I WAS HERE: The Wrightsville Beach Museum Mailbox at Shell Island
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A multi-model interactive installation primarily featuring print and digital works inspired by letters, notes, artifacts collected from the Wrightsville Beach Mailbox at Shell Island.
Located at the north end of Wrightsville Beach island, The Wrightsville Beach Museum Mailbox at Shell Island is a hidden gem where visitors can leave personal messages. Originally placed in 2003, the mailbox has become a place for heartfelt notes and reflections. Over time, the journals are collected and moved to the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History, where they are displayed and archived. The mailbox creates a unique way for people to participate in a conversation through time and space. The letters and notes provide insight into the full scope of humanity. Many are letters to lost loved ones or the universe, some are very sad, some are deeply funny. Many are a mixture of emotions. Confessions, goals, dreams, affirmations, statements of gratitude.
For over 100 years, generations have come to Wrightsville Beach to make lasting memories. Wrightsville Beach Museum is so lucky to be the forever home of so many of our community's photos and stories, ensuring those memories are preserved and shared. Every day the museum plays host to a mixture of residents, visitors, and people who don’t neatly fit into either category. The mailbox is in many ways a monument to those memories and people.
UNCW MA Public History Practica: Shell Island Legacy, Connecting Past to Present
Shell Island Beach is an important piece of the history of black leisure sites in Coastal Carolina and the realities of segregation in a tourism driven economy. Between 1917 - 1926, efforts were made to develop what envisioned as a “mirror of Wrightsville Beach” or “National Negro Playground” on what was then a seperate island. The resort was only open for three summers between 1923 and 1926, but is a key historical touchpoint for the history of Black tourism in the area. In many ways, the mailbox has become a form of ‘sacred space’ for complex emotion that has never fully been connected to the site’s history. A primary feature of this exhibition will be a project highlighting the emotional experience of archiving and connecting past to present.
Located at the north end of Wrightsville Beach island, The Wrightsville Beach Museum Mailbox at Shell Island is a hidden gem where visitors can leave personal messages. Originally placed in 2003, the mailbox has become a place for heartfelt notes and reflections. Over time, the journals are collected and moved to the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History, where they are displayed and archived. The mailbox creates a unique way for people to participate in a conversation through time and space. The letters and notes provide insight into the full scope of humanity. Many are letters to lost loved ones or the universe, some are very sad, some are deeply funny. Many are a mixture of emotions. Confessions, goals, dreams, affirmations, statements of gratitude.
For over 100 years, generations have come to Wrightsville Beach to make lasting memories. Wrightsville Beach Museum is so lucky to be the forever home of so many of our community's photos and stories, ensuring those memories are preserved and shared. Every day the museum plays host to a mixture of residents, visitors, and people who don’t neatly fit into either category. The mailbox is in many ways a monument to those memories and people.
UNCW MA Public History Practica: Shell Island Legacy, Connecting Past to Present
Shell Island Beach is an important piece of the history of black leisure sites in Coastal Carolina and the realities of segregation in a tourism driven economy. Between 1917 - 1926, efforts were made to develop what envisioned as a “mirror of Wrightsville Beach” or “National Negro Playground” on what was then a seperate island. The resort was only open for three summers between 1923 and 1926, but is a key historical touchpoint for the history of Black tourism in the area. In many ways, the mailbox has become a form of ‘sacred space’ for complex emotion that has never fully been connected to the site’s history. A primary feature of this exhibition will be a project highlighting the emotional experience of archiving and connecting past to present.
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Where is it happening?
Seapath Yacht Club, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherWrightsville Beach Museum of History
