Wilmington (North Carolina) is known as the city, seat of New Hanover County, southeastern North Carolina, a deepwater port on the Cape Fear River, near its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean; settled about 1732, incorporated as a city 1866. It is the state's principal seaport, a major trade and distribution center, and a resort. Manufactures include textiles, clothing, nuclear electricity-generating equipment, and fiber optics. A movie studio is here. Also of interest are the Burgwin-Wright House, which served (1781) during the American Revolution as the headquarters of the British general Charles Cornwallis, and the USS North Carolina, a World War II battleship moored in the Cape Fear River. In the city are the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (1947) and 2 junior colleges. The community, named for the British official Spencer Compton, earl of Wilmington, was an important Confederate port throughout the Civil War and remained open until 1865.
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