SHELTER NECK UU CAMP
Shelter Neck School, also known as the Carolina Industrial School at Shelter Neck, includes a 39-acre parcel, of which nine acres around a group of buildings is cleared. The complex includes a chapel, the school building itself, a house, an outbuilding, and a gazebo.
Information for potential bidders:
Shelter Neck PreBid meeting
New Date
February 11, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.
3747 Croomsbridge Road
Burgaw NC 28425
Shelter Neck Invitation to Bid
Addendum 01
Invitation
Bid Form
Supplementary Instructions
Date January 30, 2026: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q6wTE9FpIyja5PPoANgbgjfrZNsU6Wzn/view?usp=sharing
Shelter Neck Project Manual
Shelter Neck Bid Set
History of the Site
Shelter Neck, was the location of the settlement school established by Boston Unitarians starting in 1900, acquired its name for its location on the “neck,” or dry land situated between the Northeast Cape Fear River and Holly Shelter Creek. The settlement school’s location nearly surrounded by swamps, rivers, and streams, has made it particularly susceptible to flooding for almost its entire history. The first significant inundation came in 1908. More recently, storms in 1999 and 2018 have sent water rushing onto the property. Hurricane Florence in September 2018 produced catastrophic flooding of the site.
Settlement schools like the one established at Shelter Neck in 1900 were part of a social reform program inspired by the settlement movement that began in London in the late nineteenth century and spread to the United States in the early twentieth century with the founding of Hull House in Chicago. For the Alliance of Unitarian Women, the goal at Shelter Neck was to establish a school and church that would teach “the message of Jesus in all its simplicity and purity.”
For over twenty-five years, the Unitarian settlement school on the banks of the Northeast Cape Fear River enjoyed a stellar reputation for the education it offered local white children. Financial strains, changes in leadership among the Unitarians operating the school, and improvements in local public education and transportation led the Alliance of Unitarian Women to close the school in 1926. For a period, the Pender County Board of Education rented the school building for use as a public school.
In January 1932, the General Alliance of Unitarian and Other Liberal Christian Women, the successor name for the original organization, sold the four tracts making up the school property to the Universalist Convention of North Carolina. Since the 1930s, the Universalist Convention (UCONCI) has used the property as a camp, retreat center, and meeting place.
Site location:
3747 Croomsbridge Road
Burgaw, NC 28425
https://maps.app.goo.gl/rTRFCejXJbuji1w68
While we rehabilitate from the flooding, you can visit our website at:
https://shelterneckrecovery.weebly.com/
From Raleigh and points west of Pender County/Burgaw:
Follow I-40 East to Exit # 390 onto Hwy. 117 South toward Burgaw;
Go about 6 miles (look for and follow Well’s Pork signs),
Turn left onto Croomsbridge Road – just past Sweet Bee’s Grill.
Go about 3 miles, past Mino’s Meat Market, and over the NE Cape Fear River Bridge.
Go another 3/4 mile to Shelter Neck in curve on left. The driveway is between the green Shelter Neck sign and the chapel.
From Wilmington and points east of Pender County/Burgaw:
Follow I-40 West to Exit # 398, Exit onto Hwy. 53 NE toward Jacksonville.
Go about 5 miles to left turn onto Croomsbridge Rd. Go about 3 miles.
Look for a curve in the road with the chapel on the right as well as the three-story house, schoolhouse, and gazebo.
The driveway is between the green Shelter Neck sign and the chapel.
From Morehead City and Beaufort (approximately 71 miles from Morehead to Shelter Neck)
Follow Hwy 24 about 43 miles though Jacksonville; join Hwy 258 for short distance and exit onto Hwy 53 toward Burgaw.
Follow Hwy 53 approximately 22-25 miles watching for Holland’s Shelter Creek Campground on left.
About one half mile after Holland’s, turn right onto Croomsbridge Road and continue for about 3 miles.
Look for a curve in the road with the chapel on the right as well as the three-story house, schoolhouse, and gazebo.
The driveway is between the green Shelter Neck sign and the chapel.
From New Bern (approximately 64 miles to Shelter Neck)
Follow Hwy 17 approximately 36 miles to Jacksonville.
Take Hwy 258 a short distance and exit onto Hwy 53 toward Burgaw.
Follow Hwy 53 approximately 22-25 miles watching for Holland’s Shelter Creek Campground on left.
About one half mile after Holland’s, turn right onto Croomsbridge Road and continue for about 3 miles.
Look for a curve in the road with chapel on the right as well as the three-story house, schoolhouse, and gazebo.
The driveway is between the green Shelter Neck sign and the chapel.
From Greenville (approximately 91 miles to Shelter Neck)
Take Hwy 11 south through Kinston and Kenansville to I-40.
Take I-40 east to Exit # 390 onto Hwy. 117 South toward Burgaw;
Go about 6 miles (look for and follow Mino’s signs).
Turn left onto Croomsbridge Road – just past Sweet Bee’s Grill.
Go about 3 miles, past Mino’s Meat Market, and over the NE Cape Fear River Bridge.
Go another 3/4 mile to Shelter Neck in curve on left.
The driveway is between the green Shelter Neck sign and the chapel.
History of Shelter Neck
The Past: Located in rural southeastern North Carolina, Shelter Neck originated as a school for children who otherwise would not have had access to education or broad cultural experiences. The National Alliance of Unitarian Women established the school in 1902 and provided students with studies in literature, languages, and fine arts along with the “3-Rs”. The students returned the favor by providing Southern hospitality and devotion to their teachers and their school. Together, they shared a certain warmth which is still experienced today and permeates the atmosphere of the campus. In addition, the experimental farming at Shelter Neck was a forerunner of the state’s agricultural experiment stations.
After good roads and bridges were built, public school transportation was available to the rural children, so there was no longer a need for the school at Shelter Neck. According to legend, the Unitarians sold the school to the Universalist Convention of NC for $1.00 and a handshake. A wonderful resource in Pender County is the W. Dallas Herring Carolina Heritage Research Collection. It houses the complete genealogical and historical collections of Dallas Herring, noted Duplin County native and historian.
The Present: Though available public education has long since changed the purpose of Shelter Neck, nothing has changed regarding its mission as a “SPECIAL PLACE.” Over the years, local Universalist churches have preserved the physical site as well as many of the experiential facets of Shelter Neck. Generations of UU children have “grown up” at Shelter Neck, participating in camps and conferences and giving of their time and energy to its well-being. Intergenerational activities and special conferences have expanded the Shelter Neck experience, and groups from all over the state have begun to enjoy Shelter Neck as well. The one-time boarding school is still a place for “city” and “country,” for adults and children, for learning and teaching, for sharing and fellowship.
The Future: A former lifelong participant of activities at Shelter Neck left her estate for improvements of Shelter Neck. Several others have willed smaller amounts. These funds plus proceeds from the sale of timber from the property have been utilized for making extensive renovations. A Wilmington consulting firm has worked with a UCONCI committee in formulating long-range plans for future construction to include campsites, playground, bathhouse/restroom facilities, volleyball and tennis courts, meditation and nature trails. Shelter Neck is truly becoming what its founders envisioned it to be.
Shelter Neck 