Wilmington Historic Foundation reveals new list of threatened historic places

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — One organization is continuing the fight to protect and preserve threatened historic sites across the Cape Fear. The Historic Wilmington Foundation made its annual announcement of the most threatened places across the area Wednesday afternoon.

There are a total of 10 sites on the list, seven of which are threatened and the other three are watch sites. The main threats for the sites are neglect, development pressures or deterioration.

This year there are two new additions to the threatened list, they include the John N. Smith Cemetery in Southport and the William Rand Kenan house in Downtown Wilmington.

They are all sites Historic Wilmington Foundation Executive Director George Edwards say are worth fighting for.

“It’s the mission of the organization which has existed for 51 years to protect and preserve the irreplaceable. And that mission, we believe, is paramount to this city’s image and reason for being,” Edwards said.

There are also two new watch sites, the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge and the New Hanover County Library in Downtown Wilmington. Watch lists means their future is uncertain for a variety of reasons.

This is the 12th year the Historic Wilmington Foundation has released a list in effort to raise awareness. For more on threatened sites, click here.