Cape Fear Unearthed

Latest Episodes:

Revolution Comes to the Cape Fear Jul 01, 2020

Show notes

Seven years before the Boston Tea Party and a decade before the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, the residents of the Cape Fear launched one of the earliest armed revolts against the British crown.

With the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765, the colonists in Southeastern North Carolina decided enough was enough with the oppressive British rule. They staged massive protests in the streets in Wilmington and ultimately led an armed revolt against the Royal Authority in Brunswick Town, an early act of sedition that would grow to inspire a full revolution.

In this special Cape Fear Unearthed conversation timed with July 4th, host Hunter Ingram and Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site manager Jim McKee recount the Stamp Act rebellion, addressing why the Cape Fear became the epicenter of the resistance and how the act of protesting was as innately American then as it is in 2020.

Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.

The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry, Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning, and Cape Fear Phramacy.

Althea: Queen of the Court Jun 26, 2020

Show notes

Althea Gibson was considered the greatest tennis player in the world in the 1950s after becoming the first Black person to win Wimbledon.

Breaking barriers on the world's stage was a long way from the streets of Harlem where she grew up and the backyard tennis court in Wilmington she practiced on as a young woman. While in Wilmington, Althea would face the injustice of segregation and the hurdles of inequality, but she never let it stop her from striving to be the best in a sport she was born to play.

This week's super-sized episode explores Althea's life and legacy, from her childhood as a street kid, to her days dominating the sports world, to the late-in-life struggle to survive after her community turned its back on her.

Joining the episode is special guest Lenny Simpson, a former professional tennis player who was coached and mentored by Althea as a young man. Today, he is the founder of One Love Tennis in Wilmington.

In an extended interview, Lenny talks about his memories of the player and person Althea was, the struggles she faced and how she changed the game for every Black athlete that followed her.

Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.

The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning.

Sources:

- "Born to Win: The Authorized Biography of Althea Gibson," by Frances Clayton Gray

- "I Always Wanted to Be Somebody," by Althea Gibson

- "Althea" (dir. Rex Miller), 2014, PBS

The House Built on Wilmington's First Jail Jun 04, 2020

Show notes

In 1744, Wilmington's first jail was commissioned at the prominent corner of Third and Market streets in the heart of the still-growing downtown.

It was a highly visible site for the crude colonial justice system to enact an array of punishments for the entire town to watch. But in 1770, influential planter and merchant John Burgwin bought the property, on which he built a massive home right on top of the remains of the jail.

Since then, the Burgwin-Wright House, which celebrates its 250th birthday this year, has weathered two major wars, countless hurricanes and two centuries of cultural shifts to survive as one of Wilmington's last remaining colonial-era structures.

In this episode, we journey back to look at the role of the jail and Britain's influence in early Wilmington; why Burgwin built his eye-catching manor on jail cells; why his influence in the Cape Fear put him at the center of the coming revolution; and how a visit from a famous British general and a group of passionate history-loving women helped save the home from demolition.

Joining the episode to discuss these questions and more is Christine Lamberton, the director of the Burgwin-Wright House and Gardens museum.

Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.

The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning.

Sources:

- Burgwin-Wright House history, provided by Christine Lamberton

- "The Burgwin-Wright House," Lower Cape Fear Historical Society bulletin, Feb. 1979

- "A History Lover's Guide to Wilmington & The Lower Cape Fear," by Jack Fryar Jr.

- Wilmington StarNews archives

WASPs, Warships and Wartime Wilmington May 14, 2020

Show notes

When the United States was finally pulled into World War II, the city was already hard at work churning out warships on the banks of the Cape Fear River.

During the war, the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company would churned out 243 warships, employing more than 20,000 workers and turning the city into a wartime manufacturing hub. Up the road at Camp Davis, the WASPs (Women's Airforce Service Pilots) arrived in 1943 with game-changing mission that would change female aviation forever.

In this special episode timed with the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII, we will revisit both of these stories and their enduring legacies, which capture the service and sacrifice of the Cape Fear region.

Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.

The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning.

Sources:

– "The Wilmington Shipyard: Welding a Fleet for Victory in World War II," by Ralph Scott

– "A Sentimental Journey: Memories of a Wartime Boomtown," by Wilbur Jones Jr.

– "Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) of WWII" exhibit, National Women's History Museum, www.womenshistory.org

– Fort Fisher State Historic Site World War II research

– Wilmington Morning Star editions, 1941-1946

Burial Grounds of the Cape Fear Apr 24, 2020

Show notes

In its milestone 50th episode, Cape Fear Unearthed ventures into some of the most beautiful and historic places in the region with a look at the cemeteries and graveyards of the Cape Fear.

Learn about the origins of and notable residents within burial grounds like Oakdale Cemetery, Bellevue Cemetery, Pine Forest Cemetery, St. James Episcopal Church graveyard and the burial ground at Brunswick Town's St. Philips Church.

They are hardly the only cemeteries and graveyards in the region, but they are the historic grounds that hold some of the area's most fascinating history.

Joining the conversation is Eric Kozen, superintendent of Oakdale Cemetery, who discusses how burial grounds chart the evolution of the region, why Oakdale was so vital to Wilmington's growth and why cultural changes have shifted how we relate to cemeteries over time.

Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.

The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning.

Sources:

– History of Oakdale Cemetery, by Janet Seapker. https://www.oakdalecemetery.org/history-of-oakdale-cemetery/

– "Wilmington: Lost but Not Forgotten," by Beverly Tetterton

– History of St. James Parish, https://www.stjamesp.org/history/

– Archive materials from the New Hanover County Library's NC Room

Panic and Plague: The 1918 Spanish Influenza Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

In the fall of 1918, Wilmington's attention was on the frontlines of World War I overseas. But without realizing it, a deadly enemy managed to sneak in undetected.

By the time the first case of Spanish influenza was reported in Wilmington, transmission was already widespread. One hundred cases spiraled into 500 and later more than 5,000. The city and the country ground to a halt as officials tried to stop the spread of the virus.

If this is all sounding a little too familiar, that's because the response to the influenza in 1918 is not unlike what we are dealing with today as the country grapples with the spread of the coronavirus. With North Carolina under lockdown through April and so many people now isolated in their homes, we take a look back at the rise of the 1918 flu, how it was handled, what can be learned from the most worst pandemic in modern history and how it brought the Cape Fear to its knees.

Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.

The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning.

Sources:

-- "Invisible Enemy," 8-part series by Cheryl Welch, StarNews, 2006

-- "A Study of Deaths in Wilmington During the 1918 Spanish Influenza" study, Cape Fear Community College

-- "A Blessing in Disguise: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and North Carolina's Medical and Public Health Communities," by David Cockrell, North Carolina Historical Review, Vol. 73, July 1996

-- "Silent Holocaust: The Influenza Epidemic of 1918-19 and its Effects on Wilmington, North Carolina," by William Jackson Green, Lower Cape Fear Historical Society Bulletin, October 1991

-- Wilmington Morning Star articles, September 1918 - March 1919

Wilmington's Trailblazing Women Mar 12, 2020

Show notes

History is often viewed through the lens of the accomplishments of men. But it is women who have provided the backbone for communities all over the world. That is no different in the Cape Fear region.

With Women’s History Month in full swing, the Cape Fear Unearthed local history podcast is turning its attention to the lives of women who helped define and redefine progress in Southeastern North Carolina.

Joining this week’s special episode is Cape Fear Museum historian Jan Davidson, who stops by to share the stories of several women who made incredible strides in politics, education and the community as a whole in the 20th century.

Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.

The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning.

Sources:

-- Cape Fear Museum archives, including photos and research from Jan Davidson

-- Wilmington Morning Star archive editions

Highland Charge: Scots in the Cape Fear Feb 27, 2020

Show notes

When America went to war to fight for its independence, it was a nation of immigrants.

Among those disparate groups looking for opportunity in the new country were the Highland Scots, thousands of which made the journey after being forced out of their homeland. In the Cape Fear region, they found an abundance of land, the chance to build a new life and the rumblings of a war that would redefine their history forever.

This week's episode explores the history of the Highland Scots, why they fled to America, how they forged a life in Southeastern North Carolina, why the Revolutionary War turned their new lives upside down and how they built a legacy that still survives today.

Joining the episode is Kimberly Sherman, a historian, writer and lecturer at Cape Fear Community College.

Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.

The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning.

Sources:

-- "The Highland Scots of North Carolina: 1732-1776," by Duane Meyer

-- "Thistle Among the Pines: Flora MacDonald and the Highland Scots of the Cape Fear," by Kimberly Sherman, Salt Magazine

-- "Migration, Settlement and Revolution: The Highland Scots in the Cape Fear Region of colonial North Carolina," by Roy Charles Garrison

BONUS EPISODE: The Fort Anderson Flag Feb 14, 2020

Show notes

How did a flag from Fort Anderson in the Cape Fear make it all the way to Washington, D.C. and become the inciting factor in a chance encounter between President Abraham Lincoln and his eventual assassin John Wilkes Booth?

In this special companion episode to our look at the history of Fort Anderson in the Civil War, host Hunter Ingram and special guests Jim McKee and Chris E. Fonvielle Jr. tell the story of the famous flag and why some historians believe it could have changed the course of American history forever.

McKee is the site manager of the Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site, and Fonvielle is a local historian and author of the book "To Forge a Thunderbolt: Fort Anderson and the Battle for Wilmington."

Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.

The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning.

The Bombardment of Fort Anderson Feb 13, 2020

Show notes

By February 1865, the only thing that stood between Wilmington and the Union navy advancing up the Cape Fear River was Fort Anderson.

Built upon the ruins of Brunswick Town, the region’s first permanent settlement, the fort was initially manned by a garrison of a few hundred men through the Civil War. But after Fort Fisher fell in January 1865, upwards of 2,000 Confederate soldiers funneled into the fort to prepare a last-ditch effort to stop the Federals from taking the South’s supply center in Wilmington.

This week, we discuss how the fort was constructed from the bones of the birthplace of the Cape Fear region as we know it and what role it played when it ultimately fell

Joining the episode are special guests Jim McKee, the site manager of Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site, and Chris E. Fonvielle Jr., a local historian and author of “To Forge a Thunderbolt: Fort Anderson and the Battle for Wilmington.”

Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.

The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning.

Sources:

-- "To Forge a Thunderbolt: Fort Anderson and the Battle for Wilmington," by Chris E. Fonvielle Jr.

-- "A Nice Little Fight at Fort Anderson," by Stanley South

-- "Chronicles of the Cape Fear River: 1660-1916," by James Sprunt

-- "The Story of Brunswick Town & Fort Anderson," by Franda Pedlow