The year ahead: 14 Wilmington-area anniversaries we'll be marking in 2024

As 2023 comes to an end, it's time to start looking ahead to next year.

Here are 14 Wilmington anniversaries worth celebrating, or at least noting, in 2024.

Fort Johnston built: 260 years

Colonial North Carolina Gov. Gabriel Johnston actually ordered that construction begin on this former military base at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in 1745.

But things took a bit longer back then, and construction on the Fort in what we now know as Southport didn't begin until 1748. Work wasn't completed until 1764. Parts of the original fort were destroyed over the years, but the building that exists today is the former officers' quarters.

Fort Johnston had key roles to play in both the Revolutionary and Civil wars, and it's still a focal point of life in Southport, where it's now a museum and a gathering site for civic events.

Rose O'Neal Greenhow dies: 160 years

In one of the more enduring tales from the history of the Lower Cape Fear is that of Washington socialite and Confederate spy Rose O'Neale Greenhow, who drowned near the mouth of the Cape Fear River on Oct. 1, 1864.

Greenhow was returning from a trip to France and Great Britain to raise money and gain support for the Confederacy when the ship she was on ran aground trying to escape a Union blockade. Greenhow attempted to reach shore in a rowboat, but it capsized and, so the legend goes, weighed down by $2,000 in gold coins, she drowned. (Some have disputed the role the money played in her death, saying the weight of her wet clothes probably would've been enough to drag Greenhow under.)

Greenhow is buried in Wilmington's Oakdale Cemetery.

Alton Lennon Federal Building opens: 105 years

Built on the site of the old Customs House, which itself pops up in Wilmington history quite a bit, the Alton Lennon Federal Building on Water Street opened in 1919 as a federal courthouse.

In 1976, it was renamed for Alton Asa Lennon, a Wilmington native who served in the U.S. Senate in the early '50s and in the U.S. House from 1957 to 1972. Lennon died in 1986.

The building recently reopened after being closed for five years due to extensive damage from Hurricane Florence.

Wrightsboro Elementary opens: 100 years

Wilmington elementary school on Castle Hayne Road was built in 1924 and is still in use today.

A second story was added 1939, and in 1997 a 15-classroom addition was constructed.

Henry Bacon Jr. dies: 100 years

Wilmington native is best known as the architect of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. He died in 1924, which is also the year the former Confederate monument at Third and Dock streets was installed, which Bacon also designed. The Confederate monument was removed in 2021.

Britt's Donuts opens: 85 years

Legendary and beloved spot on the Carolina Beach Boardwalk starting serving up fried dough way back in 1939.

Hurricane Hazel hits: 70 years

One of the most destructive storms ever to hit the Lower Cape Fear, Hazel hit Oct. 15, 1954, as a Category 4 storm packing 140 mph winds and an 18-foot storm surge.

Nineteen people died, damages topped $163 million and over 50,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.

WECT goes on the air: 70 years

Wilmington's oldest television station signed on the air for the first time on April 8, 1954. It was originally called WMFD and aired content for four different networks before eventually becoming associated primarily with NBC.

WWAY goes on the air: 60 years

Ten years after Wilmington got its first TV station with WECT in 1954, WWAY began broadcasting Oct. 30, 1964. It was then, and remains, an ABC affiliate.

Wilmington National Register Historic District created: 50 years

In 1974, much of downtown Wilmington was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This helped pave the way for much of the historic preservation that contributed to the city's revitalization starting in the late '70s.

Willis Richardson Players formed: 50 years

In 1974, Peter Smith, Gloria Ramos, Jim Johnson and others formed Wilmington theater troupe The Willis Richardson Players, aiming to perform work by Black playwrights and with predominantly Black casts. The troupe took its name from the Wilmington native, born in 1889, who is the first Black playwright to have work produced on a Broadway stage: “The Chip Woman's Fortune” in 1923.

The Willis Richardson Players were run for more than 20 years by Lela Thompson, who was in the troupe's inaugural production. Thompson died in late 2022, however, and the troupe has not been active since before the pandemic in 2019.

Independence Mall opens: 45 years

Independence Mall on Oleander Drive opened Aug. 1, 1979, to big crowds. Anchor stores were Sears, J.C. Penny and Belk-Beery, and the mosaics of area scenes above several entrances, created by late Wilmington artist Samuel D. Bissette, still shine today.

Wilmington's first enclosed mall (Long Leaf Mall, which predated it, was open-air) has seen renovations and additions over the years, but its core remains intact.

'Firestarter' opens in theaters: 40 years

The movie credited with sparking Wilmington's film industry hit theaters nationwide with a star-studded cast on May 11, 1984.

Critics weren't kind to the movie, which was based on the novel by Stephen King about a girl (a pre-talk show Drew Barrymore) who can start fires with her mind. But it led to Wilmington's first film studio, built by "Firestarter" producer Dino De Laurentiis, and paved the way for dozens of film and TV productions that changed the face of Wilmington.

Hurricane Floyd hits: 25 years

Making landfall near Wrightsville Beach on Sept. 16, 1999, Floyd was "only" a Cat 2 but had the highest rainfall totals of any storm ever to hit Wilmington until Florence in 2018. Floyd caused more than $6 billion in damage statewide.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Important Wilmington, NC anniversaries in 2024: history, food, film