How this growing 'Hill' along the New Hanover border got its name

Cheryl M. Whitaker, Wilmington StarNews
·1 min read

The name for an unincorporated area that straddles the border of New Hanover and Pender counties comes from family.

According to Pender Tourism, the Scotts Hill community is named after the Scott family, who lived on a hill in the area of what is now Old Scotts Hill AME Church, which is located on U.S. 17.

People would try to contact the Scott family to see if the roads were passable because it was prone to flooding.

Some notable travelers to Scotts Hill en route to Wilmington include Presidents George Washington in 1791 and James Monroe in 1819.

Traffic passes the Old Scotts Hill AME Church, which is by the historic grounds where the Scott family once lived.
Traffic passes the Old Scotts Hill AME Church, which is by the historic grounds where the Scott family once lived.

Although Scotts Hill is not incorporated, census data and maps indicate the area was a part of Pender County's population growth.

Poplar Grove Plantation is considered the center of the area, which has seen a series of medical buildings and apartments under construction in recent years.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: How Scotts Hill in Pender County, NC got its name