Page 37 - Wilmington VG 2024
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HISTORY
From the 1500s – when mariners
and pirates dubbed the treacherous
offshore seascape “Cape of
Feare” because it was spiked with
shipwrecks – to today, the struggles,
the triumphs and the adventures of
our ancestors not only shaped coastal
North Carolina but also American and
world history. Many of Wilmington’s
BELLAMY MANSION’S PRESERVED most famous places and spaces are
URBAN SLAVE QUARTERS
now museums or open for public
tours throughout the 230+-block
National Register Historic District.
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THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
The Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge
(February 1776) took place just 20 miles
northwest of Wilmington and is known as
the Lexington and Concord of the South,
the victory that ended British authority in
North Carolina.
• The Burgwin-Wright Museum House &
Gardens (c. 1770) offers daily and special
candlelight tours.
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EARLY 19TH CENTURY
Wilmington became the largest city
in North Carolina following the arrival of
the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad in
1840. Some of the city’s most impressive
structures were built between 1850 and
1860, several of which allow public tours
and special events.
• Tour the restored slave quarters and the
main house at Bellamy Mansion Museum
of History & Design Arts (c.1861).
• Take a guided tour of the Latimer House
Museum (c. 1852), a true gem from
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WilmingtonNCV isitorGuide.com • 866-534-0845
