| Wilmington | city and county seat, W New Hanover County on Cape Fear River. A port for oceangoing vessels, it is approx. 30 mi. from the Atlantic Ocean. Est. 1739-40. The town had a succession of names in its earliest years. Apparently settled and first known as New Carthage about 1733. New Liverpool seems to have been used briefly, followed by New Town or Newton, the name by which it was chartered in 1739-40, and finally Wilmington. Named for Spencer Compton (1673?-1743), Earl of Wilmington, patron of Governor Gabriel Johnston, during whose administration the town was chartered. Inc. 1760. The legislature met there, 1741, 1746, 1754, 1759-60, 1760-61, and 1764. Scene of coup d’état and racial violence, 1898. Alt. 38. Produces baked goods, fabricated metals, lumber, wooden containers, textiles, apparel, dairy products, paper boxes, chemicals, and refrigeration machinery. University of North Carolina at Wilmington is there. |