History with ‘Hud’: How years of prohibition impacted the Port City
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington is known for having some of the best bars in the Cape Fear. But for a period of time during the 20th century, they wouldn’t have been allowed to exist.
Friday marks 104 years since prohibition began nationally, banning the sale and import of alcoholic beverages starting in 1920.
But North Carolina attempted to outlaw the practice much earlier than that.
Anti-liquor forces tried to pass a statewide liquor ban as early as 1881, but it was voted down by more than 100,000 votes. By the turn of the century in 1900, Wilmington’s population of nearly 21,000 people helped support 39 saloons. But tides began to turn before the decade was over.
Wilmington voted in support of prohibition in 1908, combining with backers across the rest of the state to make North Carolina the first state to pass prohibition by a direct vote.
The new law went into effect on January 1, 1909, going as far as prohibiting the transport of liquor from surrounding wet states into North Carolina by 1913. But an estimated $15 million worth of alcoholic beverages slipped into the state each year from places like Richmond, Virginia, where liquor stayed legal until 1919.
The United States officially became a dry country in 1920 with the passage of the Volstead Act with the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution being ratified on January 16 the year before.
But the new law didn’t specifically outlaw the consumption of already-stored alcohol. Many citizens responded by stockpiling personal reserves of beer, wine and liquor before the ban took effect.
Despite many ground of people in favor of prohibition, the law was difficult to enforce due to a lack of police to withhold the law. This led to a rise in the illegal production and sale of liquor, known as bootlegging. It was accompanied by a rise in gang violence and organized crime, with Al Capone being the most notorious gangster of the era who made their fortunes during the period.
When the Great Depression arrived in 1929, support for prohibition vastly declined. Calls for the repeal of prohibition grew louder as the federal government couldn’t afford to miss out on the tax revenues from the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Even so, any illegal alcohol in the Cape Fear discovered by law enforcement was disposed of through the early 1930s. Here you can see 600 cases of illegal whiskey being dumped near the Customs House in downtown Wilmington in January of 1933. It ran into sewers and emptied into the Cape Fear River.
The 21st amendment, repealing the 18th amendment, was ratified later that year on December 5. Despite the end of prohibition nationally, North Carolina as a whole didn’t begin allowing alcohol sales again until 1935. The state established the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) system to sell alcohol in 1937.
Today alcohol sales are going strong, with nearly two billion in alcohol sales across North Carolina in 2023. But it’s only been a few generations since the nation attempted to wipe alcohol from the streets for good.
Meteorologist Matthew Huddleston (‘Hud’) has always had two major loves – weather and history. While you can watch him talk about weather each morning on WWAY, he looks forward to bringing you a little piece of history each Thursday on WWAY’s website.
To read other History with ‘Hud’ segments, click HERE.
