Two acres of colonial gardens surround the Burgwin-Wright House, built in 1770. Built in 1770, this is the only structure in Wilmington from the colonial era open to the public. It was built for merchant, planter and government official John Burgwin.
Step close and imagine rooms furnished with 18th- and 19th-century antiques; the house showcases hundreds of objects that trace domestic life across two centuries. The house sits on the original walls of a former city jail, c. 1744, and still preserves vestiges of that earlier use — outdoor and sub-basement jail cells remain, and a freestanding kitchen house with a massive hearth stands apart from the main block.
Occupying two acres, the colonial-style gardens are divided into seven distinct areas. Wanderers find an orchard planted with pomegranate and fig trees, a dedicated kitchen garden, and a rose garden among those seven spaces. You also learn some of Burgwin’s own story: he was born in Hereford, England on February 25, 1730, studied at Cambridge, arrived in Charleston in 1750 with letters to George Inglis, and by early 1751 was employed by the office.
Picture the two-acre gardens, the orchard, and the freestanding kitchen house beyond the façade.