USA > North Carolina > New Hanover County > New Hanover County : a brief history > Part 9
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The economic benefits from improved highways have been of tremendous value to New Hanover County and to the port of Wilmington. Having become more accessible to the surrounding region, the city has become a far more important center for marketing and shopping and other activities. The port has gained by the fact that goods can now be moved in and out conveniently and economically. An example of increased activity is in the movement of petroleum products. By means of tanker trucks rolling over the improved highways, Wilmington has become a major center for the distribution of these products.
Air transportation has been a more recent development and one which came to New Hanover County rather slowly. In 1926 the county purchased a tract of about seventy acres on the Gordon Road to the northeast of the city. Two years later clear- ing work for an airport was started. This work was continued
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for several years by convicts and, with the coming of the Great Depression, by people on public welfare. With the inauguration of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal in 1933, funds were made available for this work through the Civil Works Adminis- tration. In the mid-1930s, a substantial boost to the undertaking came with grants from the Works Progress Administration and the Public Works Administration. With these funds three modern runways and a large hangar were built. The growing interest in air travel was indicated by the opening of the Pennington Flying School, which was located at the airport and operated by Warren Pennington, the local pioneer of the air.
In 1941 with the coming of World War II, the airport was taken over by the United States Army, and it became the Wil- mington Army Air Base for the duration. The army expanded the field and made extensive improvements which were of great value to the county when it was returned at the end of the war. The county has continued to make improvements, which include a modern terminal building. The facilities now accommodate com- mercial airlines which carry both passengers and freight. Known officially as New Hanover County Airport-Bluethenthal Field, it was named in honor of Arthur Bluethenthal, a young Wilmington hero killed in World War I.
The People and Their Churches
The growth of religious life in New Hanover County in modern times is revealed vividly in the increased number and variety of places of worship. At the end of the Civil War, Wil- mington had ten churches, including three Episcopal; two Metho- dist; two Presbyterian, one white and one Negro; one Roman Catholic ; one Lutheran; and one Baptist. The latter church was on Front Street, but there was a larger and more modern build- ing under construction at Fifth and Market streets. In addition, there were several churches in the rural areas of the county. Little more than a century later, there are more than a hundred churches in the county, some white and some Negro, and repre- senting all major denominations. About one half the structures are in Wilmington. By denomination, about one third of the total are Baptists, of one branch or another. Methodists are next in number, followed by Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, and Lutherans. In addition, there are a dozen or more denominations with one or two church structures. Collectively,
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these many places of worship reflect the strong spiritual aspira- tions of the local people. Individually, each church is worthy of its history being recounted fully. Unfortunately, the scope of this works permits the inclusion of only a few scattered details which stand out as unusual.
Fire remained a constant foe of church buildings, and in its destructive ways it showed no favoritism among the denomi- nations. On February 21, 1886, in the afternoon of a peaceful Sunday, a raging fire swept over a large area of Wilmington in the neighborhood of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad yards. Among the many buildings destroyed was the Front Street Methodist Church, located on the corner of Front and Walnut streets, the structure that had been built after the fire of 1843. The members of the congregation bent once more to the frustrat- ing task of rebuilding, but this time they chose a new name, Grace Methodist Church. They also chose a new location on Fourth Street, at the intersection of Mulberry, soon changed to Grace Street. There, on the northeast corner, the new building was completed in March, 1888.
While the Methodists were without their own church building from 1886 to 1888, they were the beneficiaries of an unusual dis- play of community fraternalism. They were offered, and they accepted, the use of the Temple of Israel, a Jewish synagogue. There had been a Jewish congregation in Wilmington as early as 1858, and occasional Jewish services were held in a building on South Front Street, a former Presbyterian chapel. In 1867 the group was formally organized, and in 1875 the cornerstone of a synagogue was laid. When it was completed the following year, it was the first Jewish synagogue in North Carolina. Located on the southeast corner of Fourth and Market streets, this was the Temple of Israel which was so graciously offered to the Method- ists.
On November 1, 1874, the Reverend Joseph R. Wilson arrived in Wilmington as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Third and Orange streets. With the Wilson family was a son, Tommy, just under eighteen years of age. He had been a student at Davidson College the year before, but his health had deteriorated and his formal education had been necessarily inter- rupted. Tommy was a shy and timid boy whose activities were restricted by his physical condition. For that reason, he spent much of his time in studying and reading. The following year, in the fall of 1875, he entered Princeton University, from
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Sacred lo the Memory of WOODROW WILSON 001856-192400 World War President? of the United States 09 1913-1921.00 Georg Son of resero Ret Joseph R. Wilson.D.D. Pastor of this Church os 659) 1874-1885
The Father of the League Nations A scholar Statesman and Christian a Louer of'ss Righteousness. Once d Citizen d Wilmington and Member of this Church A Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church Erected by The Stamp Defiance Chapter The Daughters of the American b. . Revolution
DAR
1928
In the First Presbyterian Church is a plaque dedicated to the memory of Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. The future president lived in Wilmington while his father was pastor of this church. (DeRosset.)
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which he was graduated in 1879. From there Thomas Woodrow Wilson, known to history as Woodrow, set out on the career that led to the presidency of the United States. His father continued his ministry in Wilmington until 1885.
Another transitory Wilmingtonian who gained world renown was a native of China, Soong Yao-ju. In 1880 at the age of about eighteen, Soong was employed as a mess boy on a United States Revenue Service cutter stationed in Wilmington. The captain of the vessel, Charles Jones, became interested in him and en- couraged his determination to advance his education. Jones also introduced the young man to a number of local people, including Col. Roger Moore, a prominent businessman and Methodist lay- man. With the assistance of Colonel Moore, Soon, as he had become known, obtained his release from the Revenue Service and became a resident of Wilmington. Not long afterward, he became a Christian, being baptized in the Methodist church. On the occasion of his baptism, he showed his esteem for his original benefactor by taking the name Charlie Jones Soon. Friends also made it possible for Soon to attend Trinity College (now Duke University) and later, the School of Religion of Vanderbilt Uni- versity. In 1885 he returned to China as a missionary minister of the Southern Methodist Church.
In China, Soong, having restored the "g" to his family name, married and entered business in order to support a growing family that eventually included three sons and three daughters. Although he achieved renown in his own right, his greatest fame came through his children. One daughter married Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the revolution that overthrew the Imperial govern- ment of China in 1911 and resulted in the establishment of the Republic of China. Another daughter married Chiang Kai-shek, the military leader of the revolution and the present head of the Nationalist Chinese government on Formosa. The third daughter married H. H. Kung, a man of great wealth and high government rank. A son, T. V. Soong, also attained high government position. All six children were educated at colleges in the United States.
The Roman Catholics of North Carolina continued to be under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Charleston, South Carolina, until 1868, when the state received separate status as a vicariate apostolic (a missionary area comparable to a bishop's see but lacking a cathedral) . Named as the first vicar apostolic was James Gibbons, a young Baltimore priest of thirty-three years, who, at the same time, became the youngest Roman Catholic bishop in
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the world. North Carolina still had few Roman Catholics, but Bishop Gibbons faced his duties with determination and did much to promote the church and church education in the state. Among other accomplishments, he persuaded nuns of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, of Charleston, to come to Wilmington and open the first Roman Catholic school in the state.
In 1872 Bishop Gibbons was appointed bishop of Richmond, where he established his residence. As time passed, he moved on to high responsibilities, and the culmination of his career came in 1886 when he was created a cardinal. He died in Baltimore in 1921 at the age of eighty-seven years. While on a visit to Wilmington in 1876, Gibbons was inspired to write the opening chapter of The Faith of Our Fathers, a simple statement of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The book, completed and published before the end of the year, was an immediate suc- cess, and eventually appeared in a half-dozen different languages ; millions of copies were sold.
The Development of the Modern School System
To the people of North Carolina, few, if any, consequences of the Civil War were more serious than the destruction of the edu- cational system that had existed at the beginning of the struggle. The revival of a public system was authorized by the State Con- stitution of 1868, but it was slow in developing. For several years, education was confined mostly to private schools. Conditions in New Hanover reflected those of the state as a whole. In the absence of public schools, those who could afford them depended on private institutions which were supported by tuition fees. There were a number of such schools; but the most enduring, and possibly the most influential, was the Cape Fear Military Academy founded in 1868 by R. E. Colston, a former Confederate general, an excellent teacher, and a strict disciplinarian. His immense pride in his students was never greater than on April 28, 1870, when the "Colston Cadets" served as escort to Gen. Robert E. Lee, upon the occasion of the great hero's visit to Wilmington. In 1879 the school passed under the capable leader- ship of Washington Catlett, who operated it until 1916. Professor Catlett dropped the military features of the school and changed its name to Cape Fear Academy, but he continued to maintain the highest standards of education and character building. Many young men of the community who achieved success in later years
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owed much to Catlett's thoroughness and firmness as a teacher.
New Hanover County also had a number of free private schools which were sponsored by various northern benevolent societies and foundations. Some were for white children, but most were for Negroes.
A momentous event in local educational development came in December, 1866, with the arrival of Miss Amy Bradley. A New England Yankee of maturity and experience, Miss Bradley was motivated by a compelling desire to teach, and the following month she opened her first classes in the old Union School Build- ing which she was permitted to use. Her work soon attracted the attention of Mrs. Mary Tileston Hemenway, a wealthy Bostonian who wished to honor members of her own family and to encourage Miss Bradley. The philanthropist accomplished both purposes by donating money for two schools for Wilmington, one for Negroes and the other for whites. The latter, named Hemenway School, was located on Fourth Street, between Red Cross and Campbell.
In the beginning Miss Bradley concentrated on basic literacy, or grammar schools. In time, however, she turned her attention to more advanced education and persuaded Mrs. Hemenway to provide $30,000 for a new building. By October, 1872, the struc- ture had been completed, and the combined classes of Union and Hemenway schools moved in under the name of Tileston Normal School. Bearing the name of the donor's father, Tileston Normal
Shown here are four of New Hanover County's schools which have been prominent in the county's history and are here pictured in the 1930s: upper left, Tileston Normal; upper right, Hemenway; lower left, Isaac Bear; lower right, New Hanover High School. (DeRosset.)
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was a free school that depended primarily on the dedication of Miss Bradley and the generosity of Mrs. Hemenway with students being selected on the basis of capability and need.
In the meantime, the city of Wilmington and the county of New Hanover began to assume a part of the responsibility for education. After the Union and Hemenway school buildings were vacated in 1872, they were acquired by the school committee of Wilmington so that free public instruction could be provided for the white children of the community. This was the beginning of the local public school system.
In 1882 the city was fortunate in obtaining the services of M. C. S. Noble as superintendent of its public school system. When he took office, the prospects were bleak with only two existing public schools, Union and Hemenway. Under his guid- ance, however, the system began to expand. The following year, 1883, two additional schools were in operation, both for Negroes. One, the Peabody Graded School, was located on Fifth Street, be- tween Red Cross and Campbell; the other, the Williston Graded School, was located on Seventh, between Ann and Nun. In 1886 the Union School was moved from its old site on Sixth Street, between Nun and Church, to a new structure on the northwest corner of Sixth and Ann streets. In 1889 Hemenway School was transferred to a new building located on a lot that extended from Fifth to Sixth streets, between Chestnut and Grace. Both schools were burned later and rebuilt on the same sites, Union in 1891 and Hemenway in 1897.
For some years, the local public school officials confined their attention to elementary and grammar schools, apparently pre- suming that those seeking more advanced learning could find it in the private schools. However, beginning about 1890, there was increasing concern with the gap that existed between the educational programs of the local public schools and the Uni- versity of North Carolina. Consequently, a lot on the northeast corner of Market and Third streets was purchased, and a one- story building was constructed thereon. This, the first public high school in the county, continued to be the only one until 1879 when the high school was moved into the Tileston building, which the city acquired (first by lease and later by gift) from the trustees of the estate of Mrs. Hemenway.
The addition of a high school completed the basic foundation of a public school system. Much more was needed, however, and the need has grown with the population. The county now
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has a modern, racially integrated system which includes two high schools, five junior high schools, and more than twenty elementary and special schools. While most of the units are lo- cated in Wilmington, others are dispersed about the county, including an elementary school in both of the larger beach com- munities, Wrightsville and Carolina. Aside from guidance of excellent school officials, this progress has been made possible by the efficiency of a system in which a single school district extends over city and county. In addition to the public schools, there are also several private and parochial schools.
Education in a different dimension was begun in the county in 1964 with the establishment of a college center which offered courses on a freshman level. The response indicated that a local college was needed and would be patronized. Consequently, the people of the county, in an election held in March, 1947, approved a tax levy to make possible the creation of a two-year college, under the New Hanover County Board of Education. Wilmington College opened the following September and was located in the Isaac Bear School Building, on the south side of Market Street, just to the west of Thirteenth. Dr. John T. Hog- gard, a leading figure in its founding, was the college's first presi- dent. The institution was a success, and in 1958 it became part of the state system of higher education, receiving state as well as county funds. At the same time, control passed to a twelve- member board of trustees. The college continued to grow; in June, 1961, it was moved to a spacious campus of 620 acres, several miles to the east of Wilmington. On July 1, 1963, it be- came a senior college with a four-year curriculum and the authority to grant the baccalaureate degree. The crowning suc- cess came in June, 1969, when Wilmington College became the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Wilmington also has the Cape Fear Technical Institute, super- vised by the Department of Community Colleges. The institute trains skilled technicians for industrial and other needs, and its work in marine technology is particularly noteworthy.
The Public Library
Another cultural casualty of the Civil War, or more precisely, of Reconstruction, was the Wilmington Library Association. In 1865 its room in the town hall was taken over by the Freedman's
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Bureau, an agency of the federal government, and its books were scattered. On January 17, 1866, the association's constitution, which had been lost, was reconstructed and readopted; and the organization resumed its activities in other quarters. Its library services again proved popular, and in 1874 the organization leased increased space in the Masonic Hall on Market Street and acquired additional books.
In 1906 members of the North Carolina Sorosis, one of the most active of the Wilmington women's clubs, became interested in the establishment of a free public library and requested the board of aldermen of the city to appropriate $1,200 for such a purpose. The board approved the appropriation, and the ladies raised additional funds. The board also approved use of the upper floor of the city hall for the library. As a result, on November 30, 1906, the Wilmington Public Library was opened with a nucleus of books bought from the Wilmington Library Association and supplemented by volumes collected by the ladies of Sorosis. The Wilmington Public Library occupied the city hall quarters until July 1, 1956, when it was moved to the Wilming- ton Light Infantry building on Market Street, between Fourth and Fifth. This building was made available through the gener- osity of the military organization. The library is a joint enter- prise of the city and county which support it; its expansion is reflected in the fact that it has a branch on Red Cross Street, another at Carolina Beach, and a bookmobile operating through- out the county.
The Local Press
Newspaper publishing in the county came to a halt with Federal occupation, but only temporarily. Within a short while the first of the postwar papers appeared, and it was followed from time to time by others. With few exceptions they were of short duration. One of the exceptions was the prewar daily, the Journal, which was revived as a Conservative organ in 1865 and continued in print until 1877. The Post was begun in 1867 as a Republican paper and was published until 1884 when it was terminated for lack of sufficient advertising revenue. The Post had outlived its support, but its demise was also due to the compe- tition of the Morning Star. The same was true of the Journal. The Morning Star was begun in 1867 by Maj. William H. Bernard as a Conservative paper. First published in the afternoon, it soon
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became a morning daily and was an immediate success. The Morning Star continues as one of the two dailies published in the county at the present time. The other is the News, which be- gan in 1895 as the Evening Dispatch, was published as the News for a short while in 1923, as the News-Dispatch from then until 1929, and as the News since then. The News is an afternoon daily and is published with the Morning Star on Sundays as the Star-News. The county also has two weekly newspapers, the Wilmington Journal and the Hanover Sun.
The Theater and Other Forms of Diversion
The theater has always been appreciated locally as a source of cultural stimulation and diversion and Wilmington has been a center for frequent and varied professional productions. Even during the Civil War, the boom conditions and easy money en- couraged regular and widely supported presentations. This popu- larity continued in the postwar years, varying, of course, with the ups and downs of economic conditions.
For a long while, entertainment was provided almost alto- gether by touring individuals or theatrical companies, and the type of programs varied widely, being designed for different levels of taste. For the most discriminating there were concerts, musical comedies, grand opera, and the drama. For others, there were minstrels, magic shows, panorama, and variety shows. In the latter years of the nineteenth century, touring hit plays traveling out of New York and appearing for one or two nights became very popular. The same was true of a new concept in entertainment, the touring performer of national or international fame. Among those who came to Wilmington were Edwin Forrest, Joseph Jefferson, Edwin A. Southern, Minnie Madden Fiske, and Richard Mansfield. Another innovation, introduced after electricity became available, was the presentation of pro- grams which depended on elaborate scenic and mechanical ef- fects for success.
During these same years stock companies also became popular. Made up of a number of players, generally of mediocre ability, the stock companies were engaged by the week. Their perform- ances, usually melodrama, filled the void between more spectacu- lar productions. Road companies of many types passed through Wilmington, providing the variety of entertainment which re- mained in vogue after the turn of the century. Among the more
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famous individuals who made brief appearances were Alla Nazi- mova, DeWolfe Hopper, Louise Dresser, Maude Adams, Harry Lauder, and May Robson.
For several years after its completion in 1858 Thalian Hall was also called the Wilmington Theater. In 1871 its name was changed to the Opera House, and in 1902 it became the Academy of Music. The winter of 1927-1928 was the last regular season of professional performance in the Academy of Music. In 1929, in the course of its intermittent existence, the Thalian Association was revived for the fifth time. Consequently, the Academy of Music reassumed its original name, Thalian Hall, and was made available to the Thalians for amateur productions as well as to the Community Concert Association for its oc- casional professional programs. In 1938 the theater was closed for repairs and redecoration; it was reopened in April, 1941, with a production by the Thalians. In the spring of 1946 the building was closed again after its balcony and gallery had been condemned. The necessary repairs and renovations were soon made, however, and the beautiful hall, grown mellow with age, continues to be the home of the active and ambitious Thalian Association.
While Thalian Hall was the center of theatrical productions, not all such performances were given there. For a while after the Civil War, Masonic Hall was sometimes used for the pur- pose, as was the upper floor of the city hall, then and later. By World War I, the Royal and Victoria theaters had been built and were being used for stage performances. Visiting shows sometimes provided their own shelter in the form of tents; for example, the great circuses came with all their color, excitement, and infinite talent.
Beginning about 1920 there was a gradual decline in the appearances of the touring theatrical companies, and by the end of the decade they had all but disappeared. At the same time, there were more stock groups which sometimes remained for long engagements, virtually becoming companies in residence. For example, the Marguerite Bryant Players gave 176 per- formances during the winter of 1923-1924. However, after 1928, professional stage presentations were sporadic.
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