Burgwin-Wright House and Gardens

The Magnolia Greens History Club, which I am currently the Chair, had an excellent experience touring the Burgwin-Wright House in Wilmington. The guides were knowledgeable, engaging, and clearly passionate about the history of the home. They provided fascinating details not only about the Burgwin family and colonial life, but also about the architecture, artifacts, and the property’s surprising layers of history—including the earlier city jail built on the site. The house itself is beautifully preserved, with period-appropriate furnishings that make each room feel like stepping back into the 18th century. The gardens are equally impressive—peaceful, well-maintained, and full of charm. It’s easy to see why this is one of Wilmington’s historic gems. Overall, the tour was informative, enjoyable, and well worth the visit. Highly recommended for anyone interested in colonial history, architecture, or simply exploring one of the city’s most iconic landmarks

Definitely a must-see place in Wilmington! Most objects are well preserved pieces from the house. Very knowledgeable and engaging guide who spent a lot of time explaining every interesting object in the house. History is fun and she proved it with excellent tour! The gardens were closed but this made me decide to return one day to see them as well.

Driving back from the low country, my sister and I decided to make a side trip to Wilmington. The tour was fascinating. It was interesting to learn that the house was used for entertaining the Wilmington upper class for many years before the Wright family bought it. And before that, it was the Wilmington jail. The tour takes about an hour and is worth it.

The Burgwin-Wright House offers guided tours on the hour, although my tour lasted over an hour with all the history provided and fascinating stories about the property and the people who lived there. It is the oldest of the three houses. The house is not handicap accessible. It was built in 1770 in the Colonial Era on what was once a jail. It had ballast stone walls. Outside, you can see the jail cells. The house is of Georgian architecture. The house is furnished with items from the 18th and 19th centuries. The house was somewhere Burgwin did business and tried to impress those he entertained. The house shows how they lived in pre-revolutionary times. The paint colors were restored to what they were in 1770. Outside in another building, is the kitchen with a hearth, which was the jailer's quarters. I recommend taking a tour of the Burwin-Wright House if you are interested in history or architecture.

the tours are done on the hour and last probably just over an hour. our tour guide, chuck, was very knowledgeable and charismatic. he was able to efficiently explain the history and process behind the home and its many functions and features. when asked a question, he was able to give a significant amount of insight. the tour was extremely informative and a good one-stop-shop to general history of wilmington. definitely worth checking out! :)

We loved this tour, John our guide was very informative and entertaining. As an architect, I thrive on the history of why we build the way we do, and construction details. The gardens were also so well maintained!

Their terrace gardens are lovely! I enjoyed the tour of this Colonial mansion. It holds a special place in history for North Carolina and Wilmington as well as the 13 original colonies! Beautifully decorated interior! A must see if you're in Wilmington! Be sure to add it to your list of must visit!

I knew that Julia was a tour guide when I arrived early to visit the garden and then the historic jail house. Julia has an excellent presentation style and is very gracious about personal interests and needs. I highly recommend this historic site as it is filled with original building materials, furniture, and family heirlooms. Thank you Julia for sharing your kindness and passion for colonial family history.

The Burgwin-Wright House offers guided tours on the hour although my tour lasted over an hour with all the history provided and fascinating stories about the property and the people who lived there. It is the oldest of the three houses. The house is not handicap accessible. It was built in 1770 in the Colonial Era on what once was a jail. It had ballast stone walls. Outside you can see the jail cells. The house is Georgian architecture. The house is furnished with items from the 18th and 19th century. The house was somewhere Burgwin did business and tried to impress those he entertained. The house shows how they lived in pre-revolutionary times. The paint colors were restored to what they were in 1770. Outside in another building is the kitchen with a hearth which was the jailer's quarters. I recommend taking a tour of the Burwin-Wright House if you are interested in history or architecture.

Really nice restoration of home and garden. Tour guide was excellent and very informative.

It was very good, informative and interesting. We walked through 2 stories and through the garden.

$14 for an adult ticket for the tour. It includes a guided tour of inside the house as well as the outside building. You can free walk around the garden area after the guided tour. If you love history, old historic homes, and learning about Wilmington history, then this is a must see. The key to any good tour is the guide. They need to possess a good understanding of the history of the house and the historic period. Not just memorizing lines but really knowing the history. Our tour guide was as good as it gets. She knew the history of the house, the previous owners and was very knowledgeable about the period the house was built and lived in. I have done several historic house tours in Savannah and New Orleans and there is similar history here in Wilmington. Our guide as able to answer all questions I fired at her. She also debunked some of the ghost tour information pertaining to the house, though she admitted to being a fan of the ghost tours. I would highly recommend touring the house, with a guide. They do take credit card.

Historical home of Upper class (new money) Burgwin-Wright entertainment property and living quarters,9 the property was built on the original prison. Many enslaved in the home for serving guests and family. .Great tour guide . Also the exhibition of Cape Fear Quits - was very impressive pieces with fine detail. Glad to that!

The tour was fabulous, I'd have stayed there all day listening to the history and stories! John was amazing with all the details and showing us around this stunning piece of Wilmington history! Thank you!!

The house and contents are excellently maintained and fascinating. Our tour guide Julie was delightful- enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Highly recommend!

Very informative tour of a historic home. I lost count of how many factoids I learned in the 45-60 minute tour. If you're tall, watch your head

Guide was great, tour of the house was interesting and the house was filled with interesting period pieces. Nice garden outside to see at the end of the tour. Would recommend for anyone interested in the 18th century history of the area.

This was a highlight of my visit to Wilmington. It is easy walking distance from downtown, riverwalk. You can browse the gardens for no charge. They were gorgeous. The tour guide was very knowledgeable of the previous occupants and time periods they lived in.

Loved the tour of this house. The guide was engaging and knowledgeable about the history of the occupants and the area. Definitely recommend.

Beautifully restored historic 1770 home that's walkable to nearly everywhere in downtown Wilmington. Stopped in here on Saturday and did the 3 o'clock tour with Caitlyn. Caitlyn was wonderful on our tour, she was funny and informative and let our 7 year old help her demonstrate uses of different items in the home. We really enjoyed our tour of this piece of Wilmington history.

This house/museum is fantastic. The house is totally furnished, everything is authentic from the period from which it wa built. The docent that gave us the tour was incredible. I wish I could remember her name. I truly enjoyed it all.