The Bellamy Museum site features some of North Carolina's most spectacular residential architecture. The mansion and slave quarters were built on the eve of the Civil War by free and enslaved black artisans. The site was built for John Dillard Bellamy (1817-1896) physician, slave owning planter and business leader and his wife, Eliza McIlhenny Harriss (1821-1907) and their nine children. Nine enslaved people, including three children, lived on the site at its construction. After the fall of Fort Fisher in 1865, Federal troops commandeered the house as their headquarters during the occupation of Wilmington. The site is one of North Carolina's premier historic and architectural treasures. The, now rare, urban slave quarters interprets social history with the story of those that lived there in conjunction with the family in the main house. Architecturally, the site features formal gardens, Corinthian columns, wrap-around porches, brass gasoliers, Victorian-style carpets, ornate molding, and marble fireplaces. The museum's gallery spaces regularly feature changing local art shows, as well as exhibits on social and architectural history and historic preservation. The site hosts educational events and is available for smaller scale rentals. Visitors enjoy close proximity to historic downtown and the riverwalk, beaches, shopping, nightlife, restaurants, and charming B&Bs and hotels.
