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Wilmington
Exploration and colonization of the
Cape Fear area was a slow, haphazard
affair. One hundred years after the
establishment of Jamestown, Virginia,
there still wasn't any activity to speak
of in this part of North Carolina. It
seems that even most of the area's friendly
Indians had died out by the early 18th
Century, probably as a result of European
diseases. About the only people who
made use of the place were the pirates
who infested North Carolina waters.
Some did see potential in the area.
As early as 1524, Giovani de Verrazzano
returned a favorable report of the area
to the King of France. Several attempts
at settlement were made by the English
and Spanish, but all ended in failure.
Not till 1726 was a town established.
Wilmington Facts:
The town was called Brunswick. Located
on the west bank of the Cape Fear near
the ocean, it suffered a number of misfortunes
before disappearing about the time of
the Revolution.
For several decades before the disappearance
of Brunswick, there was real contention
between towns for primacy on the Cape
Fear. Sometime in the late 1720's, a
village called Newton was laid out 20
miles upriver from Brunswick. Amid political
wrangling, the town was incorporated
in 1739 as Wilmington, in honor of the
Governor's patron, Spencer Compton,
Earl of Wilmington. It's been estimated
that, at the time of incorporation,
Wilmington had 30-35 houses. Not much
my modern standards, but enough to make
it an important settlement in a sparsely
inhabited colony.
Pine trees were the engine driving settlement
of the Cape Fear. At the time, the area
had one of the largest accessible stands
in the world. From them came tar, pitch,
and turpentine; products necessary to
keep wooden ships afloat. Britain, with
the world's largest navy, had a huge
appetite for the so called maritime
stores. As a result, the region flourished.
By 1768, more naval stores cleared the
Cape Fear than any other port in the
British Empire.
Events soon turned less favorable for
the British and their navy.
In 1765 the British Parliament passed
the Stamp Act. It was a tax that required
all manner of papers, public and private,
to have a seal affixed to them. Establishing
the American tradition of resistance
to the government, the colonies protested.
On the Cape Fear the protests were particularly
colorful. A November issue of the North
Carolina Gazette reported on some of
the activities:
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