On May 15, the Historic Wilmington Foundation honored the winners of our 2025 Preservation Awards at the historic New Hanover County courthouse.

To the right, you may peruse a gallery of photos from the event.

To view captions, click on the image, and the gallery will expand into a slideshow, including the caption text at the bottom.

WMPO (525 N. 4th St.)

Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization

This historic building was constructed in 1894 as Thomas Grocery Co., and later served the community as a retail store and furniture store. In 2007, the property was purchased by NCDOT as part of the Wilmington Multi-modal Transportation Center. NCDOT conveyed the property to the City of Wilmington in 2017. It sustained significant damage during Hurricane Florence. It was renovated to provide dedicated office space for the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO). The office building opened on October 30, 2024. Although owned by the city, the WMPO secured the necessary state and local funding and served as the project director for the rehabilitation of this historic building

Although the property is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the project team largely adhered to the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Preservation. The building renovation included paint and stucco removal, tuckpointing, and cleaning of the north, south, and west exterior walls of the building. During construction, a rotted beam on the east wall was discovered which required the wall to be removed and re-built using historic construction methods with new brick and historic mortar. The project included the installation of a new structural system, new roof, new exterior windows (including installation of windows in areas that were infilled with brick under previous renovations), a new entry, new ingress/egress points, new mechanical, plumbing, electrical and life safety systems, new rest rooms, interior finishes throughout, new flooring systems, and upgrades on the exterior surrounding the site. These improvements were coordinated with the City of
Wilmington’s Historic Preservation Division and the State Historic Preservation Office.

Columbus County Courthouse

Trey Lewis, Lewis Coastal Homes | Shane Horan, SNS Custom Homes

The Warren House was constructed in 1906 in the National Folk style for housewife Mamie Donnelly and tugboat engineer Elisha Warren. In 2023, Lewis Coastal Homes and SNS Custom Homes partnered to purchase and rehabilitate the vacant house. The rehabilitation respected the original spatial relationships of the house’s interior by preserving the floor plan and rehabilitating the eight-foot high pocket doors into operable condition to separate rooms. Distinctive finishes such as trim and door hardware were salvaged and re-installed. Even the tubs were salvaged and returned to their original uses.

Kahnweiler-Duls House (620 Chestnut Street)

William & Haywood Mason | Phillip Tuggle

The 1872 Italianate style house was built as an investment for David Kahnwelier, dry goods merchant and inventor of a cotton seed huller, and his wife, Mina, natives of Bavaria. The homeowners worked with the project team to realize a life-long dream of restoring and living in a historic home. The goal was to remodel the home, interior and exterior, to reflect accurate, time=period finishes with modern conveniences.

Old Station 6 (302 Willard Street)

Old School Rebuilders | Beth Mitchell Design | Ken Lynch & Mark Ciarrocca, Cheatham and Associates |Old Station 6 LLC, JT Fritsch & Ed Fritsch

This 85-year-old structure served as a city fire station and parks and recreation office until the city sold the property in February 2024 during a public auction. 

Currie-Boon House (212 N. 7th Street)

William Mellon & Robin Herzog | Urban Building Corp. | Zeke Nathans | Lucas Nathans

The Italianate style house was built for Stephen A. Currie (1841-1883), Confederate veteran, livery stable owner; and wife, Flora E. Thomas (1845-1915), native of Thomasville, NC.

Bellamy Mansion

Bellamy Mansion Museum & Preservation NC | Jeremey Gunn, JBG Services | Jason Moore, Trimlight LLC | E. B. Pannkuk IV, Stature Engineering

One of Wilmington’s most recognizable structures, the Bellamy Mansion, Fifth Avenue and Market St., was designed by architect James F. Post for Dr, John D. Bellamy, physician and merchant. Constructed primarily by skilled, enslaved workers and local, free black artisans,the home incorporated both Greek Revival and Italianate styles, construction of the 10,000 sq. foot, twenty-two room mansion took three-years to build (1859-1861).

The mansion had not been refreshed since the 1990s. The museum felt that a new exterior coat of paint was essential to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

William Rand Kenan House

Greg Wessel

This home was built in 1870 for William Rand Kenan (1845-1903), a native of Duplin County, Confederate officer, commander of the Wilmington Light Infantry, collector of the port of Wilmington and wholesale merchant; and wife, Mary Hargrave (1842-1916), native of Orange County.

William Rand Kenan was the commander of “a white supremacist paramilitary force which massacred scores of black residents of Wilmington” during the 1898 coup d’état to overturn the city’s government. A monument park in the city stands in remembrance of the lives lost.

Dr. A. M. Baldwin House

Mark Ryan and Lauren Hyduchak-Ryan |Old School Rebuilders

The Queen Anne style house was built for Dr. Albert Marion Baldwin , dentist; and wife, Emma Mitchell in 1895. It remained in family until 1936.

McGary-Brown-Davis House

Phyllis Goodson, Project Manager | David Eckles, Regal Home Contracting LLC  | Donato Castro, Painter

The McGary – Brown – Davis House was built in 1852 in the Greek Revival style for Elizabeth Payne McGary,a native of Massachusetts and a school teacher where she briefly opened a girls school. Mrs. Ann McGuire owned the home from 1854-1870. It was purchased in 1875 by Alexander Davidson Brown, a Scotland native, a dry goods merchant and his wife, Ohio native, Elizabeth Manuel Brown. They altered the house to the its Neoclassical appearance. They lived in the house for over 60 years.

Col. Kathy King

Col. Kathy King, former HWF board member, was instrumental in preserving and protecting Maides Cemetery, a historical Wilmington African American cemetery with graves dating back to the 1890s. The last line of the historical plaque at the site reads: “Conserved through volunteer community efforts initially led by Kathy King, veteran, preservationist, and descendant of the Maides family.”

Kathy spearheaded the Maides Cemetery preservation in part to hopefully locate the grave of her sister. She work tirelessly to preserve and protect the hallowed ground, working with volunteers to perform a scan of the cemetery and locate graves and remove years of organic debris. Unfortunately, she was unable to locate the one grave she wanted to find.

Kathy joined the HWF board in 2022 after serving 33 years in the U.S. Army having achieved the rank of Colonel. 

Learn more about Maides Cemtery and join our efforts to continue Kathy’s work.

Fort Fisher Visitors Center

Fort Fisher Visitors Center, completed in November 2025, was honored with an Award of Merit. The new visitors center tripled the size of the space of the previous structure, featuring more exhibit space, a theater, and activity space in which to tell the full and detailed story of Fort Fisher. 

Visit the Fort Fisher website to find out more.

Dark Branch Descendants Association (DBDA)

Dark Branch Descendants Association was presented with an Award of Merit for preserving, protecting, and raising awareness of the contributions of all descendants of the enslaved on Orton, Lilliput, and Kendall, and the Oaks Plantations. The Dark Branch Community is situated on the Cape Fear River, between Wilmington and Southport. These historic structures and resources are under threat from neglect, climate change, and development, and require immediate stabilization to preserve their legacy. Today the Association is protecting historical resources like the Dark Branch Community Cemetery and other important historic structures.

Learn more about DBDA and their important work.

Legacy Volunteers

This award, named for long-time director George Edwards, who served Historic Wilmington Foundation (HWF) from 2004-2017, honors an extraordinary HWF staff member, intern, or volunteer who demonstrates exemplary integrity and commitment on behalf of local historic preservation. Volunteering is defined as freely given one’s time and service. In 2024, volunteers donated 13,260 hours or roughly 552 days (a year and a half) of time to HWF and Legacy Architectural Salvage. We could not function without them and at Legacy the volunteers help with everything from working the Point of Sale system, loading and unloading, moving everything from furniture to wood, removing nails from boards, cleaning, deconstructions, leading workshops, and on and on. In addition, we rely on the volunteers to assist us with events – at the home tour we had four Legacy volunteers donate over 60 hours of their time over three days. We greatly appreciate the hard work of all of our wonderful Legacy volunteers who give so much time, energy, and sweat to support us as an organization.

Find out more about Legacy Architectural Salvage.

Gene Merritt

This year’s David Brinkley Award goes to Gene Merritt, a pioneer in Wilmington’s historic preservation movement and one of the founders of Downtown Area Revitalization Effort (DARE). In the 1970s, Wilmington’s downtown buildings were in disrepair from neglect. The downtown area itself was not the vibrant bed of activity it is now. Many of the shops that filled the downtown area were adult entertainment oriented. The homes on the surrounding streets were abandoned and boarded up. Others were lacking doors and had broken windows. Gene had a vision for breathing life back into the historic portion of the city. While always civic and economic-minded, Gene has contributed to the growth and prosperity of our community as well. His latest projects include having New Hanover High School registered as a historic place and advocating for bringing back a rail service line that connects Wilmington to Raleigh.

Don Britt

This award is the highest award presented by the Historic Wilmington Foundation and this year was presented to Donald E. Britt. He was a pioneer preservationist in Wilmington. In 1976, he and his wife purchased the 1844 Greek Revival, Parker- Saunders House on South Front Street. They restored this property and raised their two young girls there. At that time the Wilmington Historic District was not a fashionable and for some an undesirable place to live. The downtown had lost most of it’s commercial businesses to the suburbs and had many vacant storefronts. Many of the buildings were occupied by adult book stores and other adult entertainment. So like many of those who chose to renovate and live in these wonderful buildings, he and his wife, Kathy, were pioneers.

Don got involved with the Historic Wilmington Foundation early onand has served many times as aboard member. Don served as President in 1987- 1988 and again for two additional terms in 2011-2013. During the early 1980s, Don served as chairman of the Urban Properties Committee. Through this committee, he was instrumental in advocating and acquiring numerous buildings for purchase and resale. Several of these structures were purchased around the 500 block of South 2nd and Castle Streets and was called The Second Street Urban Restoration Project.

Being an attorney specializing in Real Estate Law, his knowledge was essential in acquiring these properties. Currently, over 100 buildings have passed through the Foundation’s revolving fund or have been protected through preservation covenants and rehabilitation agreements. Thanks in part, to preservationists like Don, who helped initiate the start of these efforts. His legal expertise has been invaluable over the years by reviewing and approving legal documents and providing legal assistance for the Historic Wilmington Foundation.

Don has led a very fruitful and interesting life here in Wilmington. The foundation appreciates his dedication to historic preservation and continued support of the Historic Wilmington Foundation. His legacy with us will always be remembered and valued.