The Historic Wilmington Foundation

During the 1960s and `70s, the 200-block area of residential downtown Wilmington was falling into disrepair. Social and economic circumstances were driving Wilmingtonians away from the neighborhood to the safety of the suburbs. Beautiful old homes that were no longer livable — and had become tax burdens to owners who would not live in them and could not rent them — began to be demolished.

The sight of losing these houses one after another sounded an alarm in Wilmingtonians that reverberated throughout the community. Concerned citizens feared not only the complete destruction of the houses but also of a piece of local history. Although privately owned, these homes, with their distinctive architecture that ranges from Italianate to Antebellum to Neo-Classical to Mediterranean to Victorian, share their history with every visitor who stands on the sidewalk and looks at them.

Years before the Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant attended a wedding at the Governor Dudley mansion, a downtown home overlooking the river. In another home, young Woodrow Wilson studied his homework by candlelight. In yet another, youthful journalist David Brinkley straightened his tie, collected his notepad and headed off to cover a story at the nearby Cape Fear Hotel.

Aside from the value of memories and the interesting lessons of history, perhaps this community's greatest current importance is simply its livability. A stroll through Historic Downtown Wilmington today reveals little of the hard times that gripped the neighborhood during the 1970s. Beautifully restored eighteenth- and nineteenth-century homes gleam with new paint and catch the eye with fascinating architectural detail. Passersby can't help but notice the meticulously kept gardens and neighbors engaged in ongoing renovation projects. There is almost always a ladder in view and a proud homeowner tending to maintenance of a home that, while private, is a national treasure.

The convivial and prosperous atmosphere of today's downtown neighborhood is the result of a tremendous amount of work on the part of many individuals and groups. The City of Wilmington, the Downtown Area Redevelopment Effort, the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society and others share credit for what must have seemed a daunting task.

One organization that has toiled quietly behind the scenes for three decades to save the neighborhood is the Historic Wilmington Foundation. Formed in 1966, its members came together to question the alarming loss of historic homes and a community that could never be duplicated again in American history. Under the leadership of R. V. Asbury and Thomas H. Wright, Sr., an army of volunteers came forth to address a critical component in the reclaiming of downtown: saving the architecture by stopping demolitions and providing for alternative funding to help home buyers finance renovations. It was the beginning of preservation efforts in Wilmington.

The foundation purchased endangered homes, identified their historical significance, established protective covenants with buyers and gave momentum to what became a massive domino effect. Early in the effort, the foundation funded the purchase of more than 50 homes through North Carolina's first revolving fund. As the renovation process progressed, neighbors who had endured the community's worst times took heart and began to repair their own homes.

A house that became something of a beacon to the neighborhood was purchased in 1985 by the Historic Wilmington Foundation to serve as its office. The deRosset House at the corner of S. Second and Dock streets is a 10,000-square-foot Greek Revival home dating from 1841. Renovations in 1874 added the cupola and gave the building an Italianate style. The house was purchased for $35,000 and, according to the foundation's former Executive Director Elizabeth Buxton, it had been vacant since the 1950s and was in terrible disrepair. Although the foundation renovated office space in the basement and spent 12 years painstakingly restoring the home, a time came when the house was a serious financial drain on the organization. As with all foundation purchases, the deRosset House was returned to the market and, in 1997, was sold to Tom Scott and Mike Compton, visionary developers who renovated the home to its former grandeur.