The Carolina Heights Neighborhood was the first suburb of Wilmington, and was often referred to as a trolley suburb. It was founded by Mary Bridgers, the founder of Christian Science religion in Wilmington. In 1908 she bought up a tract of land and began developing Carolina Heights. She was joined by a guy named Burrett Stephens, an architect and engineer from Chicago. The development was very successful, but in 1909, Stephens went bankrupt due to overextension, and Bridgers suffered a fall in her house that led to her eventual death, in 1911, because her religious beliefs denied her the use of modern medicine.

Today, Carolina Heights is a well established neighborhood with beautiful trees, sidewalks, and gracious homes with inviting front porches. The picturesque quality of the neighborhood has resulted in it being featured in many television and movie productions. For character, charm, overall livability, this is one of my favorite neighborhoods in the area. The entire neighborhood is in the historic district.

Negatives: historic homes require maintenance, and many of the homes were built before the era of large closets and bathrooms.