 Alice Hoffman developed an estate in present-day Pine Knoll Shores and sued the residents of Salter Path in 1923 because their cows were wandering onto her estate.A subsequent court decision permitted the residents of Salter Path to remain, but the cows were not allowed to graze on the Hoffman estate.The village was restricted to that the squatters occupied, and direct ownership of the beachfront was granted to the village to use collectively.