I went to the Christmas lights festival tonight? It was beautiful for $10/person. There was a lot to do and it was decorate beautifully. You were able to tour the main house, too. They did a really great job for this! Food trucks, bar, photo ops, etc. beautiful place! read more

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I had a nice visit at the Poplar Grove Plantation after figuring out where to park. What was written on the ticket in great detail was not correct. They changed the parking to the next street and you aren't to enter at the flags like the ticket directions told you. I took a guided tour and learned about the Foy family that had a peanut and sweet potato farm. But the more important part of the story was about the Gullah Geechee people. I had first learned about them when I was in Beaufort SC. But there is a corridor that goes from Wilmington to St. Augustine, FL to protect the Gullah Geechee culture. Poplar Grove was built by the Gullah slaves who were very skilled. 59 lived on the property. They took care of the construction; lumber milling; brick making; tending to the livestock and crops as well as domestic chores. They need to be the focus of the tour. read more

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Tour was with Pat and she was amazing. The one thing I love about this having toured many homes throughout the Southeast, most historic homes are filled with pieces like, or from the period of the home but not poplar grove, I believe the items throughout the home were donated by the extended family that still livesin the area, and to me that is very cool They have a wonderful gift shop and the grounds are just beautiful and the history provided by Pat is just as rich and satisfying as those items that are throughout the home. The gift shop is just so darn pleasant and they have basket weaving on property, and just so beautiful, sit and watch them do there art of times long ago but not forgotten. read more

I absolutely love the grounds at Poplar Grove Plantation. One of their big attractions is the plantation itself. They do tours throughout the week, but do have limited times. You can do a guided or self guided tour of the manor house. The other items they have on the grounds are various animals (horses, pigs, goats), and various parts of the plantation that were used back in the day, and do basket weaving classes. I really love Poplar Grove though for their various events. During the summer they do farmers markets on Wednesdays, that when it comes to the vendors has expanded more and more every year. Then they do Christmas markets and fall ones that are a lot of fun for the whole family. Overall, this is a great place to visit with the family when they are doing events, or just to go explore this historic location. read more

Poplar Grove Plantation - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Visit the animal sanctuary! Horses, chickens, goats, great visit for both adults and children!

I struggle with this recommendation a bit. On the one hand I appreciate having access to these grounds to understand what happened here in America to our enslaved Americans. But I struggle at the image presented today in the 21st century. The docent is dressed in traditional clothing and seemed to revel in her telling of the facts of slavery and what the chores were (particularly of the children that were forced to empty the bed pots). I didn't sense any sadness or remorse at the telling of these facts, but perhaps she was in her role. I also struggled upon being told what 'a good Christian family the Foy family was' and how you can literally see the Methodist Church they attended right through the living room windows, the same windows that the enslaved looked through as well. I struggle with Christians of the time being fine with slavery. I struggle with knowing that Mrs Foy still lives nearby in Wilmington NC, and with knowing that their family laid claim to the items taken during the Civil War. The same idea must be understood in terms of the enslaved and with wanting reparations today. Beautiful grounds but such an ugly history. Hard to enjoy the beauty when the truth hurts so much. Go. See. Question. And if you can also contrast this visit w/ one to McLeod Plantation that tells the same narrative but through the eyes of the enslaved, do it! read more

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A very nice place to visit. My favorite place is the farm animals and Betha, the farm manager is the best!

What a magical place! I love driving by during the winter months because it's beautifully lit for Christmas and ever so inviting. I finally got to go to the Christmas event full of local venders, a few food trucks, and beautiful set up for Santa, a petting zoo, and The Christmas Story playing nonstop. For $5 I think this event is very much worth it if you're looking to get into the holiday spirit! I've been throughout the year for farmers market and other events, there's always something fun to do at Poplar Grove! read more

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Great place to walk your pups, then do a little shopping for wonderful veggies, crafts, trinkets & seasonal fun artifacts.

We came here for the food truck round up event while visiting the area. I enjoyed going to a place with locals that wasn't a tourist trap. There was a good selection of trucks from food to vendors. The beer selection was subpar...it would've been nice to have a local selection or two. I love that proceeds go to a good cause. A band just finished playing on the porch of the house. Sorry we missed it. The grounds were beautiful to walk around. I'm sure a wedding would be beautiful here. I wouldn't have necessarily paid to walk around though as it is small and not much to see. We read some history in the bottom part of the house since it was free. We opted to not pay for the self guided tour of the rest of the house. read more

Poplar Grove Plantation - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Had a amazing time at the ghost tour at Popular Grove! Caroline was very nice and knowledgeable about the history of the plantation. My daughters had a amazing time, one even saw a spirit, and will be talking about it for days! read more

Poplar Grove is a must-see plantation if you are visiting Wilmington. I have been on several house tours and the docents are great, and the house is furnished beautifully. Each tour takes you on a path of the lives of the Foys, a prominent Southern family in the late 1800s, where you learn about life during that time. In addition to house tours, you can also visit the "Barnyard" on certain days where you can get an up close and personal view of various barn animals including several horses, llama, alpaca, pig/piglettes, chickens, peacocks, and many other animals. They also host a Farmers Market every Wednesday where there is so much fresh food and artisanal goods. Definitely stop by!! read more

It's been awhile since I've toured the house, but I find myself at Poplar Grove a few times a year. The atmosphere around the grounds is simply amazing - it has a genuine historic air about it. Not too commercialized and very true to its roots. I grew up attending the Halloween Festival and always loved it. It's still as awesome as it was back then and my kids have a great time when we go. The Haunted Hay Ride makes the trip worth while. During the spring and summer, we try to make it out to the Farmer's Market a couple of times. I usually purchase bottles of locally made wine, homemade soaps, candles, and an assortment of plants when we go. All in all, I think Poplar Grove is a spectacular place to spend a few hours. read more

If you come to Wilmington you must visit Poplar Grove to get some history on the area. There also is a great walking path after your done. Animals for the kids to enjoy. read more

Very nice little plantation in Wilmington. Beautiful home and nice tour. The grounds are open for free, but there is a fee for the house tour. It is no longer a functioning plantation, but they have a small plot of peanuts still growing for visitors to see. read more

Went to Poplar Grove - to the nature trails by the side of the Grove which are maintained by the facility. The hike is really great for family afternoon, lots of wildlife (saw plenty of bugs, a red bellied water moccasin and alligator snapping turtles), Good learning / adventure hike for the kids. By the way - the hike and nature trail is free. read more

We came to topsail island for summer vacation and decided to visit here as a break from the beach. What a waste. They were offering self guided tours only when We visited (a Thursday around noon). Not a problem. It was $9/person and there was 4 of us. Again, not a problem. But the 'tour' ended up being a huge joke. They gave a single sheet or typed paper that explained the rooms of the house. That was semi interesting but pretty common. Nothing we hadn't seem at other old houses. The barns on the map were a joke. The green house had nothing in it. The carriage house was just storage for folding chairs. The blacksmith and stables were both locked. The only thing we saw about peanuts on this peanut plantation was a poster in the agriculture barn. The herb garden was empty. The 'kitchen' was a joke. Not even a cook stove or chimney. No way was that building a kitchen for the plantation house. It was a giant waste of our money and time. Very disappointed. Maybe great for a wedding venue because the setting is pretty enough but as a visitor trying to learn about local history? No. Terrible. read more

the abbey foy nature reserve/park is right adjacent to the plantation. the loop trail takes under an hour to hike. the trail is wide and well marked. environments include dense forest and a millpond with a bridge over it read more

We were just confronted by a VERY snobby blonde lady who tactlessly kicked us off of the property because it is apparently closed for the season. If you don't want people on your property (who would be MORE than wiling to pay, by the way), then perhaps your signs should be more obvious. We were visiting from Montana, saw on the historical sights that it was open. Their Facebook page AND Google said it was as well, and the gate was open. Then we were yelled at and told to leave as we were looking around for where to purchase tickets. How about "Excuse me, I'm sorry but we are closed for the season. I'd love to answer any questions you have but unfortunately I'll have to ask you to leave, as we are preparing for a wedding/event/etc."? I am appalled by her attitude, which included literally screaming "let's GO!!! We are waaaiiiitting for you!!!..." As my crippled father in law is limping along to get out of the gate. We were told over and over again that it says it is closed all over the website, so we looked again. We did not notice anything other than the market being closed the first time, but when we checked again and made it all the way into the info on tours page, we saw it. We will certainly not be back. read more

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This is a great stop on a historical tour. The guided tour is interactive and interesting and involves personal anecdotes of the family who lived there as well as information about the area and times in which the plantation was active. The home is beautifully maintained, as are the grounds. There is now an animal sanctuary across the way that houses rescued horses etc which can also be visited for an additional $4 (I believe) but you must have closed toed shoes on to enter. Sadly, I did not have closed toed shoes with me, but I was able to pet a horse and mini horse through the fence, just be advised that it is a hot wire fence so you should be careful where you touch. There are signs everywhere in case you should forget that important piece of advice. read more

There is so much more to Poplar Grove than the Plantation Home! They have an Animal Sanctuary and Nature Trails. I walk/run the nature trails with my dogs about 3 times a week. There is no cost and dogs are allowed off-leash on the trails if they can be controlled by voice commands. They have recently invested in several upgrades and improvements to the Animals Sanctuary as it's grown. There may now be a small fee to visit the sanctuary. You're still able to walk the grounds for free and see the animals along the fence line. Each time I go I see horses, baby pigs, baby sheep, chickens, ducks, roosters, peacocks, and more! There are lots of feral cats but they've been spayed and released as barn cats. Some have become quite tame over time but be careful not to allow your dogs off leash near the entrance. There are many public and private events hosted at Poplar Grove year round. Weddings here have become popular and there's a Derby Party/Fundraiser every year. There's a concert or two on the lawn and other events like the herb and garden fair. They also have a Farmer's Market every Wed from 8am-1pm. The largest attraction they have is their annual Halloween Hay Ride through the woods. It gets scarier every year! There is so much more to Poplar Grove than the plantation house but it is beautiful and amazing and absolutely worth seeing. There is an admission cost and they have designated hours. The grounds however are open all of the time. This place has something for everyone and is a family friendly destination. read more