Brunswick County
29 places on the trail: 26 highway markers, 3 battlefields and state sites.
Colonial North Carolina, 1585-1774
- D-14ARTHUR DOBBS 1689-1765Royal governor, 1754-65. Scholar, engineer, and member of Irish Parliament. Promoted immigration to colony. Grave 2 mi. ...
- D-79BOUNDARY HOUSECommissioners met here to run boundary in 1764. Popular stop for colonial travelers. Ruins used to est. present state li...
- D-54BRUNSWICKFounded c. 1725, long a principal port of N.C., site of Spanish attack, 1748, and of Stamp Act resistance, 1766. Later a...
- D-48CHARLES TOWNCenter of a colony from Barbados led by John Vassall, 1664. Abandoned by 1667. Was located 2 mi. E. on Town Creek.
- D-30FIRST POST ROADThe road from New England to Charleston, over which mail was first carried regularly in North Carolina, 1738-39, passed ...
- D-11FORT JOHNSTONGov. Gabriel Johnston ordered construction of fort, 1745. Burned by defiant colonists, 1775. Rebuilt later. Only the off...
- D-73JOHN LaPIERREOrdained 1707; came to America 1708. Served in many churches in area as missionary of Society for the Propagation of the...
- D-89JOSIAH MARTINLast royal governor of North Carolina, 1771-75. Fearing capture, in June 1775 he sought refuge here. Fled offshore to HM...
- D-29NORTH CAROLINA-SOUTH CAROLINANORTH CAROLINA / Colonized, 1585-87, by first English settlers in America; permanently settled c. 1650; first to vote re...
- D-3ORTONFine colonial home, built about 1725 by Roger Moore. Later Gov. Benjamin Smith's home. Stands 16-3/4 mi. south.
- D-53ORTON PLANTATIONHouse built c. 1725, subsequent additions. Home first of Roger Moore, later of Gov. Benjamin Smith, still later of James...
- D-82RUSSELLBOROUGHHome of royal governors Dobbs and Tryon. Site of Stamp Act resistance in 1765. Burned in American Revolution.
- D-16SPANISH ATTACKA Spanish expedition captured the town of Brunswick, 1748, during King George's War, but was soon driven away by the col...
- D-55ST. PHILIPS CHURCHAnglican, built under act of 1751. Graves of Governors Arthur Dobbs and Benjamin Smith and U.S. Justice Alfred Moore. Ru...
- D-4STAMP ACTArmed citizens led a protest in Feb. 1766 at Brunswick, seat of royal power, 2 mi. SE.
- D-110STEDE BONNET 1688-1718Barbadian planter turned pirate made N.C. his base, 1718. Captured in naval battle few mi. E. Hanged in Charleston.
Revolution and founding, 1775-1789
The young state, 1790-1860
- D-25ALFRED MOOREAssociate justice U.S. Supreme Court, 1799-1804. Continental Line & militia officer; attorney general. Grave 2 mi. SE.
- D-66BALD HEAD LIGHTHOUSEOriginal lighthouse was erected in 1794. Present tower, "Old Baldy," built in 1817. Used until 1935. Stands 3 miles sout...
- D-85BENJAMIN SMITH 1756-1826Governor, 1810-1811, legislator, soldier, benefactor of UNC. His plantation, "Belvedere," was 6 miles northeast.
- D-8FORT CASWELLBuilt by U.S. Army, 1826. Seized by N.C. militia in 1861. Vital Confederate coastal defense until it was abandoned in 18...
- D-70WASHINGTON'S SOUTHERN TOURPresident Washington, on April 27, 1791, was a guest at the home of William Gause, Jr., which stood four miles south.
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877
The New South, 1878-1929
Modern North Carolina, 1930 on
Battlefields, sites and undated markers
- SiteBRUNSWICK TOWN/FORT ANDERSON STATE HISTORIC SITEColonial history, Civil War, military history, archaeology, naval stores.
- SiteNORTH CAROLINA MARITIME MUSEUM (SOUTHPORT)Maritime history, transportation.
- BattleWILMINGTONWith the fall of Fort Fisher to Maj. Gen. Alfred Terry's and Rear Adm. David Porter's combined operation on January 15, ...