New Hanover County Public Library Digital Archives
Home
Browse All
Log in
|
Help
Search
Advanced Search
Find results with:
error div
Add another field
Search by date
from
after
before
on
to
Searching collections:
Dr. Robert M. Fales Collection
Add or remove collections
Home
Sprunt and Dudley Mansion
Reference URL
To link to this object, paste this link in email, IM or document
To embed this object, paste this HTML in website
Sprunt and Dudley Mansion
View Description
Loading content ...
Description
Title
Sprunt
and
Dudley
Mansion
Description
The
stately
mansion
on the
corner
of
Front
and
Nun
streets
has been the
home
of
several
prominent
families
.
It
is
thought
to have been
constructed
about
1825
by
Governor
Dudley
(1789-1855)
. In
1836
, he
became
the
first
popularly
elected
Governor
of
North
Carolina
.
Since
about
1853
, the
property
has
changed
owners
several
times
. The
family
of
Dr
.
S
.
B
.
Everett
lived
there from ca.
1853-
1869
.
Francis
W
.
Kerchner
, a
local
businessman
,
bought
the
property
ca.
1871
. In
1890-1895
,
Mr
. and
Mrs
.
Pembroke
Jones
resided
there
until
they
moved
permanently
to
Airlie
.
Dr
.
James
Sprunt
(1846-1924)
, a
native
of
Glasgow
,
Scotland
, was a
businessman
and an
early
local
historian
. He
bought
the
site
from the
Jones
' and
added
a
portico
and
porches
, with
massive
Corinthian
columns
(shown
in this
photograph)
. This
1895
addition
remained
until
the
property
was
inherited
by
Dr
.
Sprunt's
son
,
J
.
Laurence
Sprint
,
who
returned
the
house
to the
original
facade
. In the
mid-1940s
, the
Wilmington
Lodge
No
.
532
,
Independent
Order
of
Elks
,
purchased
the
mansion
and
used
it
as their
lodge
hall
. In
more
recent
years
,
it
was the
first
headquarters
of the
Historic
Wilmington
Foundation
.
Among
the
famous
guests
,
entertained
here were:
Daniel
Webster
(1847)
,
Cardinal
Gibbons
(1890)
,
Professor
(later
President)
Woodrow
Wilson
(1901)
,
President
William
Howard
Taft
(1909)
and
William
Jennings
Bryan
(1918)
.
Subject
Dudley
family
,
Sprunt
family
,
Front
St.
,
Nun
St.
,
Governors
,
mansions
Source
Dr. Robert M. Fales Collection 1227
you wish to report:
Your comment:
Your Name:
Submit
Cancel
...
Back to top
Select the collections to add or remove from your search
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Select All Collections
A
Azalea Festival Collection
C
Cowan and Denson Family Papers
D
Dr. Robert M. Fales Collection
L
Louis T. Moore Collection
Lovering Collection
N
North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, 1941-1946
O
Owen and Barry Family Papers
P
Port City Architecture
Postcard Collections
S
Star-News Image Archive
W
Wilmington Harbor Collection
500
You have selected:
1
OK
Cancel