. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. ilmington. By Kathy Hart A decade ago Wilmington may have been the best kept secret in North Carolina. The sleepy little port city that hugged the left bank of the Cape Fear River oozed southern charm, hospitality and history. It was a city of church steeples, brick-paved streets, antebellum homes and stalwart southern families who had laid down their foundations along with that of the city. Adorned in azaleas, magnolias and live oaks, Wilmington anchored New Hanover County and southeastern North Carolina.
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. ilmington. By Kathy Hart A decade ago Wilmington may have been the best kept secret in North Carolina. The sleepy little port city that hugged the left bank of the Cape Fear River oozed southern charm, hospitality and history. It was a city of church steeples, brick-paved streets, antebellum homes and stalwart southern families who had laid down their foundations along with that of the city. Adorned in azaleas, magnolias and live oaks, Wilmington anchored New Hanover County and southeastern North Carolina. It perched alongside a river that brought tall ships, steamers and cargo vessels to call. It was graced with cool summer breezes and warm winter winds. It boasted a university by the sea and 36 miles of nearby public beaches. It had all the elements that at- tracted thousands to Charleston and Savannah. All but one. Wilmington lacked connections. There was no main artery feeding the city a steady diet of commerce, tourists and would-be residents. Wil- mington was the only major city on the Eastern Seaboard not linked to the nation's interstate highway system. And halfway through this century, Wilmington lost its Atlantic Coast Line Railroad to a merger. With the railroad went much of New Hanover County's economic stability. The city that had turned the 20th century as North Carolina's largest had stagnated while Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh-Durham moved ahead to become retail, research, banking and industrial meccas. Many blamed that stagnation on the lack of four-lane highways feeding into the port city. But in the 1980s, Wilmington began to grow despite its lack of connections. As the largest city in southeastern North Carolina, it drew people from the surrounding counties of Pender, Columbus and Brunswick in North Carolina and Horry County in South Carolina, says Joe Augustine, executive vice president of the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce. "Wilmington has
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