A vestige of Burgaw's antebellum history, the Historic Burgaw Depot is located along the path of the former Wilmington to Weldon railroad.
Using the Depot
Renovated in 2009, the Depot now offers a banquet hall, conference room, transportation museum, and shared-use commercial kitchen (Burgaw Incubator Kitchen). View pictures from our remodel in our Photo Gallery.
The facility also provides office space for the Greater Burgaw Area Chamber of Commerce and Feast Down East, which also uses the outdoor dock as a distribution point for its farmers' cooperative members.
The Historic Burgaw Depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the North Carolina Civil War Trail. The Civil War Trails program operates throughout Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Markers are displayed prominently at sites at battlegrounds and skirmishes and along the Civil War corridor in these states in order to show diverse and little known stories of the people, places, and events of the Civil War. The marker installed at the Burgaw Depot outlines the station's role as part of the Lifeline of the Confederacy.
Fire
In 1862, Union Calvary under the command of General Edward E Potter in New Bern, attacked the Burgaw Depot setting it on fire. They were repulsed and pursued by Company A, North Carolina Tenth Battalion (2nd Heavy Artillery) as their historian recorded after the war. Fortunately, the fire was put out before major structure damage could occur. The Burgaw Depot was likely saved due to the close proximity of Confederate troops stationed nearby.
The interior of the warehouse still bears the charred scars of a Union cavalry attack in 1863. In 1865, the depot was the Confederate headquarters for retreating generals and their troops for weeks after the fall of Fort Fisher and Wilmington. It also became the holding site for six thousand or more prisoners of war for over a week in February 1865.
Visiting the Depot Today
Today, you are welcome to visit this historic structure and see the battle scars left from the 1863 cavalry attack; visit the transportation museum, which is archived and curated by the Historic Depot Foundation; or stop along your tour of the Civil War Trail. Hours are limited, so please call Cody Suggs with the Burgaw Parks & Recreation at 910-300-6401 to schedule a visit.