Clinton and Charles Piner Camp

Contents

Story
Decoys
Credits

Piner, Peck and Willis camps on the main banks just across Swash Creek from the Horse Island, 1.1 miles north of the NPS’s North Dock

🟡 LIMITED RESEARCH VOLUME

OWNERS

Clinton and Charles Piner
Owner name

Date
Date

OTHER ASSOCIATIONS

Associations


LOCATION
South Core Banks

Story

Aerial view of Piner, Peck and Willis camps

Piner and Willis Camps

     Clinton and Charles Piner’s (owner of Piner Brothers Electric, Davis) camp was located on South Core Banks, just four miles southeast across Core Sound from the Oyster Creek in Davis. The camp was built on the main banks just across Swash Creek from the Horse Island, 1.1 miles north of the NPS’s North Dock (AKA Carlie’s dock),  and just 3/10’s of a mile north of my father, Monroe Nelson’s camp. Today’s location would be 200 yards north of the back road ramp at NPS’s mile marker 28. Clinton and Charles also had a brother names Burgess Piner, owner of Piner’s Plumbing in Williston, but he wasn’t one of the owners. From the aerial photo, Clinton and Charles Piner’s camp is the middle one. The second wide view picture that’s at eye level, shows the camp even better and the third picture is a close-up shot. I’ve verifies this with Linda Piner Willis, (Davis) Clinton’s daughter. She also verified the names of the other camp owners. From the two wide view photo’s of all three cabins, the cabin to the far right was owned by Elmer Dewey Willis and the cabin on the far left was owned by brothers Wesley and Peck Salter of Davis. Braxton Piner’s aluminum trailer camp is located on the beach side of the Salter cabin, and is sitting out front on a sand dune. Clinton and Charles’ camp was built on a little sand ridge and had a wooden walkway all the way from the camp to the boat dock on Swash Creek. The Piner cabin was a very nice cabin with indoor plumbing, lights and a generator. Linda Willis said that she enjoyed many trips to the camp where they clammed, set mullet and spot nets, surf fished, played games, ate good food, and took trips riding up and down the beach in cars and trucks. She indicated that she had great family times there, and still feels connected to the banks and the cabin through her precious family memories. 

Ricky Nelson

   Just as a disclaimer, the maps you have of Core Banks indicates that the name of what I call Swash Creek is listed as Horse Island Creek. Even Google Earth has it listed as Horse Island Creek. I have never heard of it being referred to as Horse Island Creek by any of my family or residents of Stacy, Davis or Sea Level, so I will call it by its name known to me as “Swash Creek”.–RN

Credits

  1. Ricky Nelson (RN) contribution –identification and narrative–Thanks!
  2. NPS files and archives
  3. Other references within text