They began building a railroad in January 1887, and by June, passengers were cruising down the Cape Fear River on the Passport, landing on a pier at Sugar Loaf, boarding a little train named the "Shoo Fly" for the two-mile ride to the beach.
For the first summer, most came just for the day and used the facilities at the new pavilion. Those wishing to stay found lodging at Bryan's Oceanic Hotel and ate at the Railroad Station Restaurant. So many people wanted to go to the new resort that the 350-passenger steamer Passport started pulling a barge fitted to hold another 150.
Business Was Good. --DaCoot
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