Eventually, in the 1950s, pollution closed the oyster beds and the island's economy declined. Electricity came to the island in 1953 and telephones in 1972; however, with few opportunities for work, the population shrank to less than a hundred people, leaving a legacy of rich Gullah history. In the 1980s developers started making plans to make Daufuskie Island a residential development destination, and the planned developments of Bloody Point, Melrose, Haig Point, and Oakridge were born. Despite this progress and development, the island's historic district has remained untouched to preserve the Gullah culture, and today the entire island is on the National Register of Historic Places.