Located beside the Cape Fear River between Wilmington and Southport, Orton Plantation is considered to be a near-perfect example of Southern antebellum architecture.

Maurice sold the land to his brother when Roger moved to the area and together they founded Brunswick Town one mile (1.6 km) south of Orton.

Orton remained in the Moore family until it was purchased by Benjamin Smith, who eventually lost ownership and was forced to auction off the home and surrounding 4,975 acres (2,013 ha).

According to a reward advertisement for runaway slaves in the June 17, 1861 edition of the Fayetteville Semi-Weekly Observer (Fayeteville, North Carolina), the plantation was owned by Thomas C. Miller during 1861.

Following the Confederate defeat at Fort Fisher, Union soldiers confiscated Orton Plantation and used the home as a military hospital, thus sparing it from destruction.

James, a lawyer, encouraged his wife to remodel the home and in 1910 he and Luola began the development of a flower garden and expansion of the house.

In the 1930s, James Laurence Sprunt and his second wife Annie enlarged the garden to its current size of 20 acres (8.1 ha), with some of the landscape design done by Robert Sturtevant.

[10] After a relative was involved in an automobile accident, the Sprunts opened their garden to the public in hopes of raising money for medical expenses.

In 1954, the Sprunt family donated 114.5 acres (46.3 ha) of the Orton Plantation to establish the Brunswick Town State Historic Site.

The front gates of the property are topped with cement eagles which lead to a dirt path driveway lined with large oak trees draped in Spanish moss that were planted in the 18th century.

Some of the movies that feature scenes from Orton Plantation include Lolita, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Hounddog, and A Walk to Remember.

Television series that have filmed scenes at Orton Plantation include One Tree Hill, Dawson's Creek, Hart of Dixie and Matlock.