Volume XII
Number 31
December 30
1944
THE STATE
A Weekly Survey of North Coro lino
Entered aa itcond-daM matter. June 1. 1933. at the Poatofflce at Ralcich. North Carolina, under the Act of March 3. IS19.
Wilmington’s “Old
Castle”
This sinciciit slriicliiro. lo^llior uitli
lengthy tunnels
геисЫпц
to the water's
o<l£e. played a prwiiiineiit part in the early
history of the City by the Sea.
ALTHOUGH generations have
come and gone since Wilming¬
ton was founded, the ancient
stories do not die out. So it is
with the tradition of “The Old
Castle." and tunnels which led
from this stately mansion to the
Cape Fear River. There is a well
verified narrative which soys that
one of the tunnels extended prac¬
tically from the banks of the river,
eastward for a distance which is
said to have varied from several
hundred to a thousand yards.
The tunnels are said to have
antedated the erection of the "Old
Castle." They arc reputed to have
been provided by the earliest set¬
tlers in this vicinity as a protection
against the Indians. Sometime later
they served as a refuge or hiding
place for smugglers. Considerably
later the tunnels are said to have
been used by the flotsam and jet¬
sam element of seafarers who came
to Wilmington when sailing vessels
arrived from every quarter of the
world to take naval stores as car¬
go. These heartless wanderers of
the sea are said to have committed
many crimes. Tradition says they
assaulted or murdered their vic¬
tims, then passed through the tun¬
nels with the bodies and hid them
in the woods, several blocks east of
what is now a thickly settled sec¬
tion of Wilmington.
A Handsome Structure
The "Old Castle" a stately and
handsome structure stood in the
block, between Surry. Front.
Church and Castle streets, and
faced the river. The western en¬
trance to the tunnels extended
from what is now the dead ends of
Church and Castle streets. This
particular section is a high bluff
By LOtlS T. MOOIti:
which overlooks the river. The
level of the present street above
the Cape Fear is probably twenty
feet or more. This variation be¬
tween the surface of the river and
the rather steep hill, just a few
feet east, indicates that it was not
an impossible or difficult task for
the colonists to dig the tunnels and
to brace them, so that there would
be no caving in.
About fifty years ago it was de¬
cided to establish on industrial
plant near the corner of Surry and
Church streets. While doing the
excavation work, the laborers were
considerably surprised when their
picks passed through what ap-
Kred to be a brick roof, well
ied in the hill-side. The earth
was rapidly shoveled away. The
men were then astonished to dis¬
cover unmistakable evidences of
the old tunnels. From the appear¬
ance of the mouldy remains of the
brick roof and portions of sidewalls
still left, it was ascertained that
the tunnels must have been about
ten feet wide and twelve feet high.
The brick were rather small in
size but composed of a hard com¬
pact clay.
The present city of Wilmington
was settled in 1730. It is thought
that "The Castle" was built about
this same time. This handsome
building, three stories, of brick,
was placed on the bluff overlooking
the river. There is said to have
been an entrance to the tunnels
from the interior of "The Castle."
as well as from the river end. It
was from this time until the begin¬
ning of the Revolutionary War that
the tunnels are said to have been
used by buccaneers, pirates and
smugglers.
Used by Smugglers
While the tunnels were prob¬
ably used as places of refuge from
the Indians, with whom there were
continual conflicts during the
settlements of Brunswick and Wil¬
mington. one can readily under¬
stand that some of the Colonists,
although under the rule of the King
of England, were not averse, when¬
ever possible, to smuggle in goods
and products. Payment of duties
was regarded as a!» onerous bur¬
den. Some felt they were fully
justified in evading’ payment if
they could successfully accomplish
it. Undoubtedly, there was a com¬
plete understanding between oper¬
ators of the sailing vessels, which
visited the colonial port, and
owners of the goods, through which
proportional payments were made
to the captains, based upon their
successful entry.
Such persons as these are said
to have been the second extensive
users of the tunnels. The ships
would quietly make their way up
the river, and in the evening
anchor opposite the "Old Castle."
Then the crews would begin to
unload the valuable cargo in small
boats, hurry to the east side of the
river and deposit same on the bank
Other sailors, together with men
employed by those to whom the
goods were consigned, would then
hurriedly transport the materials
to the entrance of the tunnels and
convey same well into the recesses
It was not necessary to make
many trips in the small boats be¬
fore an entire ship load had been
(Continued on page 16)