The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Wilmington, North Carolina, United States.
18th-19th centuries
edit- 1733 - James Wimble and three other men begin to sell plots for a settlement under names such as "New Carthage", "New Liverpool", "Newton" or "New Town".[1][2][3]
- 1739
- Town incorporated and renamed "Wilmington" after the Earl of Wilmington, the patron of the governor of North Carolina Gabriel Johnston.[1][3]
- New Hanover County seat moves to Newton from Brunswick.[4]
- 1751 - St. James Episcopal Church founded.[4]
- 1756 - Fire.[1]
- 1760 - John Sampson becomes mayor.[1]
- 1764 - Fort Johnston built near Wilmington.[4]
- 1776 - February 27: Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge fought near Wilmington during the American Revolutionary War.[4]
- 1781 - Wilmington occupied by British forces under command of Cornwallis.[4][2]
- 1820 - Population: 2,633.[5]
- 1830 - Population: 3,791.[5]
- 1840 - Population: 5,335.[5]
- 1844 - Wilmington Journal newspaper begins publication.[6]
- 1849 - April 16: Snowfall.[7]
- 1850 - Population: 7,264.[5]
- 1855 - Oakdale Cemetery and Wilmington Library Association (social library) organized.[8]
- 1860 - Population: 9,552.[5]
- 1862 - Yellow fever epidemic empties out city, befalling over 1600 and killing 654.[9]
- 1864 - December: Wilmington Campaigns by Union forces begin in area during the American Civil War.
- 1865 - February 11–22: Battle of Wilmington fought; Union forces win.
- 1866 - City of Wilmington incorporated.[10][2]
- 1867
- Morning Star newspaper begins publication.[6]
- Wilmington National Cemetery established.
- 1879 - Africo-American Presbyterian newspaper begins publication.[6]
- 1892 - New Hanover County Courthouse built.[4]
- 1898 - November: Wilmington insurrection of 1898.[4]
20th century
edit- 1906 - Public library built.[11]
- 1915 - Royal Theatre in business.[12]
- 1919 - Customs House built.
- 1935 - WMFD radio begins broadcasting.[13]
- 1947 - University of North Carolina at Wilmington established.[4]
- 1954 - WECT (television) begins broadcasting.[14]
- 1955 - Starway Drive-In cinema in business.[12]
- 1956 - Lower Cape Fear Historical Society formed.
- 1966 - Historic Wilmington preservation group founded.[15]
- 1971 - February 6: Bombing of grocery store; racial unrest ensues, eventually leading to controversial conviction of "Wilmington Ten."[16]
- 1976 - Emsley A. Laney High School established.
- 1980 - United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturns "Wilmington Ten" convictions.[16]
- 1981 - Athlete Michael Jordan graduates from Laney High School.[1]
- 1984 - Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis opens the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group studio complex, now owned by Cinespace Studios.
- 1989 - Old New Hanover Genealogical Society formed.[15][2]
- 1997 - Mike McIntyre becomes U.S. representative for North Carolina's 7th congressional district.[17]
- 1998 - City website online (approximate date).[18][19]
21st century
edit- 2003 - Star-News in publication.[6]
- 2007 - Bill Saffo becomes mayor.
- 2010 - Population: 106,476.[20]
- 2015 - David Rouzer becomes U.S. representative for North Carolina's 7th congressional district.[21]
- 2018 - Hurricane Florence makes landfall in Wilmington causing major flooding and several deaths
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Wilmington History". City of Wilmington, North Carolina. Retrieved May 9, 2017. (Timeline)
- ^ a b c Britannica 1910.
- ^ a b Cumming, William P. (1969). "The Turbulent Life of Captain James Wimble". The North Carolina Historical Review. 46 (1): 1–18. ISSN 0029-2494. JSTOR 23517928.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Hellmann 2006.
- ^ a b c d e Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
- ^ a b c d "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ "This Day in Weather History". Aberdeen, South Dakota: National Weather Service. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ Davies Project. "American Libraries before 1876". Princeton University. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ Wilmington Cemetery Tells Tale of a North Carolina Epidemic Retrieved May 9, 2020
- ^ Tetterton 2010.
- ^ Century of Stories: New Hanover County Public Library 1906-2006, 2006
- ^ a b "Movie Theaters in Wilmington, NC". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States: North Carolina", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636
- ^ Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: North Carolina", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC 10512206
- ^ a b American Association for State and Local History (2002). "North Carolina". Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada (15th ed.). ISBN 0759100020.
- ^ a b North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. "This Day in North Carolina History". Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ "North Carolina". Official Congressional Directory. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1997. hdl:2027/mdp.39015038905678 – via HathiTrust.
- ^ "Welcome to Wilmington, NC". Archived from the original on December 6, 1998 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
- ^ Kevin Hyde; Tamie Hyde (eds.). "United States of America: North Carolina". Official City Sites. Utah. OCLC 40169021. Archived from the original on August 24, 2000.
- ^ "Wilmington city, North Carolina". QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ Civic Impulse, LLC. "Members of Congress". GovTrack. Washington, D.C. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
Bibliography
edit- T. Tuther, Jr., ed. (1860), Wilmington Directory, Geo. H. Kelley
- T.H. Haddock, ed. (1871), Wilmington, N.C., Directory, P. Heinsberger. (Includes city history, pp. 9–24)
- George E. Waring, Jr.; U.S. Department of the Interior, Census Office (1887), "North Carolina: Wilmington", Report on the Social Statistics of Cities: Southern and the Western States, Washington DC: Government Printing Office, pp. 93–94
- . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (9th ed.). 1888.
- "New Hanover County". Branson's North Carolina Business Directory. Raleigh, NC: Levi Branson. 1896.
- Lyman Pierson Powell, ed. (1904), "Wilmington", Historic Towns of the Southern States, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons
- Wilmington, N.C. Directory, Richmond, Virginia: Hill Directory Co., 1905
- F.H. Richardson (1905). "Wilmington, N.C.". Richardson's Southern Guide. Chicago: Monarch Book Company – via Internet Archive.
- . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). 1910. pp. 690–691.
- Federal Writers’ Project (1939). "Wilmington". North Carolina: a Guide to the Old North State. American Guide Series. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 247+.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - Bulletin, Wilmington, NC: Lower Cape Fear Historical Society 1957-
- Diane Cobb Cashman (1982). Cape Fear Adventure: An Illustrated History of Wilmington. California: Windsor. ISBN 0897814142 – via Open Library.
- Alan D. Watson (1992). Wilmington, Port of North Carolina. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 087249778X.
- John L. Godwin (2000). Black Wilmington and the North Carolina Way: Portrait of a Community in the Era of Civil Rights Protest. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. ISBN 978-0-7618-1682-9.
- Alan D. Watson (2003). Wilmington, North Carolina, to 1861. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-8214-6.
- Paul T. Hellmann (2006). "North Carolina: Wilmington". Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 1-135-94859-3.
- Beverly Tetterton (2006), "Wilmington", in William S. Powell (ed.), Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press
External links
edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wilmington, North Carolina.
- "Wilmington". North Carolina City Directories – via North Carolina Digital Heritage Center.
- Items related to Wilmington, North Carolina, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
- "Cape Fear History & Heritage". Wilmington, NC: New Hanover County Public Library.