ROW'S History
Origins and Legacy
A group of approximately 40 activists established the Residents of Old Wilmington in 1973 to focus on the problems and opportunities facing downtown residents. This group was determined to bring about a downtown renaissance, despite the then-current blights of commercial decline, a decaying housing stock and the aftermath of a misguided program of urban renewal. Many long-term residents had fled to Forest Hills and beyond. The central business district was full of bars and "adult" establishments.
By 1973, residents found that, while they shared a passion for history and preservation with both earlier organizations, other pressing issues needed to be monitored: economic development, safe neighborhoods, zoning and beautification. Residents wanted to promote a sense of neighborhood that would encourage young families to settle here. The initial 40 or so ROW founders wrote and adopted a charter and began meeting in the Governor Dudley Mansion independently of the HWF. The new organization gave the members a way to voice their concerns and empower people to act on them. Almost immediately they began to support several new Wilmington community-building efforts and to affect City policy.
Helping to Shape Some Wilmington Traditions
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Candlelight Tour - In 1974 ROW members offered their homes in support of the first "Old Wilmington by Candlelight" tour. The tour was organized by ROW mayor Robert Warren under the auspices of the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society as a fund raiser for that organization. 1800 people participated. Money collected initially funded restoration of the slave quarters behind the Latimer House. The Historical Society has continued to sponsor the candlelight tour.
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Riverfest - In 1979 ROW joined with Downtown Area Revitalization Effort (DARE) - now Wilmington Downtown Inc. (“WDI”). organizers Gene Merritt and Mary Gornto in holding the City's first Riverfest. It was complete with balloon rides over the river and well-attended home-built, self-powered boat races. Riverfest evolved through the eighties, with vendor booths and a special Riverfest T-shirt concession run by ROW. ROW's treasury soared to around $50,000. In 1992, the City decreed that Riverfest would become a "public" event. The city took over management and licensing of the effort, and banned use of the Riverfest trademark by anyone else - ending ROW's active involvement in this fall festival.
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Azalea Pride Cleanup - ROW and HWF co-sponsor a spring cleanup and preservation program that began in the early 1980s as Mayfair and now called Azalea Pride. Volunteers spread throughout the downtown streets to pick up trash and debris to make ready for the Azalea Festival. An awards ceremony and reception is help afterwards.
Early Involvement in Preservation and Development Issues
ROW's most prominent role in the Wilmington community has been to provide a focal point for citizens' concerns about problems in the broad downtown area. In the Seventies, ROW opposed a plan to remove the medians and monuments from the 300-500 blocks of downtown Market Street and to move the Kenan Fountain. The City Council rejected these proposals.
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Preservation of Bellamy Mansion - In 1975 ROW joined with the HWF and the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society in sponsoring the first statewide Convention of Preservation North Carolina, held in Wilmington. Attention was focused on the decrepted condition of the Bellamy mansion. Subsequently, the Bellamy Foundation was established to preserve the mansion. Later the Bellamy Foundation joined forces with Preservation North Carolina (headed by Robert Warren) to become the organization that today administers the Bellamy Mansion museum.
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Bicentennial celebration in 1976 - A reenactment of Wilmington's call for the first Provincial Congress was held in the garden of the Governor Dudley Mansion (courtesy of the HWF) and featured a reenactment of William Hooper - Wilmington's signer of the Declaration of Independence - by professional actor, William Whitehead.