Located at the corner of Third and Ann Streets, this marker denotes the home of one of North…read moreCarolina's Colonial leaders. The marker is in very good condition. Though the point it is referencing is seven miles away. Why put it in downtown Wilmington? It reads, "Acting governor, 1771; thrice Chief Justice, 1750-1766; President of the Council. Owned large library. Home 7 mi. southeast." Online, there is more information. "James Hasell (d. 1785) was the acting governor in the summer of 1771 after William Tryon departed for his new post in New York and while Josiah Martin was delayed due to illness. He served as president of the Council from 1760 to 1775, and in that capacity, performed the duties of acting governor of North Carolina on several occasions. Son of merchant James Hasell, the younger Hasell was originally from Bristol, England. He immigrated to the American colonies where he lived briefly in Philadelphia before settling in New Hanover County prior to 1735." "Although he had no formal legal education, James Hasell enjoyed a respectable career on North Carolina's higher courts. Although Arthur Dobbs had criticized Hasell's lack of legal training, he served several times as chief justice of the General Court, as well as of the supreme and superior courts. He was named chief baron of the Exchequer Court in September 1753, and held that office until the American Revolution, resigning twice, temporarily, for terms as chief justice. Hasell's hobby was book collecting. During his lifetime he accumulated one of the largest libraries in North Carolina. Many of his books are now in the North Carolina Collection in Chapel Hill." [Review 14608 overall, 108 of 2021, number 2802 in North Carolina.]

This marker points out the nearby Brunswick Town historic site not far away which is well worth…read moreyour time if you're here already, yelp.com/biz/brunswick-t.... The marker reads, "Brunswick. Founded circa 1725, long a principal port of North Carolina, site of Spanish attack, 1748, and of Stamp Act resistance, 1766. Later abandoned. Was 2 miles southeast." Online, "Maurice Moore, the son of South Carolina governor James Moore, established himself in North Carolina in 1725 with a 1,500-acre grant from the Lords Proprietors. As a business venture, Moore laid out Brunswick Town, located in present-day Brunswick County, in 1726. It was named for King George I of England who was a member of the German House of Brunswick-Hanover. Situated on the Cape Fear River, the town became the colony's chief port for exporting naval stores and lumber to Europe and the West Indies." "Brunswick residents faced a series of hardships. On September 4, 1748, sailors from Spanish ships came ashore and attacked the town. Citizens drove out the Spaniards and ransacked their ship. They sold the ship's contents and even the sailors themselves, using the proceeds to finance the construction of St. Philip's Church. In February of 1766, residents rallied against the Stamp Act in one of the earliest acts of armed resistance to the Crown in America." "the Confederate Army constructed Fort Anderson on the site in 1862. After the fall of Fort Fisher in 1865, Union troops captured the fort. In the 1950s and 1960s state archaeologists began uncovering the foundations of Brunswick. Today the walls of St. Philip's, dating back to 1754, and the foundation of Russellborough are visible. Brunswick Town is a state historic site operated by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources." [Review 13976 overall, 1298 of 2020, number 2616 in North Carolina.]

This marker near downtown Wilmington recalls the history of an escaped slave who joined the Union…read morenavy. It reads, "William B. Gould. 1837-1923. Was enslaved Bellamy plasterer. Escaped 1862 and joined Union navy. Kept detailed war diary. Lived 2 blocks north." Online, there is more information. "According to William B. Gould's death certificate, his mother was an enslaved person, Elizabeth Moore, and his father was an Englishman named Alexander Gould. William was owned by Nicholas Nixon, a prominent a peanut planter. During his youth, Gould gained skills in the building trade. Although teaching slaves to read had been outlawed in North Carolina in 1830, Gould also learned to read and write." "Around 1860, Gould began to work as a plasterer and mason on the Bellamy Mansion, on which construction began in 1859. The building would serve as the home of the family of Dr. John D. Bellamy, a Wilmington physician and merchant. James F. Post of New Jersey was the lead architect on the project. Gould created elaborate plasterwork throughout the main level of the mansion. He signed his initials, WBG, into the back of two sections of decorative plaster, one of which is on display at the Bellamy Mansion Museum today. The Bellamy Mansion is the only construction project on which Gould is confirmed to have worked. Bellamy is known to have hired Gould out, so it is probable that he worked on other construction assignments as well." "On September 21, 1862, Gould and seven other enslaved men escaped from Wilmington via the Cape Fear River and headed for the Union-occupied zone of the North Carolina coast. Six days later they were picked up by the USS Cambridge and recorded as "eight contrabands from Wilmington." Gould and his fellow escapees enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He began documenting his experiences on September 27, the day that he encountered the crewmen of the Cambridge. He kept the journal for three years; the last entry was dated September 29, 1865." "His is one of only three known diaries written by African American sailors during the Civil War, and is the only one penned by a former slave. Gould's diary was written in a spare style, as might be expected given the demanding routine of life aboard a naval vessel, which usually left little time for long reflective entries. Frequently entries include comments on the weather and various incidents of interest, sometimes serious and sometimes comic in nature, as well as brief descriptions of contacts with over Union naval vessels, encounters with the enemy, the pickup of other escaped slaves, references to letters from family of friends, notations to visitors of the ships, and, in the case of the European stint of the voyage, details of ports of call. Other entries briefly comment on the conduct of the war, such as Gould's April 16, 1864, expression of frustration regarding the failure of the U.S. government to retaliate for the recent massacre of black and white U.S. soldiers by Confederate troops at Fort Pillow, Tennessee." [Review 14493 overall, 1819 of 2020, number 2744 in North Carolina.]

This marker along one of Wilmington's oldest streets points out the early home of the 28th POTUS,…read moreWoodrow Wilson. It reads, "Woodrow Wilson. President of the United States, 1913-1921. His home, 1874-1882, was the Presbyterian Manse which stood one block east." Online, more information. "Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, lived in Wilmington from 1874 to 1882 at the Presbyterian Manse while his father served as the minister of the city's First Presbyterian Church. The third of four children of Joseph R. and Jessie Janet Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born on December 28, 1856 in Staunton, Virginia." (Staunton is about 360 miles north.) "In 1873, Woodrow Wilson began attending Davidson College. The following year his father took a position as minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Wilmington. Wilson remained at Davidson College only briefly before transferring to Princeton University. He graduated in 1879, and began attending law school at the University of Virginia. Illness forced him to return to Wilmington the following year. The family remained in Wilmington until 1882. Wilson moved to Atlanta to open a law practice, while his father and family returned to Augusta." [Review 13995 overall, 1317 of 2020, number 2635 in North Carolina.]

Not far from Town Creek Park, this marker points out the birthplace of North Carolina's 49th…read moreGovernor. The marker reads, "Daniel L. Russell, 1845-1908. Governor, 1897-1901; Superior Court judge, 1868-1874; member of Congress, 1879-1881. Born two miles northeast." "Daniel Lindsay Russell, Jr. (1845-1908) was elected to office by the uneasy "Fusion" alliance of Republicans and Populists in the bitter and racially charged election of 1896. Russell was nineteen when he was elected in 1864 to the first of two terms in the state House. With the advent of Radical Reconstruction, Russell sided with the new Republican regime and won election as a Superior Court judge, remaining in that position for six years. While Russell maintained a law office in Wilmington, his residence was in Brunswick County from which he was returned to the legislature in 1876. Two years later he entered the Third District Congressional race and served a single term." "By the early 1890s agrarian unrest and economic depression split the state's Democratic Party. The schism widened, giving the Republicans a long awaited opportunity. An alliance with Populists resulted in victories in 1896 that removed control of the legislature from the Democrats and placed Republican Russell in the governor's office." [Review 13994 overall, 1316 of 2020, number 2634 in North Carolina.]

Located in front of the New Hanover County Courthouse at the corner of Third and Princess, this…read moremarker points out a hero of Wilmington. It reads, "Johnston Blakeley, 1781-1814. Captain, United States Navy. After victories in War of 1812, he and his sloop Wasp were lost at sea. His home was 2 blocks west." Online, there is more information. "Johnston Blakeley, North Carolina's most noted naval hero of the War of 1812, was born in October 1781 in Seaford, County Down, Ireland. At the age of two he and his family emigrated to Charleston, South Carolina. Soon after, his mother and an infant died. Johnston and his father, John Blakeley, moved to Wilmington. Blakely attended school in Flatbush, New York, until the death of his father in 1796." "On February 5, 1800, Johnston Blakely was issued an appointment to the President, a new frigate being prepared for a cruise in the West Indies. He was later assigned to the USS John Adams, under Captain John Rodgers. Rodgers, recognizing his potential, chose to keep Blakeley with him during the Barbary War (1801-1805), and promoted him to acting lieutenant. Continuing his service in the Navy, he saw his commission as a lieutenant confirmed by the Senate in 1807. Blakeley assumed command of the Enterprise as acting commandant in March 1811." "The Wasp set sail on May 1, 1814, with a crew of 173 men and orders to harass British merchant ships in the English Channel. The ship's successes were many and the tales of Blakeley's escapades lightened the hearts of war-weary Americans. Blakeley was described as "a brave and discreet officer" and his ship as "one of the most successful of our cruisers." On November 3, 1814, Blakely was awarded a gold medal for his victory over the HMS Reindeer and on the 24th of the month he was promoted to captain. He never learned of his promotion, however--the Wasp was lost at sea, never heard from again. The ship is believed to have been sunk in an Atlantic storm, since no British ship reported destroying the prized vessel." Captain Blakeley, I salute you. Thank you for your service to our country. [Review 14299 overall, 1623 of 2020, number 2695 in North Carolina.]

Located on the inner side of Wrightsville Beach island, this marker recalls more recent history…read morethan the Colonial Era or even the Civil War. The marker reads, "Pioneer East Coast Surfing. Early surfing activity organized on beaches near here in 1909 by B.H. Bridgers & others." Online, "Polynesian children engaged in primitive surfing activities thousands of years ago. In some areas surfing on various types of board was merely transportation for fishermen. Hawaiian adults began to develop boards for surfing about 1200 C.E. Matt Warshaw, in his The History of Surfing, states that in Hawaii, surfing was "both recreational and universal" and was practiced by all members of society." "In 1908 South Carolinian Alexander Hume Ford founded the Outrigger Canoe and Surfboard Club to develop the "great sport of surfing in Hawaii." In August of 1909 Colliers Weekly published an article about surfing by Ford in which he encouraged readers to try the sport. Wrightsville Beach native Burke Haywood Bridgers read the article and, wishing to ask Ford detailed questions about surf boards, he wrote to the author in care of Colliers." "The surfing that occurred in the Wrightsville beach area in the early 1900s is the earliest documented in the state of North Carolina." There is much more - too much to post here - in the linked article. [Review 14011 overall, 1333 of 2020, number 2651 in North Carolina.]

An iconic part of Wilmington with Bellamy in the background there are some beautiful pieces done by…read morelocal artists that display the fountain

Recently cleaned after someone decided to express themselves with spray paint, the Kenan fountain…read morewas a gift to the City of Wilmington in memory of his parents, William Rand and Mary Hargrave Kenan. Born in Kenansville, the senior Kenan was a captain in the Civil War, originally enlisting in the Duplin Rifles of the North Carolina 43rd Regiment. After the war, he became a life insurance salesman in Wilmington. A prominent member of the Wilmington community, he became a trustee of the University of North Carolina in 1903. He died shortly after this appointment in 1903. His wife, Mary Hargrave, was a native of Chapel Hill. It is a pretty fountain, approximately 14 feet high. There is a large central fountain with a bowl on a tall pedestal sitting in a larger round basin. The entire stricture sits atop a first tier. The center segment on the four sides forms a bench and the fountain pools are located on either side of the corners. The fountain is also decorated with classic figures including gargoyles and terrapins. [Review 14001 overall, 1323 of 2020, number 2641 in North Carolina.]