Brunswick Town, North Carolina

Brunswick Town was a prominent town in colonial North Carolina. It was the first successful European settlement in the Cape Fear region, a major colonial port in the 18th century, and home to two provincial governors. Brunswick Town existed for 50 years until it was burnt in a 1776 raid by British forces during the American Revolutionary War and never rebuilt. During the American Civil War, 86 years after the town was abandoned, a large portion of the town was covered by earthworks for the construction of Fort Anderson. Brunswick Town became an excavation site for Cape Fear history during the 20th century. The Brunswick Town Historic District contains the ruins of 18th-century commercial and residential colonial homes, St Philip's Church, Fort Anderson, and Russellborough, the former governor's mansion. The town's historic district and St. Philip's Church are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.