A post office called Kure Beach has been in operation since 1942. The town was named for a family of settlers. The Kure Beach Fishing Pier is one of the oldest on the Atlantic Coast. The original pier was built in 1923 and has been rebuilt and restored several times since then as a result of wear and tear over the years. On the night of July 24–25, 1943, a German U-boat fired at least three shells to attack the Ethyl-Dow Chemical Company plant at Kure's Beach, but instead hit the Cape Fear River. The plant was the only one on the East Coast producing bromine from seawater for use in aviation gasoline Other historians dispute whether the attack actually occurred, and there is no corroborating physical evidence or logs from the German Navy.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,507 people, 723 households, and 495 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,931.6 people per square mile. There were 1,560 housing units at an average density of 1,999.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 98.74% White, 0.07% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population. There were 723 households, out of which 15.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couplesliving together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.48. In the town, the population was spread out, with 12.0% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 42.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $47,143, and the median income for a family was $55,875. Males had a median income of $32,708 versus $30,735 for females. The per capita income for the town was $26,759. About 4.1% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.
