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Shallotte, North Carolina · Established 1967 · A semi-private community
Brierwood Estates

brierwood estates articles

The story of the community and its golf course, guides to the 18 holes, and plain-language guides to the records and rules that affect living in Brierwood Estates.

The story, 1967 to today

Brierwood Estates' history in order, from Dr. Ward's land purchase to the community today.

The golf course

A closer look at the 18 holes, the land, and where the course fits in local golf.

Living in Brierwood Estates

Plain-language guides to the covenants, the public records, and how the Town and the permit process touch the community.

Brierwood Estates: Timeline of a Community

A ten-part series on how Brierwood Estates and its golf club were created, told through the recorded deeds, covenants and plats. Each part has its own dated timeline, links to the documents it relies on (which open for registered members who are signed in), and the plats in the order they were recorded.

Brierwood Timeline

The development of Brierwood Estates year by year, from the 1967 land purchase to today. Choose a year to read what happened and follow the link to the article behind it.

Land and covenantsPlats and growthGolf courseCommunity

1967

The land is bought

Dr. Bennie B. Ward and Jamie B. Ward buy the property from Cape Fear Wood Corporation and Waccamaw Lumber Corporation, working pine land that Dr. Ward means to turn into a golf course.

1967: The Land Changes Hands →

Read the timeline year by year

  1. 1967: The land is bought

    Dr. Bennie B. Ward and Jamie B. Ward buy the property from Cape Fear Wood Corporation and Waccamaw Lumber Corporation, working pine land that Dr. Ward means to turn into a golf course. 1967: The Land Changes Hands

  2. 1968: The Willow Run map

    An unrecorded map titled “Willow Run Subdivision,” dated August 1968, is drawn by surveyor V. W. Herlevich. Dr. Ward and Dr. John Madison lay out the course themselves. Before Brierwood Estates: The Willow Run Map

  3. 1969: The club, the covenants and the first lots

    Brierwood Golf Club, Inc. takes title to about 572 acres (January). The Declaration of Restrictions is signed on January 26 and recorded February 12. Section 2, Queens Grant Circle, is mapped on May 1, and by year's end nine holes are playable. 1969: The Declaration of Restrictions

  4. 1972: Section 1, Brierwood Road

    The lots along the main road, from the front entrance to the clubhouse, are mapped as Section 1, more than three years after Queens Grant. 1972: Section 1 and the Willow Run Map

  5. 1973: One plat for the community

    On October 15 a plat is drawn for most of the rest of the community, recorded October 31 as nine maps, and construction of the second nine holes begins. 1973: One Plat for the Whole Community

  6. 1974: Brierwood Village

    The Brierwood Village condominiums are mapped on July 29. 1974–1975: Brierwood Village and the Office Tract

  7. 1975: A second nine, an office tract

    The Office Tract is mapped on November 13, and the second nine holes are finished about this year. They become the front nine; the first nine become the back nine. Nine Maps and a Second Nine

  8. 1985: Building takes off

    In the 1980s Dr. Ward partners with Larry Shreve to develop the real estate around the course, and home building takes off. In 1984 and 1985 the golf club parcel is mapped and Sections J, K, L and N are revised. The Shreve Years

  9. 1986: The Ladies Club

    Brierwood Estates' longest-running resident organization is founded. It still meets on the third Monday of every month. The Ladies Club Is Founded

  10. 1989: Annexed to the Town

    A handful of Brierwood lots, annexed in 1987 and 1988, are recorded as part of the Town of Shallotte in April 1989. 1983–1989: New Sections, the Golf Club Parcel and the Villas

  11. 1991: The pool association

    Articles of incorporation are filed for a pool association, the start of a long run of small plat revisions through 2019. 1991–2019: Small Revisions, a Sale and the Plats Today

  12. 2008: Remembering Dr. Ward

    The physician who founded Brierwood Estates dies at 80, after more than fifty years of caring for the Shallotte area. Remembering Dr. Ben Ward

  13. 2014: The Ward family sells

    On July 17 the course, clubhouse and assorted lots are sold to Blum Investment Group Golf LLC for about $1.25 million, after 47 years in the Ward family. The new owners improve the greens and renovate the clubhouse. The Ward Family Sells

  14. 2017: The course closes; neighbors organize

    Brierwood Golf Course closes June 1, in its fiftieth year. On September 15 residents form the Brierwood Association, and on October 24 the Town of Shallotte presents a proclamation honoring the community's 50th anniversary. The Last Round

  15. 2019: The right of first purchase is waived

    A waiver of the developer's right of first purchase is recorded, a question that residents and title firms keep asking. The Right of First Purchase and Its Waiver

  16. 2024: A reopening is proposed

    The Brierwood Association disbands, and Brierwood.info continues independently. In December the owner applies to reopen nine holes, the clubhouse and a restaurant. The Special Use Permit

  17. 2025: A permit is approved

    On March 4 the Board of Aldermen unanimously approves the special use permit. An annexation petition for the clubhouse parcel follows. The Special Use Permit

  18. 2026: Today

    The permit has expired and the reopening plans are on hold, while a community “farm” idea is raised. Brierwood Estates counts 370+ homes and about 50 unimproved lots, and looks toward its 60th anniversary in 2027. Brierwood Today and Tomorrow

Years that are not listed had no milestone in the records and articles this timeline draws on.

Maps

Plat-style and aerial maps of Brierwood Estates drawn from the county’s lot data, the four sheets of the 1973 plat, and the interactive golf course map are in the members-only Maps area, open to registered Brierwood Estates owners and residents.

Dates and figures in these articles come from the community’s recorded maps and deeds (see the history page), Town of Shallotte meeting records, and published news coverage. Each article lists its sources. If you have corrections, photographs or memories to add, please contact the website administrator.