Freedom Flame, Wilmington
The Freedom Flame burns in a streetlight-style gaslight atop a square concrete column. The column stands on a sloped triangular base. The original bronze inscription plaque is attached to the base. A plaque to the 2002 restoration of the flame is attached to the concrete column. The streetlight-style gaslight is not the original style used for the memorial. Three steel poles at the three points of the base support a heavy chain.
Original plaque: FREEDOM FLAME / MAY IT BURN ETERNALLY / DEDICATED TO THOSE CITIZENS OF / WILMINGTON AND NEW HANOVER COUNTY / WHO HAVE GIVEN OF THEMSELVES AND / THOSE YET TO ANSWER THE CALL / TO PRESERVE LIBERTY FOR ALL MANKIND
PLACED HERE BY WILMINGTON SERTOMA CLUB / FREEDOM WEEK – FEBRUARY 1970
2002 plaque: WITH SPECIAL GRATITUDE / TO MR. PETE HARDEN / FOR REKINDLING / THE FREEDOM FLAME / IN THE HEARTS / OF ALL CITIZENS / OF WILMINGTON AND / NEW HANOVER COUNTY
New Hanover County
February 1970. Re-dedication: September 11, 2002
34.236630 , -77.945940 View in Geobrowse
Fennel, Bettie. “Tragedy Relights Flame,” Star News Online, September 11, 2002, (accessed November 17, 2023) Link
Scott, Sam. “2002 Was an Eventful Year in Wilmington and Around the Area,” Star News Online, December 29, 2002, (accessed November 17, 2023) Link
“Freedom Flame,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed November 17, 2023) Link
“New Hanover County Courthouse in Wilmington, North Carolina,” Bobbystuff.com, (accessed November 5, 2023) Link
Yes
Concrete, bronze, metal
Wilmington Sertoma Club
2002 restoration: Approximately $7,500
The Freedom Flame memorial had been out for at least 20 years, but after a 10-year campaign by World War II veteran Pete Harden, the city lit the flame on the anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks.
The memorial is located on the grounds of the New Hanover County Courthouse at 316 Princess St, Wilmington, NC 28401. Other memorials on the courthouse grounds include the Colonel James Innes marker, Korean War and Vietnam War, Missing in Action, and Statue of Liberty replica.
The memorial marker stands on the front lawn of the courthouse building.