This reporting was made possible in part by a grant from the Fourth Estate Fund.
The Gullah Geechee are the descendants of enslaved West Africans who settled throughout the coastal southeastern United States. A trail commemorating their cultural contributions to Brunswick County has been a long time coming: according to Leland town council member Veronica Carter, community members have been discussing the idea for at least six years.
"Most people don't realize the Gullah Geechee heritage and culture is in Brunswick County," she said.
The trail is still in the construction phase. But last week, a bill authorized the trail's construction through state land in Brunswick County, bringing it one step closer to reality.
Connecting history
Carter told WHQR that the idea stemmed from efforts throughout the region to improve walkability.
"Everybody was trying to put a path on things," she said. "Navassa was working on trying to get more trails in their area, Belville had just kind of really gotten their riverwalk going. And a former retired engineer [from the Army Corps of Engineers] Brayton Willis said to me, 'wouldn't it be great if all of these trails connected?'"
Most of the trails and walkways ran through former rice plantations, which once dominated that corner of Brunswick County. Some butted right up against other historical sites. Reaves Chapel Church in Leland, for example, was built by formerly enslaved African Americans on the banks of the Cape Fear River, and is one of the last standing Civil War-era structures in the Cape Fear region.
That church, which in 2019 had just been purchased by the Coastal Land Trust and was undergoing restoration, got Carter, Willis and other community members thinking. So did the 2020 North Carolina Rice Festival in Leland, which emphasized the cultural heritage of Brunswick County's Gullah Geechee.
"Maybe we could capture some of this history. And not only make Brunswick County more walkable," Carter said. "People are walking by history every day, and they don't realize it, because there's no markers."
Still, she knew it was going to take resources.
"This started before I was an elected official, but the public administrator in me said, 'You know what? This is going to cost some money.'"
Planning the trail
In early 2023, the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization began a feasibility study into constructing a trail through northeastern Brunswick County. The study involved dozens of local and state government officials, transportation experts, and historians, and drew in feedback from hundreds of locals.
"We essentially went out to the public and wanted to know what they knew," said WMPO deputy director Abby Lorenzo.
The resulting 62-page proposal envisions a 21-mile trail running from Phoenix Park in Navassa to Brunswick Nature Park. The path is chopped up into nine segments, with much of the path incorporating already existing sidewalks and trails throughout the county.
It also makes the funding process a little complex. The trail spans town, county, state and privately owned land. Some parts, like Belville's multi-use path, are already under construction. Other parts will take much more funding and much more time.
"For instance, segment four, [which is] the old mill to Baldwin Drive, is only 2.2 miles. But you know, if a separate bridge crossing of Sturgeon Creek is built up, that's going to have a hefty price tag associated with it," Lorenzo said.
WMPO can help municipalities and states apply for federal and state grants, but ultimately, it's up to whatever government is in charge of a specific section to get the ball rolling.
"While we put projects on the map, we do not put projects on the ground the same way as some of our municipal partners would," Lorenzo said.
In the legislature
After the proposal was released in 2024, it drew the attention of North Carolina Rep. Frank Iler, whose district spans northern Brunswick County. By then, Willis, Carter, and other advocates had started a 501(c)3 for the trail. Iler, a longtime Brunswick County resident, hoped he could help them make the project a reality.
So in February 2025, he submitted a bill to make it a state trail. That designation would not only authorize the trail's construction, but make the process for obtaining state funding smoother.
That legislation was ultimately unsuccessful. Iler told WHQR that part of the reason for its denial was due to the length of the trail. The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources mandates that state trails have to be at least 100 miles long.
But one of its provisions did make it onto an omnibus bill: House Bill 23, formally declaring North Carolina a partner in the trail's construction.
"There's no appropriation, no funds involved at this point," he told WHQR. "But I think they'll get more help from the public and private now."
Carter, who hopes the trail one day runs all the way to Southport, considers it a win.
"It's not officially a state trail, but you know what? It's a trail. They acknowledge that it's a trail, and they acknowledge that they're going to help with the different segments," she explained. "Let's just say we didn't necessarily get the Maserati that we wanted for our birthday, but we got a car. So we're kind of happy. You know, this is a good first step. We're very we're pleased," she said. "If [Iler] hadn't put his original bill out there, this wouldn't happen."
