History with ‘Hud’: Story behind the longest fishing pier remaining in each coastal county
CAPE FEAR (WWAY) — With longer days and warmer weather, summer is always a popular time for avid fishers to head to the coast to cast a line from one of the eleven ocean piers doting the shoreline of the Cape Fear.
New Hanover County boasts the longest pier, with the Johnnie Mercers Fishing Pier stretching 1,200 feet into the Atlantic. But it’s had quite the journey to become the concrete marvel it is today.
The original pier in Wrightsville Beach was built in the late 1930s by Julian Morton (the son of Grandfather Mountain owner Hugh Morton). Julian constructed the wood and steel Atlantic View Pier, selling it to Luther Rogers who quickly sold it to Johnnie Mercer in 1939. Mercer was an avid fisherman and renamed the pier after himself.
But Hurricane Hazel arrived in 1954, destroying the pier (along with much of the area). A new pier was constructed and ran by Mercer until he was killed in a car accident in 1964. Mercer’s widow sold the pier to Bob Johnson five years later, whose son, Matt Johnson, still runs the pier today.
The pier weathered several storms in the following years, but was dealt a double-blow in 1996.
Hurricane Bertha damaged the pier in July, with Hurricane Fran completely devastating it two months later.
The rebuilding process didn’t begin for three years due to permit issues and red tape, but the first concrete pier in North Carolina was finished in 2002. Standing 25 feet above the water’s surface, the pier is estimated to be able to withstand winds up to 200 miles per hour – which should allow it to stand the test of time and whatever Mother Nature throws its way.
Up the coast on Topsail Island is another tourist-drawing-pier. The Surf City Ocean Pier is 937 feet long. It remains the longest pier in Pender County and the only one left standing on Topsail Island.
Originally built in 1948, the pier has been owned and operated by the Lore family since 1973. When they took over, the steel pier was in somewhat poor condition. A Thanksgiving Nor’Easter made matters worse in 1974, with large waves damaging much of the pier. It was quickly rebuilt, and sustained only minor damage through 1996.
Much like the Johnnie Mercers Pier, the Surf City Ocean Pier was dealt a one-two punch that year, with Hurricane Fran finishing what Hurricane Bertha began.
The pier was completely rebuilt in August of 1997, but a 150-foot section, including the octagon on the end, was destroyed two decades later during Hurricane Florence in 2018. It was rebuilt to its current glory the following year.
Across the Cape Fear, down on the Brunswick County coast, stands the 968-foot long Ocean Isle Beach Pier. The pier has been a landmark of the town since its completion in 1957 by Odell and Virginia Williamson, who gave the town its name in 1949.
But the road to the pier’s construction came after tragedy struck. Although the pier was built after Hurricane Hazel, the storm left its mark on the area and the Williamson family. Odell’s sister, her husband and young son were three of seven people killed on the island.
Despite the horrific setback, development of the pier kicked off in the years to come.
Because it was completed a few years after Hurricane Hazel, the pier has been able to survive with only minor damage through countless storms. Located at the end of Causeway Drive, the only route on and off the island, the pier is very visible to anyone visiting the region.
