Following on the previous discussion of presidents visiting UNC, we’ll share two political buttons from William Howard Taft’s visit to Wilmington in 1909. The buttons come from the Lew Powell Memorabilia Collection.
According to Mr. Powell, Taft enjoyed a “cruise to Fort Caswell, a military parade featuring an arch across North Front Street inscribed “Welcome to ‘The Land of the Long Leaf Pine,'” and an automobile tour of the city.” Reporting on the president’s visit, the Wilmington Morning Star called the occasion “a magnificent success in every detail, doing credit even to a city of many times its size.”
President James Monroe also visited Wilmington and rode on the maiden voyage of the steamer Prometheus, travelling from Wilmington to Smithville in 1819.
In addition to these fine buttons, we’ve also got a postcard in the Durwood Barber Postcard Collection of the arch used to welcome Taft to Wilmington in 1909. You can see the card and view its record in the North Carolina Postcards Collection at the link below:
http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/nc_post&CISOPTR=871&CISOBOX=1&REC=7