Many generations have passed since the first O'Neal was shipwrecked on Hatteras Island. The O'Neals once owned a large strip of land, in Rodanthe, that went from ocean to sound. Over time the land was divided up and passed down from one generation to another. With each generation the lots were getting smaller, and some were sold outside of the family. Our goal was to try and save as much family land as we could. We bought the Sea Sound Motel, a small 11 room, family run motel in 1997. It is located on Sea Sound Road. It was part of the original O'Neal property. The opportunity to buy the lot that the Castle sits on came up and we were excited.
How we got the name, Castle by the Sea. We briefly owned a hotel in the mountains of North Carolina called the Castle Hotel. The buildings were actually built like castles. When we sold it, much to our surprise, the new owners tore it down. One day we were talking about the Castle Hotel and remembering the fun times there with our grandsons. When we said we were sad we sold it one of our grandsons spoke up and said build a castle in Rodanthe. After looking at many house plans, we decided the victorian house was the most similar house to a castle. The name came easy. CASTLE BY THE SEA