Record #:

10800

Author(s):

Hall, Lewis Phillip

Abstract:

Various historians have erroneously assumed that Wilmington's Hilton Park was named for William Hilton, an early explorer of the Cape Fear. The park was actually named for the Hill family, who purchased the property from the widow of Revolutionary hero Cornelius Harnett. Harnett, who was known as \"the Samuel Adams of The South,\" built a home on the property and hosted many notables of the time, including Josiah Quincy and Robert Howe. It was also at Harnett's home that plans were made to establish organized resistance to the Stamp Act. After Harnett's death, his widow sold the property in 1784 to the Hill family, who in turn sold the property, including the house, to the Peregoy Lumber Company in 1892. Eventually, Hilton became the property of Wilmington and was opened as the city's first public park.

Source:

The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 36 Issue 14, Dec 1968, p9-10, il

Subject(s):

Parks--Wilmington; Hilton Park--Wilmington--History