Poplar Grove Plantation
North Carolina
10200 US Highway 17 North
Wilmington, NC 28411
United States
This heritage site is a part of the American Battlefield Trust's Road to Freedom: North Tour Guide app, which showcases sites integral to the Black experience during the Civil War era. Download the FREE app now.

Situated on the northern outskirts of coastal Wilmington, Poplar Grove Plantation once encompassed over 600 acres. Unlike many other 19th century tidewater plantations in the Carolinas, this land was known primarily for the growth of “ground peas,” or peanuts, as opposed to cotton or tobacco.
The Foy family, who lived in the main house and owned Poplar Grove during the Civil War, built their wealth over generations through the forced labor of enslaved men, women, and children. In 1860, 59 individuals were documented as being held in bondage at Poplar Grove, nearly half of whom were children under the age of 16.
Those African Americans enslaved at Poplar Grove were often passed down amongst the Foy family as property and were likewise used as a form of currency to settle their debts. Through skilled trades such as carpentry, blacksmithing, basketry, weaving, and crop cultivation, enslaved individuals were forced to labor for the financial benefit of the Foy family and others who may have rented or purchased their labor.
In March 1861, just a month before the Civil War began with the opening shots at Fort Sumter, Joseph M. Foy, the head of the Foy household, passed away. While Foy’s wife remained on the property for some time after the start of the war, so did those they held in bondage. Among them were Rachel and Leah Sidberry, as well as Leah’s son, Abel St. George.
It was not until February 1865, with the liberation of Wilmington by United States troops, that the enslaved at Poplar Grove had freedom within their grasp. Although technically free with the end of the war and the subsequent passing of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery, freedmen remained subject to the hardships of sharecropping, racial terrorism, and eventual disenfranchisement with the end of Reconstruction. Through their resilience and the establishment of a vibrant community, the African American population preserved their identity and cultural heritage, which continues to thrive in what is now recognized as the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor.