Money Island

The North Carolina Coast is full of history and Brunswick and New Hanover counties are no exception. The area is full of settlement and battlefield stories but it also carries many exciting and intriguing stories of piracy.

Captain Kidd is said to have second only to Blackbeard. Both spent a great deal of time around our area but Kidd is said to have left something behind. Ever heard of Money Island? Today, it is a privately owned small wooded island just off Masonboro Inlet.

According to legend, Kidd had done very well for himself off the Wilmington Coast. He made a deal with one of his seaman to watch over the buried treasure until he came back for it. After five years the seaman could take half of the treasure if Kidd had not returned and the same in another five years.

After burying the treasure, the seaman built a home on the island and a larger place on the mainland. After being married in Charleston, seaman Redfield returned with his wife. A year had past when a few of Kidd’s mate’s returned to steal the treasure. Redfield would not give up the location. They were taken to Charleston for supplies and during a drunken rage, the authorities learned of the kidnapped Redfield’s.

The mate’s were arrested and Redfield and his wife never returned to Money Island. Kidd was executed in London before he could return. It is believed the buried treasure is still there today.


The Coastal Chronicles, Volume I Jack E. Fryar, Jr. Editor