I was rather excited this weekend when I read in the paper that the Museum of the Cape Fear was hosting an exhibit on the 1898 Wilmington Race Riots (I had just finished reading a children's book about this event, so I was excited to learn more.) However, since this was my first visit to the museum, I decided to explore all the museum complex had to offer.
I began my excursion with a 45-minute tour of the Poe House, the home of a well-to-do merchant from the late 19th century. Built in 1898, the house was filled with the family's original furniture and supplies from that time period. It was very interesting seeing how difficult life was during that time period (especially the original coal stove!)
After seeing the Poe House, I enjoyed a nice walk across the complex to the a park, which was originally a Arsenal for the US government. Sadly, the entire arsenal was destroyed by the Union army during the Civil War; today, there are merely foundation stones and a reconstructed "ghost" tower that recreates one of the original four look-out towers.
After touring the Poe House and Arsenal Park, I entered the actual museum building. The museum space itself was nothing all that impressive - pretty much just a small local history museum. Sadly, the Wilmington Race Riot exhibit which originally drew me to the museum ended up being the low-point of the museum. The exhibit was little more than a short documentary and a few photographs of the integrated state legislature of the time. (Perhaps this speaks more highly of the book I'd read, but I learned nothing new about the event from this exhibit.)
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