23 July . 2024
Touring Wilmington’s Past
If you’ve just moved to the 910 and want to get the 411, consider playing tourist and enjoy the many tours, guided or self-guided, to learn more about the people, places and history that make the Port City so unique.
Tour Old Wilmington is a guided walking tour with stops at many of the landmarks which make Wilmington’s historic downtown notable. Prefer a horse-drawn carriage? Springbrook Farms meanders through the 230-plus-block National Register Historic District. Both options present a narrated journey that highlights downtown Wilmington’s early history, as well as the famous personalities who have called the city home.
While the city’s founding, Revolutionary and Civil War eras have long been the focus of such tours, Wilmington is also America’s first World War II Heritage City. Begin at the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA, which participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific earning 15 battle stars. Then, download the World War II Heritage Guide Map and explore dozens of notable nearby locations – from a shipyard to the USO -- knowing that Wilmington was dubbed "The Defense Capital of the State" during the second World War.
A tour that explores a darker but important time in Wilmington’s history is WilmingtoNColor. This 60-minute bus ride tours downtown’s Northside where, post-reconstruction, a rich, educated and influential population of African American’s thrived until a mob of white supremacists led a massacre that drove these Black leaders from their homes, their businesses and their elected offices. An untold number were murdered. WilmingtonNColor explores this history, which is recognized as the nation’s only successful coup d’état.
For a closer look at one of the most important Confederate forts during the Civil War, visit the Fort Fisher State Historic Site. One can still see remnants of the fort via earthwork remains, historical markers, and artifacts at the Visitors’ Center. Then head over to the nearby recreation area to enjoy a beautiful hike through maritime forest, marshlands and along an unspoiled beach to an abandoned WWII artillery bunker where Robert Harrill, aka the Fort Fisher Hermit, lived for 17 years.
Wilmington History is a great site for diving into the city’s past. Created by the city’s celebrated local historian, the site offers self-guided, well-informed tours via their app. Tours include African-American History, Pub Crawl Wilmington, Civil War Wilmington, 2nd Street to the River and 3rd Street and East.
Wait til dark and gather downtown to enjoy a more fright-inspired Haunted Wilmington. Their Ghost Walk takes visitors on a creepy adventure through the past with tales of haunted homes and burial grounds. Or, numb your nerves a bit with a brew or two while on the Haunted Pub Crawl visiting the city’s most ghostly downtown pubs.
A delightful wonderful way to explore the area is on the water. Cape Fear Riverboats’ Henrietta cruises the Cape Fear River daily. Choose a sightseeing or sunset cruise, or a Black River nature cruise to see a cypress swamp river still preserved almost as it appeared to the early settlers
Wilmington Water Tours also offer a great variety of historic and eco-tours, sunset cruises or narrated tours of the beautiful Cape Fear River. Cruises and charters are offered mornings, afternoons and evenings year-round.
Finally, with our long list of film and TV credits and our Screen Gem Studios, Wilmington has earned its moniker, “Hollywood East” or “Wilmywood.” Discover favorite movie and beloved TV show locations, like "One Tree Hill" or "Dawson's Creek" with self-guided tours and learn more about projects that are currently in production in Wilmington and the surrounding area.
Whether you enjoy these tours as a new resident or to welcome guests to town, these tours are a sure way to see more, learn more, do more and enjoy more about the Cape Fear Region.