A sweet secret on North Carolina’s Sunset Beach

North Carolina's Sunset Beach harbors a secret.

Located in the Brunswick Islands, a barrier island chain on the Atlantic Ocean, the Bird Island Reserve sports 1,200 acres protected by sand dunes. The marsh area is habitat for many bird species, turtles and other wildlife. Just on the other side of the dunes sit beautiful white sand beaches. Sunset Beach is a quiet, less populated strand which allows visitors to enjoy the serene and natural sanctuary.

About a mile from the nearest public access you'll find the beach’s secret - the Kindred Spirit mailbox. Locals say the lone mailbox was erected by a man named Frank Nesmith, who fell in love with a woman that he could not be with. Others say Nesmith and his girlfriend put the mailbox there nearly 40 years ago. If you keep asking locals, you’ll get a variation of tales, even one of visions and mirages.

But regardless of the true history of the mailbox, it has now become a place where people share special and intimate moments by writing notes in the mailbox’s journals. Visitors can also read through the notebooks and see stories of love, loss, heartbreak and triumphs. The mailbox has even been the location of marriage proposals and baby announcements, which is why many believe it to be a spiritual, even magical destination.