Eagles Island was originally swampland until it was cleared for tidal rice cultivation by Gullah/Geechee folks.

When this Cape Fear River runs about 20 miles to the north, it splits and goes off to the left, and another section goes to the right. When it splits and goes off to the left, it becomes what's known as the Brunswick River.

When the one that split and went to the North East splits again, it splits in what is now Wilmington, North Carolina.