Tides & Towns
Cape Fear Coast · NC

Wilmington

A Cape Fear River port and the last Confederate harbor to fall.

Population
115,451 (2020 census)
Incorporated
February 20, 1739
WWII ships built
243

Then

  1. 1739

    The town is established and named for Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington.

  2. 1765

    On October 19, several hundred townspeople protest the Stamp Act, burn an effigy and toast “Liberty, Property, and No Stamp Duty.”

  3. 1865

    After Fort Fisher falls, Union troops take Wilmington in February, the last Confederate port captured.

  4. 1898

    White supremacists overthrow the city's elected biracial government, killing dozens or more; it is called the only coup d'état in U.S. history.

  5. 1941–1946

    The North Carolina Shipbuilding Company builds 243 ships.

  6. 1984

    A film studio opens, and Wilmington becomes known as Hollywood East.

Now

The battleship USS North Carolina is moored across the river from downtown as a war memorial. In 2020 Wilmington became the first World War II Heritage City.

The city lies between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic, with Wrightsville Beach nearby.

9 tide stations around Wilmington

Sources