Houses of Wilmington #26

Governor Dudley House (1825)

Edward Dudley was the first freely elected Governor of North Carolina. One of the more prominent Wilmington houses, it is made of Cheshire sandstone. A portico was added in 1884 by James Sprunt, the owner of the Orton Plantation. It was taken down in 1924.

Many influential people visited here, from Daniel Webster and William Jennings Bryant to Presidents Wilson and Taft. It is said that President Taft got stuck in the bathtub while staying here. General Sherman stayed here as a groomsman to Dudley's daughter's husband. It was hoped that if he did come through Wilmington during the Civil War, he would not burn the city as he had done to others throughout the south.

Until about 10 years ago, the home was owned by the granddaughter of the first gardener. She sold the house in 2003 for two million dollars.

The bluff overlooking the Cape Fear River was known as "Sunset Hill" and was popular for Sunday picnics and band concerts.

Some blippers questioned why I included in the image a car parked on the street for House #25, and would have preferred just the house. Two reasons. It is almost impossible to view most of the houses in the series without cars parked on the street. It is the downtown residential historic district. Also, it should be noted that an image with something of the present included shows when the picture was taken and what the subject looked like at the time. The house will look the same 50 years from now, but its surroundings will change. That being said, I would have preferred to have something like a Ferrari 458 Spider sitting there instead.

I'm sorry that I have not been commenting over the last few days, and promise to catch up soon.