State

4 Built of brick, it was the finest of North Carolina’s plantation homes of the colonial era. Oakland Oaiklnml mansion is located in II laden C on nty and was the home of General Thomas llrown. an outstanding patriot of that day and time. »» HARRY Z. TICKER AS’OTHKK link to bygone days, representing skill in restful and striking proportions, is "Oakland Mansion." situated in the southern part of Hladeu County. Hard by the winding Cape Fear, strong and sinewy still, the old man¬ sion stands today in much of its pristine beauty and splendor — the finest of North Carolina^ plantation homes of the colonial era. built of brick. The old homestead, to which is at- t a died so much history and interest, is preeminently known for its quiet beauty and massive construction, and for the fact that it is one of the finest homes of its day left in the South. < bikhind is said !<• have been built alKuit 17«irt. by General Thomas Brown, a wealthy Englishman. A Patriotic Citizen While General Brown was a large planter and shipmaster, he was also •me of the most patriotic of Carolin¬ ians Although he was busy at all t inn's with his long line of boats, ply¬ ing between Cape Fear and foreign ports, he was never too busy to strike at the usurping Tories. It has been said that General Thomas Brown was never happier than while engaged in driving the henchmen of King George from the Cape Fear country. Wheeler, the historian, says that General Brown was in command at the battle of Elizabethtown : but later historical data shows that the distin¬ guished general was ill in a Wilming¬ ton hospital at the time, and that the battle was commanded bv bis broth¬ er-in-law. On approaching Oakland mansion, by way of the long plantation drive¬ way, the old home seems to stand out in bas-relief, but ever giving off an impression of stateliness and strength. The long double piazza, running the full length of the house, and latticed like the ancient homes of New Orleans, bespeaks of the aristo¬ cratic and colonial life of the builder. I’hc many lattices used about the piaz¬ zas are iu no sense fancy, but are sub¬ merged in the general imprc4sion of a solid, substantial and imposing early mansion of the Southland. The individual air of Oakland is of ab¬ sorbing interest, It may be said that much of the characl eristic charm of Oakland arises from association. Within its massive walls have thronged the elite of several generations of Cape Fear citizenry. The staid and educated Scotch were often visitors here. One can imagine that they were wont to recount to old General Brown tales from CiiIMcii. Among the guests at Oakland in the old days were visitors from the far North, from way down South, and from Virginia, ami the neighbor¬ ing states. Aside from a long list of prominent men ami women re¬ counted as having frequented Gen¬ eral Brown’s home, it is written that this house was the headquarters of Lord Cornwallis, sometime following the battle of Elizabethtown. The thick walls of Oakland, of tin- usual width, exemplify the fact that neither labor or money was spared in the erection of the house. The inte¬ rior. while colonial in every aspect, is of a serene plainness, and completely void of conspicuous and gaudy minor ornamentations. While the house is an adaptation of an English Tudor house, its original plan was modified to meet the needs of a manor in the American wilderness. Cnlike the true Tudor house. Oakland contains little embellishment. It has recently been said by a prominent Greensboro architect, who spent sometime at Oakland drawing plans of the old house, that the house could not Ik* built today for less than thirty thousand dollars. To Oakland, then, belongs in a great measure much of i lie social honor and recog¬ nized hospitality that has ever been accredited to General Brown and his descendants. Wilmington Planning Fort Fisher Pageant Wilmington. — A proposal to sur¬ vey the possibilities of presenting a pageant depicting the Battle of Fort Fisher next summer was approved at a meeting of interested citizens at noon Monday at the Chamber of Commerce offices. A committee was appointed to proceed at once in pro¬ motion of plans for the survey and accepted the recommendation of a representative of a producing com¬ pany that a field representative of the company be employed at an early date to conduct the survey.