Top: Hilton Plantation as it looked prior to demolition, circa 1892. Bottom: Clarendon’s submerged Mid-20th Century gardens were planted inside the original plantation house foundation. PHOTO BY JOSHUA CURRY PHOTO COURTESY OF JACK FRYAR When slavery ended, so too did the business model that made plan-tation agriculture possible. Plantation owners on the Cape Fear tried to make a go of it for the next 40 years, but slowly the houses and lands fell into disrepair. Parcels were sold off and subdivided. Others succumbed to fire and vandalism. Fields were left to become over-grown reminders of past glories. New owners, often from the North, bought the near-derelict properties and turned them into hunting pre-serves and places where they dabbled at being planters. The Civil War ended not just slavery, but also the society it supported. Orton Plantation remains the best example of Cape Fear plantation heritage. Perhaps it is only fitting, as Roger Moore’s grand home was among the first such edifices along the river. Roger Moore Bacon, a descendant of the original Orton owner, has begun efforts to restore the house, grounds and rice fields to their colonial splendor. It is a renais-sance of sorts, a tribute not just to Bacon’s Moore family predecessors, but also to the great estates that played such an integral part in making the Cape Fear what it is. PHOTO BY ALLISON POTTER 39 W R I G H T S V I L L E ’ S Cottage Row 75 Years of Preservation Celebrated statewide, Preservation North Carolina’s 75th anniversary culminates in Wrightsville Beach. With a nod to the 50th birthday of the Blockade Runner Beach Resort, Sunday, November 9, from noon to 4 pm, explore the Mid- Century Modern landmark and, within walking distance of the hotel, tour four historic beach cottages: The Davis-Smith Cottage, The Fishblate-Bellamy Cottage, The MacRae Cottage and the resort’s own 1930s cottage. The Bellamy Mansion Museum is hosting the event supported by the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History. Tour the Fishblate-Bellamy Cottage at 315 South Lumina Avenue Sunday, November 9, during Preservation North Carolina’s 75th anniversary celebration. www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
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