Cape Fear Museum
Cape Fear Museum of History and Science is a museum located at 814 Market Street in downtown Wilmington in southeastern North Carolina. Founded in 1898, it is the oldest history museum in the state.[1]
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Museum scope [edit]
The Cape Fear Museum is operated by the County of New Hanover, North Carolina. Situated in a modern two-story structure, the museum houses more than fifty thousand materials and exhibits, including photographs, household items, and industrial objects, all relating to the Lower Cape Fear region, the 50-mile radius about Wilmington named for the Cape Fear River.
In addition to New Hanover, the adjacent counties are Brunswick and Pender. The extended region encompasses portions of Columbus, Bladen, Sampson, Duplin, and Onslow counties.[2]
Natural history exhibits [edit]
On the lower floor are the scientific exhibits. Included are natural history displays, with a section on native plants and wildlife in the region, such as deer, beavers, foxes, a woodpeckers, and the unique Venus flytrap carnivorous plant. The exhibit on hurricanes shows how they have impacted the Wilmington area. Also are exhibits on the native forests, a dinosaur re-creation, and tar, a product North Carolina has exported since the colonial era.
There is a small exhibit on Michael Jordan, the basketball superstar from Wilmington.
History exhibits [edit]
On the upper floor are exhibits on education in Wilmington, showing unequal conditions during segregation, including a restored classroom dated as 1876, and after 1960s desegregation. There are displays on early television, radio, and juke boxes.
There is an interesting large diorama of historic Fort Fisher in Wilmington, a focal point of the American Civil War. Wilmington remained under Confederate control until February 1865.
Exhibits in 2012 have included a section on shopping in Wilmington and toys and games for children. In July, 2012, the museum unveiled the uniform of Confederate General William Henry Chase Whiting, the commander at Fort Fisher in the Lower Cape Fear district.[3]
Traveling exhibits [edit]
The museum often has traveling exhibits. In 2011, it hosted an exhibition from the Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina, an examination of the Jewish experience in the state for the past three centuries. Displayed was a replica of an ark from a Winston-Salem synagogue, a dry goods store from the 1880s, and a restored kitchen with Jewish cuisine.
Museum historian Jan Davidson noted that much of the exhibit relates to Wilmington. There is a scale model of the Temple of Israel, the first Jewish house of worship built in North Carolina and dedicated in 1876. There was also material on Gertrude Weil, the leader of the North Carolina Equal Suffrage League in the early 20th century and a relative by marriage to the Bluethenthal family of Wilmington.[4]
References [edit]
- ^ "About the Museum". Cape Fear Museum. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^ "About the Collection". capefearmuseum.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ^ "Cape Fear Museum unveils Confederate general's uniform, July 23, 2012". wwaytv3.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ^ Steelman, Ben (October 6, 2011). "Jewish life featured in museum exhibit". Wilmington Star-News. Unknown parameter
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