George Burrington: Governor Who Opened the Cape Fear

George Burrington served as governor of North Carolina twice, first as a proprietary governor from seventeen twenty-four to seventeen twenty-five, and again as the colony's first royal governor starting in seventeen thirty-one. His tenure was turbulent. He was known for his violent temper, once clashing violently with the prominent colonial official Christopher Gale.

But Burrington also accomplished something lasting: he pushed hard to open the lower Cape Fear region to settlement, exploring its rivers and encouraging planters to take up land there. His efforts helped transform the Cape Fear valley from a near-empty wilderness into one of colonial North Carolina's most prosperous agricultural districts. His home stood nearby.