Walking Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington North Carolina is such a facinating historic city for a number of reasons. Parts of the revolutionary war, the civil war, and the initial building of the US economy took place here. This was once a very important railroad and port town.
Wilmington represents the best and worst of the American south. There is beautiful architecture, in a picturesque setting. It is the home to the Azalea Festival since 1948. It also, once served as the lifeline of the American confederacy. The only coup d'etat to take place on American Soil took place in 1898 in Wilmington. Following that, the city suffered from a lack of diversity. It has been a city of contrasts.
Today, Wilmington has reinvented itself as an adorable historic town with plenty of great sites to see, food to eat and places to just get out and walk.
Welcome to Wilmington
As this is still a port city, that sits on a peninsula, there are a number of bridges to cross for entering the city.
The draw bridge allows for large ships to enter the area. On this beautiful sunny day, the only ships were small boats out enjoying the water.
The Battleship North Carolina sits along the Cape Fear River, just across from the historic district. This ship was first commissioned just to prior to the US entering WWII in 1941. It first served in the Northern Atlantic, then headed through the Panama Canal in 1942 where it spent much of the war in various parts of the Pacific. It ultimately became the most decorated battleship of WWII. After being decommissioned, today it serves as a museum and a national historic landmark.
Geographically, Wilmington is situated far enough up the Cape Fear River that made it a strategic point of entry point for goods during both the revolutionary and civil wars. It is known as the last port to fall to the Union during the civil war. Today, the river front serves as a great place for walking, dining and viewing.
Also along this riverfront a very important part of the Civil War took place. William Benjamin Gould, an enslaved man, and 7 others escaped in 1862. They rowed a small boat, past many confederate military posts and ships until they found a Union ship. They offered to fight with the Union soldiers in exchange for their freedom.
William Benjamin Gould
What makes this story of freedom even more remarkable is that William Gould kept a diary of his life, starting right after he boarded the Union ship. At that time it was illegal for enslaved men and women to know how to read and write, but somehow he did. His diary was discovered 35 years after his death and his great-grandson, a law professor at Stanford University, published it in 2002. There is a monument to Mr. Gould in this picturesque park along the riverfront today.
In the historic district of Wilmington, you are surrounded with buildings full of facinating tales. We stayed at the Arrive hotel (which we highly recommend!), a historic building itself. The hotel was once the Eureka Dye Company, constructed in 1915. Then, in 1922 an elephant escaped the circus and tore up much of the building. What a storied history!
The Arrive Hotel - You are transported back in time when you see a horse drawn carriage meandering down the street in front of historic buildings.
Even though a highly historic city, Wilmington is actually not that “old.” Much of the colonial part of the city actually burned in 1792 leading to many rebuilds. The Mitchell-Anderson house, below is the oldest surviving structure, built in 1738. We learned the house is a traditional Georgian style.
The Latimer House was built in the 1850’s. Today, it is a museum, offering views inside the Victorian era home. To the left of the building is a plain brick building. This is the former quarters of the enslaved people the Latimer’s brought when they built the house. We learned most homes had 1-2 enslaved people working in their home. The Latimer’s had over 10. The simple quarters are a sharp contrast to the elaborate home.
A closer look at the Latimer property. How did we learn so much about Wilmington’s history on such a short visit? We learned from a fabulous guide Amanda who is the owner of Wilmington Walking Tours. Amanda has a history degree from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. She also has years of experience in the hospitality industry. And, she’s a lot of fun. We hopped on two of her tours while in Wilmington.
The Bridgers Mansion, now an Inn, was originally built in 1905 as a home for Preston and “Miss Betty” Bridgers. It was the largest home in the area with 12 bedrooms inside of 15,000 sq feet. The story goes that Miss Betty did not want to live in Wilmington so when she had to follow her husband she set out to build the most spectacular home. The limestone came from Indiana and Cantera stone from Italy. Of course this was made possible as Miss Betty was the daughter-in-law of the railroad owner, so shipping was not a problem. So many stories!
This beautiful colonial home was built in 1770 as the Burgwin-Wright house. It offers daily tours inside as well. What is interesting about this home is that the basement served as a jail in 1744, then the home was built over the top.
There are over 600 historical homes in Wilmington and this was just a sample of the different architecture, history and stories of a few.
The riverfront and Battleship North Carolina at sunset.
As a part of the evening tour we ended up in a private club above the city for a glass of wine. This was a great way to end our evening!
If you ever find yourself in Wilmington, don’t miss out on Amanda’s aka: “The Wine Gal,” tour!
Back at the Arrive Hotel. It was a beautiful night in Wilmington, where we finished the evening relaxing by the outdoor fire. More adventures to come tomorrow, but we’ve fallen in love with this charming city.
