Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Wilmington (2.)

WILMINGTON, the county seat of New Hanover county, North Carolina, United States, the principal seaport and the largest city of the State, is situated on the east bank of Cape Fear river, 30 miles from the ocean. It has railroad communication to the north, south, and west, and this, together with its maritime position, makes it an important shipping point. The principal objects of trade are lumber (southern pine), naval stores, and cotton. The manufactures include fertilizers, creosote, and carpets (made from pine leaves). The value of its exports, principally cotton, turpentine, and rosin, is about $7,000,000 annually. The city, which is in the main regularly laid out, had in 1870 a population of 13,446, and in 1880 of 17,350, of whom 60 per cent. were Negroes.

The site of Wilmington was originally occupied by a town named Newton, laid out in 1730. The name was changed to Wilmington nine years later. The place was incorporated as a city in 1866. During the Civil War it was the principal port of entry for the Confederate blockade-runners.