brierwood articles

In the years after the course closed, Brierwood kept doing what it had done since the 1980s: building houses. Counting homes under construction, the community's records put the total at more than 370, with roughly 50 unimproved lots remaining from the 1973 maps.

The appeal is easy to describe. Lots are large and set among mature pines. Many back onto former golf holes, which stayed as open green space and gave homes a buffer that few subdivisions can offer. The community has no HOA, and residents take visible pride in their properties.

Location does the rest. Brierwood sits just outside the Town of Shallotte, which grew from 3,675 residents in 2010 to 4,185 in 2020. Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach and Oak Island are all short drives. Wilmington lies about 33 miles up U.S. 17 and Myrtle Beach about 38 miles down it.

The Association settled into its work. The Beautification Group kept the entrance up, the Safety Group patrolled, residents were kept informed, and the Ladies Club kept meeting on the third Monday. The website became the community's bulletin board.

The course itself slowly changed. The back nine, the original 1969 holes, and the front nine both went unmown, and 2025 reporting noted that much of the front nine had been overtaken by nature. For seven and a half years the question of what would happen to the land hung over the neighborhood without an answer.