Page 15 - Wilmington NC VG 2020

HISTORY

The history of Wilmington and our Island Beaches is
set both on land and at sea.

hile permanent Today, many of Wilmington’s
settlement did not famous spaces and notable
occur until 1725, the places are open for public tours,
W legends and legacies special events and activities that
of the North Carolina coast bring history to life.
pre-date colonization. In 1524,
explorers arrived and discovered 1776-1782
treacherous shoals spiked with
sunken ships. The dangerous THE AMERICAN
seascape led early mariners REVOLUTION
(and pirates!) to coin the area Twenty miles northwest of
“Cape of Feare,” thus the name Wilmington is the site of the
Cape Fear River. Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge,
European settlers colonized which took place in February
and incorporated Wilmington in of 1776. Referred to as the
1739. The city became the region’s Lexington and Concord of the
center of trade, politics, and South, the fight resulted in an
culture due to the proximity to the American victory that ended
river and the ocean. Experience British authority in North
Wilmington’s rich history at street Carolina and boosted Patriot
level through guided tours of morale. The Burgwin-Wright
historic homes and significant sites House, built in 1770, serves
throughout the 230-plus block as an invaluable reflection
National Register Historic District. of the Revolutionary Era.
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