About Wilmington's Eagles Island-- Part 3: Into the 1900s

Eagles Island appears to have sunk into commercial decline  about the time of World War I.

The Wilmington  Iron Works operated a shipyard and marine railway on Eagles Island as late as 1924  The rusted iron gears they used to pull ships out of the water are reportedly still in view.  In 1910, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built docks and a yard on the island that are still in use.

The battleship USS North Carolina was docked at the island in 1961 and formally dedicated  April 29, 1962,  as a memorial to World War II veterans from North Carolina.  The memorial now occupies a 61-acre tract on the island and is set aside as a nature preserve.

Today, parts of the island  are on the National Register of Historic Places for the number of wrecks in the area along the west bank of the Cape Fear River.

The paddle wheel of a U.S. Engineer snag boat, the H.G. Wright, was removed from the island in the 1980s, restored and now is on display at the Cape Fear  Museum.

--Old B-Runner

Wilmington, N.C.--Part 2: The Best Of

Wilmington is one of my favorite towns anywhere, other than the traffic, which is a headache and for gosh sake, watch out for all those photo-enforced stoplights.  I hate photo-enforced stoplights.  But, Wilmington has all that history, the river front and, of course, my all-time favorite ship, the battleship USS North Carolina.

Anyway, the Civil War Monitor magazine asked two Wilmington experts to point out great places to go while in Wilmington and around it in such areas as

Can't Miss
Best Kept Secret
Best Family Activity

Best Civil War Spot
Best Eats
Best Sleep
Best Book

--We'll Find Out Soon.  --Old B-Runner

No Surprises: Fort Fisher Popular With the Tourists

From the March 6, 2017, Wilmington (NC) Star-News "No surprises -- Fort Fisher popular with North Carolina visitors" by Tim Buckland.

According to the annual list compiled by the Carolina Publishing and Associates. for the year 2016, Fort Fisher State Historic Site ranked #2 in the state with 830,136 visitors.  The #1 site was the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science with 937,341.

Other high-ranking Wilmington area sites were the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher with 472,471 (which charges admission and the highest of the state's other two aquariums) and the Battleship North Carolina at #21 (also charges admission).

The other Civil War site was Fort Macon State Historic Park at #3 with 802,706.

Of Course, It Is My Belief That Many of Fort Fisher's Visitors Are There Because of the State Recreation Area at Fort Fisher.  --Old BRunner

Fort Fisher #7, Fort Macon #4 in NC Tourism

From the Feb. 24, 2014, Yahoo! Finance "Biltmore Top NC Museum and Historic Attraction." The results are in for 2013. #1 in state attractions was Biltmore, the largest privately-owned home in the United States with 1,210,000 visitors. //// #2. NC Museum of Natural Sciences with 1,026,000 //// #3. NC Zoo with 740,000 //// #4. Fort Macon with 722,000 //// #5. Charlotte Discovery Place with 706,000 //// Fort Fisher was #7 with 448,000 and #20 was the Battleship USS North Carolina with 212,000. //// Seeing That Stuff in the Old North State. --Old B-R'er