If you grew up in Wilmington, NC. You’ve certainly heard of the expression “old Wilmington money”. As with a lot of cities in the south Wilmington was supported by small farmers who during prohibition supplemented there meager agricultural income with the profits of distilling grain alcohol or spirits know as moonshine. These farmers took there ill gotten gains and used them to purchase more farmland to grow tobacco and corn to produce their shine. As times progressed these farmers found their land to be quite valuable and they began selling it off or developing it. Over a longer period of time these once dirt poor farmers became so called pillars of the community and quite wealthy. They kept passing their inheritance down from generation to generation until you would see buildings, parks and schools named after them as their ancestors could afford to donate land for the cause. This is where you started hearing them referred to as “Old Wilmington Money”.
