Wilmington, North Carolina
Encyclopedia : W : WI : WIL : Wilmington, North Carolina
- For other places called Wilmington, see Wilmington
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Wilmington is a city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 75,838 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of New Hanover County[Geographic references#6GR6]. It was named in honor of Spencer Compton, the Earl of Wilmington, who was Prime Minister under George II.
Wilmington was settled on the Cape Fear River and is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. Wilmington offers its historic downtown as a main tourist attraction and business center and is minutes away from nearby beaches. The city residents have the advantage of living nestled between a river and the ocean.
Wilmington is also known as the childhood home of basketball great Michael Jordan and journalist David Brinkley; famous Wilmington natives include Sugar Ray Leonard, Charles Kuralt, Charlie Daniels, Roman Gabriel and Meadowlark Lemon. It is also home to the WWII Battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55). Now a war memorial, the ship is open to public tours and is on display across from the downtown port area. The town is home to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, the Wilmington Hammerheads USL soccer team, the [Cape Fear Soccer Youth Soccer Association]and the Cape Fear Museum. The city has become a major center of American film and television production; motion pictures such as The Crow and Blue Velvet as well as television shows such as Dawson's Creek and One Tree Hill were/are produced there.
Geography
Wilmington is located at (34.223232, -77.912122)[Geographic references#1GR1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 107.4 km² (41.5 mi²). 106.2 km² (41.0 mi²) of it is land and 1.2 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (1.16%) is water.
History
Although there had been attempts to settle the Cape Fear region in the 1600s, the first permanent English settlers established themselves in the area in the 1720s. The town of Wilmington was incorporated in 1739. A number of the first settlers of the region came from South Carolina and Barbados. Slavery came early to the region, as landowners used slave labor to exploit the region's natural resources. The forest provided the region's major industries through the 18th and most of the 19th century: naval stores and lumber fueled the economy both before and after the American Revolution. During the Civil War the port was a major base for Confederate blockade runners. It was captured by Union forces only in February of 1865, approximately one month after the fall of Ft. Fisher had closed the port. Since almost all the action was some distance from the city itself, a number of Antebellum homes and other buildings are still extant.In November 1898 Wilmington was the scene of a violent attack by a well-organized group of whites who burned an African American printing press, and then went to the north side of town where a number of Blacks were killed and many were run out of town. At the same time, the Republican mayor and city council were forced to resign, leading many to characterize what happened in Wilmington as a coup d'état. Events in Wilmington—which was the largest city in the state at the time—helped make North Carolina into a Democratic Party-controlled state. They also helped institute Jim Crow and disenfranchisement.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 75,838 people, 34,359 households, and 17,351 families residing in the city; according to census bureau estimates, the 2004 population is 93,292. The population density was 714.2/km² (1,849.8/mi²). There were 38,678 housing units at an average density of 364.2/km² (943.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.57% White, 25.82% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.14% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.63% of the population.
There were 34,359 households out of which 20.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.5% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.5% were non-families. 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.77.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 17.2% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,099, and the median income for a family was $41,891. Males had a median income of $30,803 versus $23,423 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,503. About 13.3% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.
Passenger transportation
- Located near the mouth of Cape Fear River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean, Wilmington has a sizable seaport. It was also designated as the "Port City" of North Carolina. A major international seaport, the North Carolina International Port is being planned down the river in Southport.
- Interstate Highway: The eastern terminus of I-40 is in Wilmington, sections of I-140 are open, and there are plans to extend I-20 to Wilmington.
- Wilmington is not currently served by passenger trains, though a link between the city and Raleigh, the state capital, is in the planning stages.
- The Wilmington International Airport serves the area.
- Bicycle: The NC-DOT Cape Fear Run bicycle route connects Apex to Wilmington and closely parallels the RUSA 600km brevet [route].
Media
Newspapers
The Star-News is Wilmington's daily newspaper and is read widely throughout the Lower Cape Fear region. The Wilmington Journal is a historic African-American newspaper that is published weekly. Encore Magazine is a weekly arts and entertainment publication.Television stations
The Wilmington television market is ranked 139 in the United States, and is the smallest DMA in North Carolina.- WWAY, Channel 3, ABC
- WECT, Channel 6, NBC
- WILM-LP, Channel 10, CBS/UPN (UPN affiliation ends fall 2006)
- WSFX-TV, Channel 26, FOX
- WBW, Cable channel 29, WB (not available over-the-air) (to become CW fall 2006)
- WUNJ-TV, Channel 39, PBS/UNC-TV
- WMYW-LP, Channel 47, My Network TV (Starts fall 2006)
- W51CW, Channel 51, TBN
Curiosities
- Wilmington was used as the scenery for the major filming of the Dawson's Creek TV series between 1998 and 2003, directed by Kevin Wiliamson.
- 185 movies were filmed in Wilmington [Source]
- The WB TV series One Tree Hill is currently being filmed in Wilmington with it returning for the 2006-2007 season.
- The television series Surface was filmed in Wilmington during the 2005-2006 season but is moving elsewhere for the 2006-2007 season.
Sister cities
Wilmington is a sister city with the following cities:Points of interest
- Cape Fear Serpentarium
- Airlie Gardens
- New Hanover County Extension Service Arboretum
- University of North Carolina at Wilmington Arboretum
Educational Institutions
- Cape Fear Community College (CFCC)
- University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW)
Small Business/Entrepreneurship Service Providers and Classes
- CFCC Small Business Center [link] - Classes and counseling for prospective and existing small business owners
- UNCW SBTDC
- SCORE
- CED Coastal
Economic Development Entities
- See Entrepreneurship Services above
- Wilmington Downtown
- Wilmington Industrial Development - Business Recruitment
- City of Wilmington Economic Development Liaison
External links
- [Official website of Wilmington, NC]
- [Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce]
- [Cape Fear Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau]
- [Wilmington NC Music Scene Resource Wilmington, NC]
- [Cape Fear Community College Small Business Center]
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