Waterfront, Cape Fear River -
Wilmington - Between Chestnut and Walnut streets.
Eagles Island, opposite Chestnut Street. Eagles Island causeway and ferry landing are at
extreme left. Champion Compress (cotton) wharves are at right.
Eagles Island is located on the west bank of the Cape Fear River, directly
opposite downtown Wilmington. The seven mile long island was named for Richard Eagles, a
native of Bristol, England, who was granted a part of the island by King George II in
1737. Eagles purchased additional tracts on the island in 1738 and 1739. The causeway was
begun in 1764 by Colonel William Dry, Collector of Customs for the port of Brunswick. Dry
used ballast from ships, coming into the ports of Wilmington and Brunswick as a foundation
for the causeway, which was finished in 1791. Among the dirt ballast of the foreign ships
were seeds from many different countries. These seeds often took root; therefore, growing
wild along the causeway are many plants that are not native to the lower Cape Fear. During
the nineteenth century, it was an important center of the local naval stores industry and
was also the western terminus of the Cape Fear River ferry. The causeway island allowed
vehicular traffic to drive to the river. (Also see #89).