Car Rentals Wilmington

Budget Car Rentals in Wilmington

• Poplar Grove Plantation
  The Poplar Grove Plantation house was constructed in 1850, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is one of the oldest peanut plantations in North Carolina; and stayed in the same family for six generations. The Foy family bought the land in 1795, and would live there until the mid 1970s; and then becoming a museum in 1980. The museum preserves the home of a successful farming family, their outbuildings and crafts that were typical of the 1800 period, in this working community. James Foy, Jr. bought 628 acres of land from Frances Clayton, and sits on Topsail Sound, in New Hanover county, that includes the banks of the Figure Eight Island and land that stretches into Pender County also. James would construct his house close to the water, so that he could use that route to take his goods to the city; which ended up taking close to 12 hours round trip. During that period, it was much easier to take your goods, crops or materials by boats and barges, instead of the haphazard ruts that were called roads but weren't much more than ruts in the earth that had been traveled by many wagons. James' son, Joseph Mumford Foy, started constructing the manor house in 1849 and the site chosen since it close to the New Bern to Wilmington plank road; and the house was designed by Joseph, an architect of amateurish talents, in the Greek revival style, with 4284 square feet of space, 12 rooms, 2 sets of corbelled chimneys inside and 12 fireplaces. There were many rice plantations along the Cape Fear River, that would produce enough to make their owners very comfortable, and others grew tobacco for their success, but in Poplar Grove, the peanut was king. Just a bit north of the city of Wilmington, North Carolina, Poplar Grove has many exciting and informational attractions that will give any family a wonderful opportunity to enjoy all types of sights, places and people. The plantation is a great tour, with crafts shops set up to show visitors how it was all accomplished those many years ago, as well as the tenant farmer's cabin, blacksmith shop and an area for weaving and basket making.  The estate was a self-sustaining agricultural community that grew corn, beans and peas, with the help of 64 slaves, and helping out their neighbors as the need arose. After the Civil War, Joseph T. Foy would grow peanuts to make his money, and he did it very well, bringing the plantation back to its former status and economy.

Wilmington Intl. Apt. Budget Car Rentals
 1740 Apt. Blvd.

• Wilmington Historic District
  The Wilmington, North Carolina historic district is one of the largest in the nation, spanning some 300 blocks and containing one of the biggest National Register of Historic Places areas in the country for a city of this size. Inside this district, there are several smaller ones, like the downtown district that has become quite well known. It contains almost a solid 100 blocks of historic places that are managed by the Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission and the Historic Wilmington Foundation that make sure that the historical standards are kept and met. As you meander through the stately district, with its charming residential areas containing beautiful old houses on shaded streets lined on both sides with the Spanish moss hung oaks that has become a favorite pastime of the tourists that come here and the residents that live here. In the commercial area of the district, there are ever-changing and enlarging shops and boutiques, restaurants and night life areas, mixed with the city's business, cultural and governmental infrastructures. Adding to the eclectic mix is the city's marvelous mile-long riverwalk, and the numerous pocket parks that border the river on Water Street. The visitors that walk along the river will be able to enjoy the special corridor that runs between the shops, boutiques, restaurants and attractions that beckon to you with an enormous blend of colorful ships, boats and yachts that are docked along the riverfront.  Somewhat north of the heart of the city, on Water Street, you can visit the palm tree fronted Federal Building that contains the U.S. District Courts, once the location for the Andy Griffith Matlock TV series.

March 08, 2011