Cape Fear Museum

The coastal crossroads in Wilmington come with four-star history and a river view. Located in the Lower Cape Fear region, Wilmington, just minutes from the beach in southeastern North Carolina is home to the largest historic downtown district in the state with 230 blocks listed on the National Register of Historic Districts. It has a mile long riverwalk so you can tour this hit parade of history on foot, horse drawn carriage, or trolley. You can also take a riverboat ride & tour of the panoramic Wilmington waterfront along the scenic Cape Fear River. The town is a luxurious garden of historic homes and architecture, as well as the Cape Fear Museum of History and Science.

The museum, located in the heart of the historic district, is the oldest in North Carolina, and through interpretive displays, connects the history dots from local prehistoric archeological finds to the Civil War to the present, including hometown favorite son, Michael Jordan. It was founded in 1898 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The group began a search for Confederate relics and artifacts for display as a private enterprise housed in the Wilmington Light Infantry building. The museum was taken over by a different group in 1930 and the displays were expanded and diversified. Today, with over 50,000 objects, it explores the natural science and culture of the region, as well as it's unique multi-cultural history.

The Waves and Currents display includes a scale model of the 1863 Wilmington waterfront and a diorama of the battle of Fort Fisher, an important battle during the Civil War. The museum lobby includes the original Confederate artifacts collected in the 19th century and another Confederate collection obtained from the Blockade Runner Museum. The progress of the 20th Century is examined in the Century of Change exhibit and because of the region's link to the ocean there is a collection of tropical and temperate seashells indigenous to the region, including the Scotch Bonnet, the official seashell of North Carolina adopted in 1965 in honor of the early Scottish settlers in the region. The shell gets it's name from the fact that it resembles a traditional tartan hat worn in Scotland. As a sidenote, North Carolina was the first state in the Union to actually adopt an "official" seashell!

During WW-I and WW-II, Wilmington was one of the major shipbuilding ports in the country doing it's part for the Arsenal of Democracy which is celebrated in The Maritime Pavilion. On display is a flotilla of diverse watercraft, and you can get plans to build your own personal skiff if you're ever in the mood. The Cape Fear Stories exhibit has images, models, artifacts and exciting 3-D displays that jump out at you as you explore the lives of the regions people from Native American culture to the present day.