The Curious Case of Construction: A Uniquely Built Wharf at Brunswick/Fort Anderson

Abstract

The waterfront area of Brunswick Town, a small but important transatlantic port on the Cape Fear River, was a major shipping and commercial center for southeastern North Carolina. The major export of tar, pitch, and turpentine to British controlled areas helped established this town for naval stores. In his original investigations of Brunswick Town, Stanley South noted ballast stone piles in the river that might be evidence of up to five colonial wharves. At one of these locations, river front erosion from increased modern commercial traffic recently revealed a colonial era wooden dock that connected to a property historically owned by William Dry II. This thesis will focus upon the archaeological investigations conducted in 2015 by the East Carolina University Archaeological Field School, specifically on the construction of this wooden wharf at the point of land connection, and the recovery of artifacts associated with Brunswick Town's shipping and commercial enterprise.