WINNABOW - Travel back in time to a colonial Christmas celebration Saturday, Dec. 6, at Brunswick Town/Ft. Anderson State Historic Site in Winnabow. From 1-6 p.m., visitors can see Colonial Williamsburg-inspired holiday decorations and make a real colonial-style Christmas ornament to take home. Using natural materials and traditional fruits, staff and volunteers created wreaths, garland, and centerpieces. Period-costumed interpreters will be serving hot cider and colonial cookies.
This program is free and open to the public.
Visitors may also enter a drawing to win a prize from the gift shop. For more information, please contact Megan Phillips at (910) 371-6613 or email Brunswick@ncmail.net.
Brunswick Town was the first permanent settlement on the Lower Cape Fear River, established in 1726 as a port for ocean-going vessels. The town was attacked and captured by Spanish privateers in September 1748 and was the site of the Stamp Act Rebellion in 1766. In 1776 it was partially burned by British troops and all but abandoned by the end of the Revolutionary War. In 1862 Confederate forces constructed Ft. Anderson on part of the town.
Today one can tour ruins of a number of buildings and houses that lie along the shaded scenic tour trail. Other attractions include the majestic ruins of St. Philip’s Anglican Church, whose three-foot-thick brick walls recall the splendor of what was once a bustling colonial port, as well as the remains of Russellborough, where North Carolina colonial governors Arthur Dobbs and William Tryon once lived. Brunswick was also the unofficial capital of colonial North Carolina from 1758-1770. Visitors may also tour Ft. Anderson, one of the largest earthworks constructed on the Cape Fear River and one of the best-preserved in the nation. Alternatively, this state historic site is a bird watchers’ dream location, attracting those who just want to be one with nature.
The goal of Brunswick Town/Ft. Anderson State Historic Site is to preserve and interpret the history of Brunswick Town, the Cape Fear region’s first permanent settlement, and Ft. Anderson, the Civil War fortification built at the site.
It is located at 8884 St. Philip’s Rd. S.E., Winnabow, N.C. Take Interstate 40 east to Wilmington where the interstate ends and becomes College Road. Then take U.S. 17/74 south/west through Wilmington. Remain on this highway to the Southport/Leland exit. Take this exit and follow N.C. 133 south for approximately 17 miles and follow the signs to Brunswick Town. From Southport take N.C. 133 north approximately 15 miles to the site.
For more information call (910) 371-6613, e-mail brunswick@ncmail.net or visit our Web site at www.nchistoricsites.org/brunswic/brunswic.htm.
Brunswick Town/Ft. Anderson is part of the Division of State Historic Sites within the Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture. Join the Cultural Resources 2008 theme observance of “Telling Our Stories.” For more information, visit www.ncculture.com.