I was thrilled back in
1979 when we arrived in Wilmington because I was going to be living
at the beach! However, the beach has not been what has fascinated me
about living in Wilmington for the last 35 years. Instead, I have
grown to appreciate Wilmington's historical significance as a
city/port in one of the 13 original colonies.
As a child, I always
liked history. When I was in middle school, I discovered the book,
JOHNNY TREMAIN by Esther Forbes. It is a children's historical novel
set in Boston prior to and during the outbreak of the American
Revolution.(1) At 12
years of age it was probably the longest and most exciting book that
I had ever read. Having grown up learning to read with “Dick and
Jane” type books, this Newbery Award winner opened up a whole new
world of reading for me.
So discovering the
historical significance of Wilmington was like experiencing JOHNNY
TREMAIN all over again. Initially, I was just in awe of the “oldness”
of everything. I also liked the Wilmington location because my
“southern” experience was going to be broadened. In our last
location which was in Louisiana, our “southern” experience had
more to do with Huey Long (you know FDR had him shot!) and the “War
of Northern Aggression.”
Right after Hurricane
David we acquired a home along Masonboro Sound Road. It turned out to
be a very fortuitous selection. It was this road that gave me my
JOHNNY TREMAIN moment about Wilmington. One day while biking along
Masonboro Sound Road, I spotted a tombstone. It caught my attention
because of its location on the edge of the road instead of being in a
cemetery. I stopped to get a closer look at the
inscription---”Residence of William Hooper, Signer of the
Declaration of Independence, New Hanover Historical Commission, J. J.
Howell, E.S. Martin, James Sprunt, and W. A. McGirt ” I was
thunderstruck to think that I was experiencing a view of the water
just like a signer of the Declaration of Independence. It was
thrilling to know that I was standing in an area that had been lived
on over 200 years earlier. If Facebook had been around in 1979, I
would have made a “selfie” and posted it on my page.
I carried this
fascination with Wilmington being the home to William Hooper into my
classroom every summer when we studied about and celebrated the
Fourth of July. I've been known to take a classroom of children to
the tombstone marker site so they could experience the same view of
the water as William Hooper. We often would reenact the signing of
the Declaration of Independence by having the children sign their
names with quills, a jar of ink, and parchment paper. Sometimes the
children would even go home and tell their parents what I had said
about the marker. Below is a picture of students visiting the
marker! (2)
My next JOHNNY TREMAIN
experience with Wilmington occurred as a result of our daughter doing
a project for Southern Studies at Cape Fear Academy.
The assignment called
for a “family history” report. In helping our daughter gather all
the information that she needed, I discovered that my husband's
family had a Revolutionary War patriot on their family tree. Gutridge
Garland was born in Halifax County, North Carolina in 1753 and lived
in Rowan County, North Carolina. His wife's father, Andrew Hampton,
was a colonel during the American Revolution. Even though Gutridge
did not fight at the Moore's Creek Battlefield, it still makes living
in Wilmington very special for our family. Our children and
grandchildren will feel and know that their ancestors helped win the
“Battle for Independence” and kept Wilmington safe for future
generations.
(1)
JOHNNY TREMAIN, Wikipedia
(2)
Avery and Sam Theriault
