Ruins of Russelborough
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Collection |
Star News Image Archive |
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Title |
Ruins of Russelborough |
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Subject |
housing; residences; Brunswick Town; Brunswick Town State Historic Site; Winnabow, NC; colonial history; |
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Description |
The foundations of the colonial home known as Russelborough at Brunswick Town. From North Carolina Historic Sites (https://historicsites.nc.gov/all-sites/brunswick-town-and-fort-anderson/history/russellborough) Russellborough was one of the most notable structures at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson because it was the residence of two royal colonial governors. Originally built by Capt. John Russell in 1751, this two story house between Brunswick Town and Roger Moore’s Orton Plantation was christened Russellborough. Incomplete when Russell died in 1753, the property was later sold to Gov. Arthur Dobbs in 1758. In order to entice Dobbs to move to Brunswick, the town decided to sell the estate for one shilling per acre and one peppercorn. Because peppercorn could not be harvested until the following year, this move guaranteed that Dobbs would stay at least one year. Dobbs moved to Brunswick from New Bern, N.C., presumably to escape high rents and rampant disease. Believing that Brunswick Town would provide a marked improvement, Dobbs bought Russellborough and renamed it Castle Dobbs.2 When Governor Dobbs died in 1765, William Tryon became the new governor of North Carolina. He bought Castle Dobbs and, unsurprisingly, renamed it Castle Tryon. When Tryon left Brunswick Town in 1770 for his palatial new home in New Bern, William Dry III, the port collector, purchased the home and renamed it Bellfont.4 The British burned the mansion and elegant furnishings, along with the rest of Brunswick Town, at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. However, archaeological evidence has shown a number of interesting features about the house. There was a storage area for wines and other liquors. There was also a tunnel in one corner, which led a short distance away from the house. Presumably this was used as both a garbage shoot and a sewer. Another find was a brick-lined well in the basement, with whole bottles inside, indicating that perhaps wine was lowered into the water to be kept cool. Each of these archaeological finds reinforced the idea that Russellborough, in all its forms, was a sumptuous and hospitable colonial home. |
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Photographer |
Nesbitt, Joseph |
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Date |
1981-04-28 |
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Type |
image |
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Format |
jpeg |
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Rights |
Wilmington Star News |
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Identifier |
SN5924 |
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Copyright and Use Restrictions |
The materials included in the North Carolina Room’s Digital Collections are made available for research, teaching, and private study according to United States Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for clearing any copyright protections prior to use of any item. Unless otherwise stated, the North Carolina Room requests that the use of any item be credited to New Hanover County Public Library with the statement “Courtesy of New Hanover County Public Library” and a link to the digital item. If you are a copyright holder who is incorrectly identified or a copyright holder who does not wish to be identified, please contact the North Carolina Room at 910-798-6305 so that we may make corrections. The user hereby agrees that all manuscript, archival, photographic and other personal papers in the possession of the New Hanover Public Library or any publications or documents of the Library itself, are the sole property of the New Hanover Public Library and may not be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the Library Advisory Board of the New Hanover Public Library or duly appointed representative. All materials reproduced in any format (printed publication, broadcast, digital or other), must be accompanied in print with the caption, “Courtesy of New Hanover County Public Library, North Carolina Room” and must also include a link to the digital item. |
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