Burgwin-Wright Presents...

Historic homes carry a tremendous amount of life and stories, but so too do structures that we don't rest our heads in. The Oval Ballroom, a structurally significant stunner in the heart of Fayetteville, is one such building. For 200 years, the perfect oval has stood as an architectural marvel that has enraptured guests and even The Metropolitan Museum of Art. As part of our ongoing podcast series...

"This was a civil war as much as it was a revolution." That's how Kings Mountain National Military Park ranger Robert Holmes describes the battle fought on the ridge in October 1780. It was personal, and it was a pivotal moment for the American Revolution, one that will serve as the backdrop for the series finale of the "Outlander" TV series on Starz. For this episode, we are talking with Robert a...

Tucked away in the metropolitan area of Charlotte, Historic Rosedale is a snapshot of early 19th century North Carolina with a 1815 home and reconstructed blacksmith shop that allows visitors to step back in time. Historic Rosedale is among the properties preserved by the National Society of the Colonial Dames in the State of North Carolina, who raised $1 million to restore it to its original gran...

At the heart of the 1766 Moravian settlement of Salem sat a residential home that was not unlike its neighbors. However, over the past 250 years, Fourth House, as it is known, has become a torch bearer for the residential way of life in the historical community. Now part of Old Salem's living history site, Fourth House helps tell the story of a colonial life, the vestiges of which can still be see...

After years of talking about "Outlander's" impact on North Carolina and the Cape Fear region, we are thrilled to welcome the author and architect of the series herself, Diana Gabaldon, to the podcast! During this conversation, Diana shares when she first learned that North Carolina would be so important to her Scottish story, her writing process, and what it is like to be approaching the end of he...

In the heart of Raleigh stands the Joel Lane Museum House, a remnant of the colonial era before the state, the county or the city were formed. The stories of Joel Lane, his family and those enslaved on his plantation tell of a pivotal moment in American history, and the house offers incredible insight into life at the dawn of North Carolina. As part of our ongoing podcast series, "Burgwin-Wright P...

In celebration of America's 250th birthday, the "Burgwin-Wright Presents..." podcast is honoring North Carolina's Great American Treasures, the historic properties saved and supported by The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of North Carolina. Each month in 2026, the podcast will visit one of these properties to tell its history and explore how the North Carolina Dames...

Wars were fought on the battlefield, but they were won in the shadows. Spies and counterintelligence efforts on both sides of the American Revolution were a key component of the war, and led to seismic shifts in power as America fought for its independence. Joining the show to talk about the life and legacies of colonial spies is Cheney J. Schopieray, Curator of Manuscripts for the William L. Clem...

As the "Outlander" story moves around the American Colonies during the Revolutionary War, we take a moment to return to the homefront to talk about what Wilmington would have looked like during the war. The town's port made it an invaluable commodity during the conflict, but how did its citizens fare as fighting raged on? What impact did the revolution have on Wilmington's ascension as a jewel in...

One of the most formative events in the "Outlander" story happens far from the Cape Fear region back in Scotland when thousands took up arms against the British throne in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. But what brought Scotland to war with its monarch? What did it mean for the average Scot, and how did it impact the American Revolution decades later? This episode, we are joined by Professor Murray P...

Return to the world of “Outlander” with a deep dive into the realities and risks of battlefield medicine. As the series moves through the Revolutionary War, historical medicine interpreter Charles Brett discusses how physicians, nurses and healers were the saving grace of those wounded in battle or ravaged by the diseases that plagued regiments from battle to battle. For more information about the...

Battleships bear witness to the worst side of the human condition. They share in the triumphs of war and bear the scars of defeat in equal measure. It is no wonder that the Battleship North Carolina, the most decorated American vessel from World War II, garners a lot of interest for its ghost stories. But are they true?  Joining the episode to answer that question is Danielle Wallace, the programs...

When you see an old home from outside its iron gates, your mind makes up stories of what could possibly be hidden behind the front door. In many cases, that air of mystery conjures stories of ghosts and unexplained occurrences. At the Bellamy Mansion, life-long residents just out of reach led locals to wonder if the antebellum home at Fifth and Market Street may have more residents than those amon...

Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts has been an icon of Wilmington since it first opened its doors in 1858. From world-class productions on its stage to vitally important work done inside the city hall under the same roof, few structures have been as consequential to Wilmington's history as Thalian Hall. But a century and a half of indelible experiences has also left behind stories of unex...

Poplar Grove Plantation has seen progress sweep past it on all sides since it first started producing peanuts in the late 1700s. Over the past two centuries, it served as a home and a haven for the Foy family, and has become an important vessel for talking about Gullah Geechee history in the Southeastern United States. But has all that life spawned any ghost stories on the site? Joining the episod...

A house isn't a home without the stories and experiences of the families that live under its roof. But lives leave behind more than just stories. In the case of The Latimer House, some reckon with the tremendous loss associated with its namesake family by telling stories of children lingering in the windows and racing across the floors long after they are gone. But is it true? And what does the La...

The origins of the Cape Fear region as we know it began at Brunswick Town, the first permanent settlement established in 1726. It wouldn't survive past the Revolutionary War, but its few decades of life have inspired tales of life and loss, success and failure –– all of which fuel the ghost stories that continue to live on its shores. Joining the episode to talk about the sightings at Brunswick To...

The Wilmington Railroad Museum tells the story of the Cape Fear's century-long history as a pioneer of the railroad in the United States. But it also tells the stories of the people who kept the lines running, who gave their blood, sweat and tears to the job. It is those real experiences that have helped inspire ghost stories at the museum, which sits on the former site of the Atlantic Coastline R...

This season on Burgwin-Wright Presents..., we are chasing down the Haunted Tales of the Cape Fear and talking about the history behind these persistent stories. What gives a good ghost story its credibility? There's no better place to start than at home with the Burgwin-Wright House. With museum director Christine Lamberton, we look at how the dual history of the city's first jail and its grandest...

For the mid-season finale episode, we are retracing our steps to Brunswick Town and the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge to talk about what audiences are missing when they don’t see these landmark Cape Fear Colonial sites depicted in the “Outlander” TV series. Joining the episode are two returning guests –– Jim McKee, site manager for Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site, and Jason Howell...

The "Outlander" story travels up north in the thick of the American Revolution and witnesses fighting in places like New York. But would the war, the fighting and the experience of living through a revolution look differently in New York versus North Carolina? And how did 13 separate colonies come together to fight for the same cause when they did not yet have a shared identity? Hint: it wasn't ea...

During the Colonial era, traveling between North Carolina and Virginia almost certainly required engagement with the Great Dismal Swamp, a million-acre natural wildlife habitat that remains a central part of the East Coast’s ecology today. A character in “Outlander” finds out firsthand the dangers of the thick wilderness during the American Revolution. But what is the history of this natural wonde...

Healing is a core tenet of who Claire Fraser is in "Outlander," but what was medicine and healthcare really like in the Colonial era? From surgery to medicine to home remedies, surviving in a time before modern practices took work and the right knowledge. Joining this episode is Charles Brett, a volunteer medical interpreter at Tryon Palace in New Bern, who shares the challenges of medical care 20...

In the Season 7 premiere of "Outlander," Claire Fraser finds herself in the crosshairs of Royal Governor Josiah Martin, who is battling for control of Fort Johnston on the Cape Fear River in the opening months of the American Revolution. Joining this week's podcast is local historian and author Chris E. Fonvielle Jr., who guides us through the intertwined history of Martin, the final royal-appoint...

And we're back! The new season of "Outlander in the Cape Fear" begins with a single question: What would it have been like to travel on the Cape Fear River 250 years ago like Claire and Jamie Fraser? Joining the episode is Doug Springer, the co-founder and captain of Wilmington Water Tours, who talks about how the river has changed as development took hold in North Carolina and just how different...