Burgwin-Wright Presents...

The "Outlander" story travels up north in the thick of the American Revolution and witnesses fighting in places like New York. But would the war, the fighting and the experience of living through a revolution look differently in New York versus North Carolina?

And how did 13 separate colonies come together to fight for the same cause when they did not yet have a shared identity? Hint: it wasn't easy.

Joining the episode is Dr. Da...

During the Colonial era, traveling between North Carolina and Virginia almost certainly required engagement with the Great Dismal Swamp, a million-acre natural wildlife habitat that remains a central part of the East Coast’s ecology today. A character in “Outlander” finds out firsthand the dangers of the thick wilderness during the American Revolution. But what is the history of this natural wonder and what is it like working with ...

Healing is a core tenet of who Claire Fraser is in "Outlander," but what was medicine and healthcare really like in the Colonial era? From surgery to medicine to home remedies, surviving in a time before modern practices took work and the right knowledge.

Joining this episode is Charles Brett, a volunteer medical interpreter at Tryon Palace in New Bern, who shares the challenges of medical care 200 years ago –– and what methods an...

In the Season 7 premiere of "Outlander," Claire Fraser finds herself in the crosshairs of Royal Governor Josiah Martin, who is battling for control of Fort Johnston on the Cape Fear River in the opening months of the American Revolution.

Joining this week's podcast is local historian and author Chris E. Fonvielle Jr., who guides us through the intertwined history of Martin, the final royal-appointed governor of North Carolina, and...

And we're back!

The new season of "Outlander in the Cape Fear" begins with a single question: What would it have been like to travel on the Cape Fear River 250 years ago like Claire and Jamie Fraser?

Joining the episode is Doug Springer, the co-founder and captain of Wilmington Water Tours, who talks about how the river has changed as development took hold in North Carolina and just how different an experience it would have been ...

Have you ever heard of the Suicide Club in Colonial Wilmington?

If you haven't, you aren't alone. According to Louis T. Moore, the bizarre and grim story would have sent shockwaves through a young Wilmington. But the strange tradition also reveals the intricacies of the culture of religion at the heart of the American Colonies.

Joining the episode is Dr. Jamie Brummitt, an associate professor of philosophy and American religion a...

Wilmington is known for many things, but perhaps one of its most unique features is its historic performing arts center that doubles as city hall.

The harmonious convergence of entertainment and government inside an iconic building has been among the Cape Fear's most impressive traits over the past century and a half. But how did it happen? And how is it all connected to what some say is the oldest theater association in the Unite...

Do you think you could spot a con artist in the Colonial era? It might have been harder than you think in the days before lightning-fast technology.

In 1771, Sarah Wilson was certainly counting on it when she impersonated a member of King George III's family in the American Colonies. She traveled through Wilmington and New Bern in her march south, scamming unsuspecting colonists who jumped at the surprise opportunity to host royal...

The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge is a storied moment in American history, but many people learn about the lesser-known battle through the heroic feat of a woman who didn’t fight in it. Polly Slocumb is said to have rode her horse into the night of February 26, 1776 to save her husband from dying in the battle after dreaming of his demise.

Her legend is iconic, but it’s also littered with details that don’t line up with fact. Who ...

In Colonial America, a duel at ten paces could defend something the law couldn't – a man's honor. But history doesn't look fondly on those who chose to serve justice with a bullet.

Especially in the case of two young men in the British Navy in 1765, who fought a vicious and bloody duel at Brunswick Town over a woman – during a moment of growing unrest for the Cape Fear. Joining the episode to talk about the Simpson/Whitehurst duel...

When it comes to icons of the Cape Fear, few stand as sturdy as the Old Dram Tree. Although it has long since been lost to progress, the story of the Dram Tree is one that charts the entire developed history of the Wilmington area.

The bald cypress tree served as a "a grim sentinel," as it has been called, for mariners traveling the Cape Fear River all the way back to the pre-Colonial period. But how did it get its name and what h...

Have you heard of the tunnels underneath Wilmington, where pirates supposedly smuggled their treasure and slaves escaped on the Underground Railroad?

Perhaps the most enduring legend in Wilmington's history is ripe with salacious and fictitious stories, the passages under the city have a far more practical and not-so-flashy origin. On this week's episode, we dispel some of the legends that wind through the tunnels and ponder why t...

What did Christmas look like for the enslaved people of Colonial Wilmington? While no holiday celebration was guaranteed, the port city's streets were often a stage granted to enslaved communities for a display of their culture known as John Kuners or John Canoe.

With the help of special guest Dr. Tara White, an assistant professor of history at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, this episode looks at why slave owners al...

The new season, "Burgwin-Wright Presents... Cape Fear Legends & Lore," begins with a story right in our backyard – the myth of Cornwallis Headquarters in Wilmington.

During the American Revolution, did Lord Cornwallis, commander of the British army, stay at the Burgwin-Wright House will he was in Wilmington in 1781? The house has been known for centuries as "Cornwallis Headquarters," but is it true? We explore the fact and fic...

For the new season of "Burgwin-Wright Presents...," we are cracking open the chapters of Louis T. Moore's "Stories Old and New of the Cape Fear Region" for a season titled "Cape Fear Legends & Lore."

First published in 1956, the seminal local history book is a collection of legends and traditions that have defined the Cape Fear region since the Colonial period. Each episode this season, we will revisit a chapter in Moore's boo...

"Burgwin-Wright Presents... Outlander in the Cape Fear" explores the history of Colonial North Carolina through its depiction in the book and TV series "Outlander."

For this special Halloween episode, host Hunter Ingram reads a compelling and chilling ghost story written in 1898 by noted Cape Fear historian James Sprunt entitled "A Colonial Apparition." Pulling from the true history of Scottish Highlanders who immigrated to North ...

"Burgwin-Wright Presents... Outlander in the Cape Fear" explores the history of Colonial North Carolina through its depiction in the book and TV series "Outlander."

On this week's season finale, we look to the future of the "Outlander" story with a visit to Moores Creek National Battlefield, the site of an early American Revolution battle defined by the involvement and sacrifice of Scottish Highlanders on the Loyalist side. How di...

"Burgwin-Wright Presents... Outlander in the Cape Fear" explores the history of Colonial North Carolina through its depiction in the book and TV series "Outlander."

On this week's episode, we look at the involvement of American Indian tribes in the Revolutionary War. In the "Outlander" story, characters have long interacted with tribes like the Cherokee and Mohawk, but what is the true history of Indigenous Americans in North Caro...

"Burgwin-Wright Presents... Outlander in the Cape Fear" explores the history of Colonial North Carolina through its depiction in the book and TV series "Outlander."

On this week's episode, we are jumping into the future for a look at the current culture of Scottish heritage in North Carolina. The story of the Scots in America begins in the early 1700s, before Claire and Jamie Fraser arrive in 1767 in the "Outlander" story. The imm...