275 Celebration Wilmington

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