Then & Now Walking Tour of Carolina Beach

✔ Install this site to your mobile home page and use the map view when you are near the boardwalk. GPS and compass will guide you.

✔ When you are in Carolina Beach, look for stickers on the ground with QR codes that serve as your tour guide. Just look in the direction of the flip flops for the best viewing!

✔ Enjoy the tour! It's a nice easy walk around some of the best places on the island.

Scroll Down for the Complete Tour Stop List

Thank You

The Carolina Beach Centennial Then & Now Tour has been a passion project for local historian, Elaine Blackmon Henson, for more than four years.

Elaine grew up in Wilmington and loved going to the beach all of her life. A career educator, she and her husband bought a 1940s cottage at Carolina Beach as a summer rental. In searching for vintage pictures to use in the cottage, she began collecting old postcards, and curiosity about the history of the images in those cards led to writing “Carolina Beach”. Elaine has extensive knowledge of Carolina Beach, and knows many of the families that were early island settlers and pioneers.

Elaine curated the visuals, wrote the content, and worked with Lifted Pictures owner, Chris Scharf, to create a fascinating walking history tour. We hope you enjoy traveling back in time and experiencing the magic of Carolina Beach through the decades. We thank Elaine for her unwavering dedication and hard work in making this tour a reality.

The Complete Tour Stop List

Remember to look for the QR code at each location when you are in Carolina Beach. Scan the codes or use this list to take the tour if you can't make it to the beach.