Cape Fear Unearthed

By Gannett

What's Cape Fear Unearthed about?

StarNews Media Presents "Cape Fear Unearthed," a podcast digging into the history books of Southeastern North Carolina. The weekly podcast will feature stories drawn from the region's persisting legends, historical oddities and mysterious figures that have helped shape its legacy and culture.

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Cape Fear Unearthed episodes:

12.19.2022
Christmas shopping in the downtown Wilmington of yesteryear
We talk with longtime Wilmington resident Elaine Henson about what shopping downtown in the 1950s and '60s was like.
10.20.2022
Film documentary 'McKinley's Guns' digs into 1898 coup
Wilmington filmmaker Kent Chatfield talks about his 1898 documentary "McKinley's Guns," which will be available for streaming online Nov. 10.
10.06.2022
'Race, Place and Memory': Wilmington's troubled racial history
For this week's episode, we talk with Margaret M. Mulrooney, author of "Race, Place and Memory: Deep Currents in Wilmington, North Carolina," a comprehensive deep dive into Wilmington's long and troubled racial history.
08.11.2022
When Shell Island was an island, and a Black beach resort
The tourists who stay there might not know, but the Holiday Inn at Wrightsville Beach sits on the former site of Moore's Inlet. We take a look back at the days when Wrightsville's north end, Shell Island, was actually an...
06.24.2022
Revisiting The Barn: a legendary Wilmington jazz club and dance hall
We talk to Wilmington native and North Carolina jazz historian Larry Reni Thomas about The Barn, a club that shone brightly during the days of segregation in the 1940s and early '50s.
05.12.2022
A brief history of Eagles Island and Wilmington's 'west bank'
As Wilmington decides whether to bring development back to the west bank, we take a look at the history of the area, including its dark associations with slavery.
05.06.2022
Wilmington corner stores, gone but not forgotten
Before the rise of chain grocery and convenience stores, dozens of mom-and-pop stores run by independent merchants could be found in nearly every Wilmington neighborhood, most of them downtown.
04.14.2022
Roots of the GOAT: Michael Jordan's history in Wilmington
We talk with retired StarNews sports reporter Chuck Carree about Jordan's days in the '70s and '80s playing high school basketball in Wilmington.
03.24.2022
Train tracking: The lost Wilmington, Brunswick & Southern Railroad
We talk with Mark W. Koenig, the former director of the Wilmington Railroad Museum and author of "The Wilmington, Brunswick and Southern Railroad," which uncovers the history of the long-forgotten railroad line.
02.24.2022
Losing, and preserving, Black historic sites in Wilmington
A 1983 study commissioned by the city of Wilmington documented more than 100 historic sites and structures of significance to the Black community. The study was shelved, and more than two dozen structures have since been demolished.
02.04.2022
Photographic memories: Wilmington's history in photos
This week, we take a deep dive into more than 15,000 historic Wilmington photographs the Cape Fear Museum recently made available to the public on its website. Some photos date back to the 1860s, and together, they help tell the...
01.21.2022
Wilmington's Temple of Israel: storied past, building a future
Built in 1876 at Fourth and Market streets, Wilmington's Temple of Israel is believed to be the oldest synagogue in North Carolina and the 10th oldest in the United States in continuous use.
12.17.2021
The curious case of the Christmas flounder
The tale of the Christmas flounder has captured the imagination of Wilmingtonians ever since the story began running in the StarNews every Christmas Eve back in the early 1980s. We look into the Christmas flounder's rather murky origin story.
11.26.2021
Preserving history, one window and door at a time
We talk to the folks at Legacy Architectural Salvage, an offshoot of the Historic Wilmington Foundation, about their work in preserving old building materials for future home renovation and construction projects. Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by...
10.28.2021
Commemorating 1898, and the search for descendants
This week, we talk to Jim Downey and Tim Pinnick of the New Hanover County Community Remembrance Project, who are involved with some of the efforts to commemorate the events of 1898, in part by finding the descendants of those...
10.07.2021
The bridges of New Hanover County
Wwe take a look at the history of bridges in New Hanover County, both the bridges that exist today, and the bridges that preceded them.
09.16.2021
Ideal location: Wilmington film history and the Ideal Cement factory
Let’s talk a little bit of Wilmington film history, history that took place in an unlikely location in the northern wilds of New Hanover County. The massive, shut-down Ideal Cement plant near Castle Hayne has been the site of a...
08.05.2021
Century club: Wilmington's 100-year-old businesses
100 years is a long time. Almost no one even lives that long. But as we look back on the history of Wilmington, there are a handful of businesses that have stood the test of time and, through multiple generations,...
06.18.2021
Wilmington goes to the movies: bygone theaters and drive-ins
Let's take a look back at the many Wilmington movie theaters and drive-ins from yesteryear! Wilmington native Ann Hutteman saw movies at many of these locations, and she shares her memories with us. Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and...
05.31.2021
Historic Wilmington Foundation takes the past into the future
Founded in 1966, the Historic Wilmington Foundation, which has saved dozens if not hundreds of prominent structures in downtown Wilmington, has made its name on preserving the past for future generations. We talk with new executive director Travis Gilbert and...
05.19.2021
Enduring mystery: The fire that destroyed Hemenway Hall
50 years ago, on May 16 and 17, 1971, a fire destroyed Hemenway Hall in downtown Wilmington. The New Hanover County Board of Education building, built in 1915, was formerly Hemenway School. The cause of the fire remains a mystery,...
04.29.2021
Unearthing history, literally, with the Cape Fear Explorers
Members of the Cape Fear Explorers talk about searching for artifacts in Southeastern N.C.
04.08.2021
The once and future queens of the N.C. Azalea Festival
Victoria Huggins, the 74th queen of Wilmington's N.C. Azalea Festival, talks with host John Staton about some of the festival's most famous and notable queens.
03.27.2021
Wilmington's rock of ages: Remembering The Mad Monk
On the 25th anniversary of its closing, we talk about Wilmington rock club The Mad Monk's heyday and its legacy.
03.04.2021
Goodbye, Farewell and Hello
Cape Fear Unearthed creator Hunter Ingram says farewell to the series for a new opportunity and introduces his successor as host, John Staton.
02.18.2021
U.S. Colored Troops and the Battle of Forks Road
The story of the Battle of Forks Road in Wilmington is an important snapshot of the role the U.S. Colored Troops played in a war that would ultimately decide their future, and showed how they were on the frontlines even...
02.04.2021
Ellerbrock and Boss: Faithful Unto Death
Capt. William Ellerbrock and his dog, Boss, were in inseparable in Wilmington in 1880 when they became the lone victims of a vicious fire that sealed their fate and solidified their bond in history.
12.15.2020
Black Thursday: The Exodus of Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
On Dec. 15, 1955, a day known locally as the Black Thursday, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad announced it was ending its century-long relationship with the city, putting an end to an industry that put the region on the map...
12.03.2020
The World's Largest Living Christmas Tree
From 1928 to 2012, a 75-foot-tall, 110-foot-wide live oak standing in the former Hilton Park north of downtown Wilmington held the title of the World’s Largest Living Christmas. Over eight decades, the tree would become the epicenter of the Cape...
11.11.2020
Unearthing 1898, Part 3: The Aftermath
In the third episode of "Unearthing 1898," host Hunter Ingram and guests look at Wilmington in the days and years after Nov. 10, 1898.
11.10.2020
Unearthing 1898, Part 2: The Massacre
The second episode of "Unearthing 1898" explores Wilmington on Nov. 10, 1898 from Wilmington on Nov. 10, 1898, from sunup to sundown, discussing how the white supremacists carried out the massacre and coup that shocked and forever changed the city.
11.09.2020
Unearthing 1898, Part 1: The Campaign
In the first episode of "Unearthing 1898," host Hunter Ingram and guests look at Wilmington from the end of the Civil War through the Election of 1898, setting the stage for the massacre and coup that would erupt in the...
10.22.2020
Legend and Liquor: The Haunting of Lula's Pub
Lula's Pub is a downtown Wilmington bar beloved for its underground aesthetic, its low-key atmosphere and its ghost story, which tells of a former slave killed on the property who now greets guests in mirrors or dark corners. It's just...
10.08.2020
A Murder Etched in Stone
Lizzie Turlington's murder was famous in 1886, but it was made infamous by the Oakdale Cemetery gravestone in Wilmington that features the names of both the young woman buried beneath it and the man who killer her.
09.25.2020
Washington, Taft and Wilmington's Presidential Visits
Five presidents – Washington, Monroe, Polk, Fillmore and Taft – all visited Wilmington for short trips between 1791 and 1909, drawing huge crowds and making history in the Port City. For the latest episode of the podcast, we revisit each...
09.17.2020
One Night at Frying Pan Tower
Frying Pan Tower was once the first light of the Cape Fear, serving as a light tower 32 miles off the coast of Southeastern North Carolina to warn mariners of the dangers of Frying Pan Shoals. Today, it has been...
08.27.2020
A View of History from the Bellamy Mansion
For many, the antebellum era in Wilmington is defined by the Bellamy Mansion. This week, we look at home built for John D. Bellamy and his large family at the outset of the Civil War and why it has become...
08.13.2020
The Crusade of Women's Suffrage in North Carolina
In August 2020, the country will celebrate 100 years since the 19th Amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote. The movement to bring out that revolutionary moment was a hard-fought battle that came down to just a few...
07.30.2020
How Smithville Became Southport
Southport, one of North Carolina's most desired summer destinations, actually has it's roots in the colonial Fort Johnston, which was intended to serve as the Cape Fear's most intimidating defender, although it never was. From it, Smithville and Southport were...
07.16.2020
The History Behind Wilmington's Confederate Statues
After two downtown Wilmington monuments to the Confederacy were removed in June 2020, we look at the history of who the statues were honoring, including George Davis, and how the United Daughters of the Confederacy fought to ensure their prominent...
07.01.2020
Revolution Comes to the Cape Fear
The Stamp Act Rebellion in the 1760s was a pivotal first step toward revolution in the Colonies and nowhere was it more important than in the Cape Fear.
06.26.2020
Althea: Queen of the Court
When Althea Gibson became the first Black person to win Wimbledon in 1957, she had come a long way from the streets of Harlem and a backyard tennis court in Wilmington to take on the world stage. This week we...
06.04.2020
The House Built on Wilmington's First Jail
The Burgwin-Wright House in the heart of downtown Wilmington was a colonial architectural masterpiece with a foundation built on the bones of the city's first jail. As the house turns 250 years old, we look at it's unique history that...
05.14.2020
WASPs, Warships and Wartime Wilmington
In a special episode timed to the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, we discuss the legendary warship production in Wilmington on the Cape Fear River and the brave story of the WASPs (Women's Airforce Service Pilots)...
04.24.2020
Burial Grounds of the Cape Fear
In its 50th episode, Cape Fear Unearthed ventures into the fascinating origin stories of the region's historic cemeteries and graveyards.
04.01.2020
Panic and Plague: The 1918 Spanish Influenza
The Spanish Influenza of 1918 killed more than 50 million people worldwide and brought daily life to a standstill, especially in Wilmington, where it first showed up in North Carolina.
03.12.2020
Wilmington's Trailblazing Women
With Women’s History Month in full swing, the Cape Fear Unearthed local history podcast is turning its attention to the lives of women who helped define and redefine progress in Southeastern North Carolina.
02.27.2020
Highland Charge: Scots in the Cape Fear
When America went to war to fight for its independence, it was a nation of immigrants. Among those disparate groups looking for opportunity in the new country were the Highland Scots, thousands of which made the journey after being forced out...
02.14.2020
BONUS EPISODE: The Fort Anderson Flag
This special bonus episode tells the story of how the Fort Anderson flag made it from the Cape Fear to Washington, D.C. and into the company of both President Abraham Lincoln and his eventual assassin John Wilkes Booth.
02.13.2020
The Bombardment of Fort Anderson
Fort Anderson is often overshadowed by Fort Fisher in Civil War history, but it was ultimately the final stand of the Confederacy in the fight to keep Wilmington out of Union hands.

What's Cape Fear Unearthed about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Cape Fear Unearthed episodes:

Christmas shopping in the downtown Wilmington of yesteryear

Film documentary 'McKinley's Guns' digs into 1898 coup

'Race, Place and Memory': Wilmington's troubled racial history

When Shell Island was an island, and a Black beach resort

Revisiting The Barn: a legendary Wilmington jazz club and dance hall

A brief history of Eagles Island and Wilmington's 'west bank'

Wilmington corner stores, gone but not forgotten

Roots of the GOAT: Michael Jordan's history in Wilmington

Train tracking: The lost Wilmington, Brunswick & Southern Railroad

Losing, and preserving, Black historic sites in Wilmington

Photographic memories: Wilmington's history in photos

Wilmington's Temple of Israel: storied past, building a future

The curious case of the Christmas flounder

Preserving history, one window and door at a time

Commemorating 1898, and the search for descendants

The bridges of New Hanover County

Ideal location: Wilmington film history and the Ideal Cement factory

Century club: Wilmington's 100-year-old businesses

Wilmington goes to the movies: bygone theaters and drive-ins

Historic Wilmington Foundation takes the past into the future

Enduring mystery: The fire that destroyed Hemenway Hall

Unearthing history, literally, with the Cape Fear Explorers

The once and future queens of the N.C. Azalea Festival

Wilmington's rock of ages: Remembering The Mad Monk

Goodbye, Farewell and Hello

U.S. Colored Troops and the Battle of Forks Road

Ellerbrock and Boss: Faithful Unto Death

Black Thursday: The Exodus of Atlantic Coast Line Railroad

The World's Largest Living Christmas Tree

Unearthing 1898, Part 3: The Aftermath

Unearthing 1898, Part 2: The Massacre

Unearthing 1898, Part 1: The Campaign

Legend and Liquor: The Haunting of Lula's Pub

A Murder Etched in Stone

Washington, Taft and Wilmington's Presidential Visits

One Night at Frying Pan Tower

A View of History from the Bellamy Mansion

The Crusade of Women's Suffrage in North Carolina

How Smithville Became Southport

The History Behind Wilmington's Confederate Statues

Revolution Comes to the Cape Fear

Althea: Queen of the Court

The House Built on Wilmington's First Jail

WASPs, Warships and Wartime Wilmington

Burial Grounds of the Cape Fear

Panic and Plague: The 1918 Spanish Influenza

Wilmington's Trailblazing Women

Highland Charge: Scots in the Cape Fear

BONUS EPISODE: The Fort Anderson Flag

The Bombardment of Fort Anderson