WHAT began as an Internet search for a new home
evolved into a tour of the Southeast coastal region.
Pensacola, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia, were a
couple of the stops during Megan and Chad’s journey.
“Wilmington was where we landed last,” Megan says.
Driving east across the Cape Fear River Bridge, the view from the
rise took her breath away. Her eyes were riveted to the amazingly
adorable riverside cityscape — the view that endears many newcom-ers
to the charming city.
Their GPS led them to 318 S. 3rd Street where they met listing
agent Jennifer Ford of RE/MAX.
“We definitely felt something as we drove up to the house,” Megan
recounts. “The rest is history.”
History for sure.
They had arrived at the 1883 Burruss-Poisson house in the heart of
the historic downtown area. By December 2017, it was all theirs.
“We fell in love with the city after we fell in love with the house,”
Chad says.
“Is there anything we didn’t fall in love with?” Megan asks.
The authentic and exquisitely detailed Queen Anne architecture,
12-foot ceilings with full length windows, plus the 3,500-square foot
interior were not typical of other Victorian homes they had toured.
NATIONAL TREASURE: THE BURRUSS-POISSON HOUSE, 1883
Architect John Ottaway designed the Queen Anne style residence, which was completed in 1883 for
Edwin E. Burruss, the founder and president of First National Bank of Wilmington. Burruss, born in 1829,
was also the organizer of the Clarendon Water Works Company. He was married to Elizabeth Northrop,
born in 1855. Ownership of the house passed to their heirs when they both died in 1887.
A porch was added to the north elevation in 1912. The property was sold in 1922 to Louis Poisson, an
attorney and North Carolina legislator, and his wife, Gethyn Rugan. The home remained in the Poisson
family until 1995 when it was purchased by Doug and Margi Erickson, who operated a bed and breakfast.
In 1999, the Ericksons sold the house to the Bankson family. Chad and Megan are the fifth owners in the
137-year history of ownership. The neighborhood is a designated National Register district.
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WBM november 2020