Timeline of Wilmington, North Carolina

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Wilmington, North Carolina, United States.

18th-19th centuries[]

1733 - Settlement "called New Carthage, then New Liverpool, then Newton or New Town."^[1]^[2]
1739
- Town incorporated and renamed "Wilmington."^[1]
- New Hanover County seat moves to Newton from Brunswick.^[3]
1751 - St. James Episcopal Church founded.^[3]
1756 - Fire.^[1]
1760 - John Sampson becomes mayor.^[1]
1764 - Fort Johnston built near Wilmington.^[3]
1776 - February 27: Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge fought near Wilmington during the American Revolutionary War.^[3]
1781 - Wilmington occupied by British forces under command of Cornwallis.^[3]^[2]
1820 - Population: 2,633.^[4]
1830 - Population: 3,791.^[4]
1840 - Population: 5,335.^[4]
1844 - Wilmington Journal newspaper begins publication.^[5]
1849 - April 16: Snowfall.^[6]
1850 - Population: 7,264.^[4]
1855 - Oakdale Cemetery and Wilmington Library Association (social library) organized.^[7]
1860 - Population: 9,552.^[4]
1862 - Yellow fever epidemic empties out city, befalling over 1600 and killing 654.^[8]
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.^[9]^[2]
1867
- Morning Star newspaper begins publication.^[5]
- Wilmington National Cemetery established.
1879 - Africo-American Presbyterian newspaper begins publication.^[5]
1892 - New Hanover County Courthouse built.^[3]
1898 - November: Wilmington insurrection of 1898.^[3]

20th century[]

1906 - Public library built.^[10]
1915 - Royal Theatre in business.^[11]
1919 - Customs House built.
1935 - WMFD radio begins broadcasting.^[12]
1947 - University of North Carolina at Wilmington established.^[3]
1954 - WECT (television) begins broadcasting.^[13]
1955 - Starway Drive-In cinema in business.^[11]
1956 - Lower Cape Fear Historical Society formed.
1966 - Historic Wilmington preservation group founded.^[14]
1971 - February 6: Bombing of grocery store; racial unrest ensues, eventually leading to controversial conviction of "Wilmington Ten."^[15]
1976 - Emsley A. Laney High School established.
1980 - United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturns "Wilmington Ten" convictions.^[15]
1981 - Athlete Michael Jordan graduates from Laney High School.[1]
1984 - Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis opens the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group studios, now part of EUE/Screen Gems.
1989 - Old New Hanover Genealogical Society formed.^[14][2]
1997 - Mike McIntyre becomes U.S. representative for North Carolina's 7th congressional district.^[16]
1998 - City website online (approximate date).^[17]^[18]

21st century[]

2003 - Star-News in publication.^[5]
2007 - Bill Saffo becomes mayor.
2010 - Population: 106,476.^[19]
2015 - David Rouzer becomes U.S. representative for North Carolina's 7th congressional district.^[20]
2018 - Hurricane Florence makes landfall in Wilmington causing major flooding and several deaths

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Wilmington History". City of Wilmington, North Carolina. Retrieved May 9, 2017. (Timeline)
^ ^a ^b ^c Britannica 1910.
^ ^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 – 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[]

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
"Wilmington (2.)" . 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
- 1911 ed., 1920 ed.
- 1952 ed., 1963 ed.
F.H. Richardson (1905). "Wilmington, N.C.". Richardson's Southern Guide. Chicago: Monarch Book Company – via Internet Archive.
"Wilmington (North Carolina)" . 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[]

"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.

[CityTimeline-1] "Wilmington History". City of Wilmington, North Carolina. Retrieved May 9, 2017. (Timeline)

[FOOTNOTEBritannica1910-2] Britannica 1910.

[FOOTNOTEHellmann2006-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Hellmann 2006.

[census1998-4] Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998

[LOC-5] "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved May 9, 2017.

[Weather-6] "This Day in Weather History". Aberdeen, South Dakota: National Weather Service. Retrieved May 9, 2017.

[davies-7] Davies Project. "American Libraries before 1876". Princeton University. Retrieved May 9, 2017.

[8] Wilmington Cemetery Tells Tale of a North Carolina Epidemic Retrieved May 9, 2020

[FOOTNOTETetterton2010-9] Tetterton 2010.

[10] Century of Stories: New Hanover County Public Library 1906-2006, 2006

[cinema-11] "Movie Theaters in Wilmington, NC". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved May 9, 2017.

[Alicoate1939-12] Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States: North Carolina", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636

[Alicoate1960-13] Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: North Carolina", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC 10512206

[aaslh2002-14] American Association for State and Local History (2002). "North Carolina". Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada (15th ed.). ISBN 0759100020.

[ThisDay-15] North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. "This Day in North Carolina History". Retrieved May 9, 2017.

[16] "North Carolina". Official Congressional Directory. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1997 – via HathiTrust.

[17] "Welcome to Wilmington, NC". Archived from the original on December 6, 1998 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.

[18] 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.

[19] "Wilmington city, North Carolina". QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 9, 2017.

[20] Civic Impulse, LLC. "Members of Congress". GovTrack. Washington, D.C. Retrieved May 9, 2017.

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Timeline of Wilmington, North Carolina

Contents

18th-19th centuries[]

20th century[]

21st century[]

See also[]

References[]

Bibliography[]

External links[]

Part of a series on the
History of North Carolina

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