The Burgwin-Wright House, built in 1770 in Wilmington, North Carolina, is the sole structure from the colonial era in the city that is open to the public. All of the rooms, which were originally designed for trader, planter, and government official John Burgwin, are decorated with antiquities from the 18th and 19th centuries and display hundreds of things.
The home, which was constructed on the foundations of a former municipal jail in 1744, retains many of the features of its previous life, including outdoor and sub-basement jail cells, as well as a freestanding cook house with a big hearth, among other things. The colonial-style gardens, which cover two acres and are divided into seven distinct regions, include an orchard with pomegranate and fig trees, a kitchen garden, and a rose garden, among other things.
Only one of his various residences has survived to this day: the Burgwin-Wright House in downtown Wilmington, which is now known as the Wright House. John Burgwin is thought but not confirmed to have purchased the plot of land at the crossroads of Market and Third St. in Wilmington’s city center in 1769. As the city’s primary jail (known locally as the gaol), the location had been occupied since 1744.
Following the decommissioning of the structure in 1769, the town built a new jail in a separate location, leaving the property largely abandoned, save for the ballast stone walls of the earlier structure.
While in town, it is likely that Burgwin desired the prominent location for the construction of a residence from which to conduct business. According to local historians to show that John Burgwin was living in the house by 1771.
When Burgwin purchased the site, he also obtained the remnants of three historic structures that had been associated with the city jail that had been built in 1744. One of these structures was the foundation upon which John Burgwin constructed his home.
The second structure was built from bricks and had two arches built into the structure that acted as debtor cells, with huge, iron bars placed over the front of the structure to keep the convicts in-prisoned. Some of the original iron can still be seen in. The third structure is thought to have been used as a dwelling for the jailer, who lived on the premises, and his family, if he had one.
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