Cape Fear Unearthed

Latest Episodes:

Christmas shopping in the downtown Wilmington of yesteryear Dec 19, 2022

Show notes

We talk with longtime Wilmington resident Elaine Henson about what shopping downtown in the 1950s and '60s was like: Where the department stores were, who had the most magical display windows, where the toys could be found, and where you might see Santa Claus.

Film documentary 'McKinley's Guns' digs into 1898 coup Oct 20, 2022

Show notes

Wilmington filmmaker Kent Chatfield played a starring role in "Wilmington on Fire," Christopher Everett's documentary film about Wilmington's deadly 1898 coup and massacre, the only successful insurrection on American soil in history. Now, Chatfield has directed his own documentary, "McKinley's Guns," which premiered at Thalian Hall in September and will be available for streaming online Nov. 10. In the film, Chatfield reveals research that proves involvement from military officers and U.S. government officials at a higher level than has previously been revealed.

'Race, Place and Memory': Wilmington's troubled racial history Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

For this week's episode, we talk with Margaret M. Mulrooney, author of the book "Race, Place and Memory: Deep Currents in Wilmington, North Carolina," a comprehensive deep dive into Wilmington's long and troubled racial history that looks at how decades of inequality have shaped, and often warped, life in the Port City. Mulrooney is professor of history at James Madison University in Virginia, and a former visiting professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

When Shell Island was an island, and a Black beach resort Aug 11, 2022

Show notes

The tourists who stay there might not know, but the Holiday Inn at Wrightsville Beach, recently rebranded as Lumina on Wrightsville Beach, a Holiday Inn Resort, sits on the former site of Moore's Inlet. With Ray McAllister, author of "Wrightsville Beach, the Luminous Island," we take a look back at the days when Wrightsville's north end, Shell Island, was actually an island, and when some developers tried to develop a beach for African-Americans during the days of Southern segregation.

Revisiting The Barn: a legendary Wilmington jazz club and dance hall Jun 24, 2022

Show notes

We talk to Wilmington native and North Carolina jazz historian Larry Reni Thomas about The Barn, a club that shone brightly during the days of segregation in the 1940s and early '50s, hosting such legendary players as Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Cab Calloway and many more.

A brief history of Eagles Island and Wilmington's 'west bank' May 12, 2022

Show notes

From the early days of rice plantations to its time as an industrial zone for Wilmington's naval stores industry, Eagles Island, which with Point Peter makes up the "west bank" of the Cape Fear River across from downtown, has nearly three centuries of history that parallel that of the Port City.

As Wilmington decides whether to bring development back to the west bank, we take a look at the history of the area, including its dark associations with slavery.

Wilmington corner stores, gone but not forgotten May 06, 2022

Show notes

Before the rise of chain grocery and convenience stores, dozens of mom-and-pop stores run by independent merchants could be found in nearly every Wilmington neighborhood, most of them downtown. We take a look back at where some of these stores were, why they went away and where their last vestiges remain.

Roots of the GOAT: Michael Jordan's history in Wilmington Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

We talk with retired StarNews sports reporter Chuck Carree about Jordan's days in the '70s and '80s playing high school basketball in Wilmington, and about whether more should be done to recognize the legendary player's ties to Southeastern North Carolina.

Train tracking: The lost Wilmington, Brunswick & Southern Railroad Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

We talk with Mark W. Koenig, the former director of the Wilmington Railroad Museum. In January, his first book, "The Wilmington, Brunswick and Southern Railroad," was published by Arcadia Publishing and The History Press. In it, he uncovers the history of the long-forgotten railroad line. Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by John Staton.

Losing, and preserving, Black historic sites in Wilmington Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

We talk with StarNews investigative reporter Matthew Prensky about a 1983 study commissioned by the city of Wilmington that documented more than 100 historic sites and structures of significance to the Black community. The study was shelved, and more than two dozen of those structures have since been demolished.

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