Created By: Pender County Tourism
Old Stage Road runs through Moores Creek National Battlefield has been referred to many names over the years including the Road to the Battle of 1776 and Negro Head Point Road. It wound its way from the waters of the Cape Fear Rivers to colonial Campbelltown and Cross Creek (present-day Fayetteville). It appears on North Carolina maps as early as 1743 and was used by colonists for transportation of goods and military use such as when Colonel Alexander Lillington and his Minuteman won the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge during the American Revolutionary War.
This route was pivotal to the Revolutionary War, but as many historical landmarks do, it does have a darker past. African Americans were once marched using this same road from Wilmington to the Historic Fayetteville Market where they were being sold to inland plantation owners. Ferryboats had been crossing the Cape Fear River from the Wilmington docks to Negro Head Point for centuries. The peninsula, known as Negro Head Point, is created by the confluence of the Northeast and Northwest Cape Fear Rivers. The plantation's enslaved were kept at this point in holding pens before and after auctions to reduce contact with free blacks and urban slaves. However, there are some accounts of slaves using this trek to hide from authorities or as an escape from captivity leading to the mouth of the Cape Fear River.
To walk this trace, follow the Tar Heel Trail to the tar kiln and the rail fence. At this point, the historic “highway” is easy to see to your right. Leave the Tar Heel Trail and walk across the entrance road where you will see signs designating the historic road. Walk down this shady lane and along the tree line. Make a sharp left toward the battlefield and earthworks. Here the historic trace becomes a sandy road and continues to the bridge spanning Moores Creek.
Visit the site at Moores Creek National Battlefield located at 40 Patriots Hall Dr. Currie, NC 28435 or visit their webpage for hours of operation https://www.nps.gov/mocr/index.htm.
To learn more visit the links below.
https://davidcecelski.com/2018/11/30/the-road-to-the-cape-fear-susan-johnsons-diary-part-8/
https://www.ncpedia.org/negro-head-road
This point of interest is part of the tour: Pender County African American Heritage Trail
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