Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Out and about in Brunswick County

We had to go to the "big city" of Wilmington yesterday (to have a ceiling light rewired), and decided to take the scenic route back to Southport. State Hwy 133 is not exactly desolate, but it is thinly populated and there are sections where it's simply mile after mile of fenced-in pine plantations (owned, I believe, by some big timber company in Georgia). There are a couple of nice parks, though.

River Walk is located on the Brunswick River near the Wilmington end of Hwy 133. It's pretty substantial.



I don't know what those things in the background are (they look like giant lawn chairs). I believe they're situated at a port facility where the Brunswick River flows into the ocean.



There's also a pretty nature trail. The park is part of a larger area that was once a rice plantation.



Down the road a piece is the Brunswick County Nature Park. Man, they don't call it "low country" for nothing. I'm pretty sure I heard an alligator snoring.





We did encounter one outpost of civilization in the wilderness.



Here's a 10-second history of the settlement of Brunswick, now a colonial ghost town.



And here's some followup on one of the items mentioned above. Looks like, back in the day, some sneaky Spaniards attacked the town.



And finally...



Home again!

9 comments:

Steve Skubinna said...

Those structures are container gantries, for loading and unloading ships.

Brunswick is one of those names that seems to be all over the South, at least the eastern part. Sort of like Beaufort, I guess. There's at least one in every state from VA south.

Paco said...

Thanks, Steve, for identifying those (to me) mysterious structures.

Maybe Brunswick was some highfalutin' English aristocrat. Wouldn't be surprised to hear that he held the bond for some indentured Pacos.

RebeccaH said...

Lovely pictures.

The county was formed in 1764 from parts of Bladen County and New Hanover County. It was named for the colonial port of Brunswick Town (now in ruins) which itself was named for Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg; at the time held by the British kings of the House of Hanover. The county holds the location of the battle site of Moore’s Creek in which the state of North Carolina gained independence.

From Wikipedia.

bruce said...

My ancestors were Bristol merchants who were thrown out of the Quakers in 1686 for smuggling tobacco, which surely came from America. Their name was Alloway and I see thousands with that name just in the NC phone book. Yet the name is said to come from a native chief in Alloway NJ. I wonder.

Paco said...

My ancestors were Bristol merchants who were thrown out of the Quakers in 1686 for smuggling tobacco

Bruce, they may have been Alloways, but it sounds like they had more than just a few drops of Paco blood in 'em.

Thanks for the historical background, Rebecca.

bruce said...

I'm honoured.

Deborah said...

Paco, are you supplementing the pension by working for the NC Tourism Bureau, or other? I enjoy seeing the beauty and historic spots. Thank you.

Mike_W said...

Bloody Spaniards!
*Ptoooey*

Paco said...

Deb: Not a bad idea!