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Bath , North Carolina - A STATE HISTORIC SITE

An early European settlement near the Pamlico River led to the founding of North Carolina’s first town, Bath, in 1705. The town’s early history was colorful and tumultuous, and the community prospered despite Indian wars, fever epidemics, struggles over religion and politics and even visits from the infamous pirate Blackbeard. Its early citizens included John Lawson, the colony’s first surveyor general and author of the first history of Carolina, and Christopher Gale, the colony’s first chief justice.

North Carolina’s oldest existing church, St. Thomas, was built in Bath in 1734, and the state’s first library and shipyard were established there. In the mid 1700s Bath was even considered as a possible location for the state’s capitol. Governors Robert Daniel, Thomas Cary, Charles Eden and Matthew Rowan all lived in Bath for a time, as did Edward Moseley, long time Speaker of the Assembly.

In 1776, the year the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain, the new town of Washington was formed on the Pamlico River about 15 miles from Bath. When Beaufort County government moved to Washington in 1785, Bath lost most of its strategic importance and trade.

In the early 19 th century, several prominent merchants and shippers lived in Bath and added to its vitality, including the Marsh and Bonner families and Jacob Van Der Veer. During the Civil War, unlike much of the rest of coastal North Carolina, the town escaped occupation by Union troops.

By the early 20 th century, Bath had improved its roads. Several large sawmills were operating nearby on the water. In the 1920s, novelist Edna Ferber came and was inspired by a vessel that plied the Pamlico River near Bath. The result was the blockbuster novel “Show Boat”, a book that later became an award winning Broadway musical and film starring North Carolina’s own Ava Gardner.

Now celebrating its tricentennial, Bath remains a small village anchored by the Bath State Historic Site. The original town limits are the boundaries for a National Register of Historic Places District and travelers can begin a guided tour of Bath at the visitors’ center and tour the many historic buildings that are open to the public:

• The Palmer-Marsh House (1751)—Once the home of Robert Palmer, the Carolina colony’s surveyor general, and his family. Later on, two Washington merchants, Daniel and Jonathan Marsh bought the house where their descendants lived for 120 years. On the National Register of Historic Places, it is furnished in the style of a wealthy colonial official of the late 18 th-century. In 1989, the Palmer-Marsh House roof caught fire, but thanks to the work of staff and Bath citizens, damage was limited and this unique historic resource survived a potential disaster. It reopened in 1993.
• The Bonner House (ca. 1830)—Prosperous merchant Joseph Bonner and his family lived in this Federal style house in the 19 th century. Today it is one of the best remaining examples of early nineteenth-century Carolina architecture, retaining many of its original features: small blown-glass window panes, wide-board pine floors and delicate hand-carved mantels.
• The Van Der Veer House (ca. 1790)—Constructed around 1790, this house features a gambrel roof and double-shouldered Flemish bond chimneys. Jacob Van Der Veer, one of the founders of the Bank of Washington (1851), bought the property in 1824 and occupied it for twelve years.
• St. Thomas Church (1734)—The oldest standing church in North Carolina, Episcopalian denomination.

In addition, visitors can view a video at the visitor center entitled “Bath: The First Town”, picnic on tables at the Bonner House on the town’s waterfront, shop at the gift shop and even stroll through an authentic colonial period vegetable garden behind the Van Der Veer House.

Detailed Information:

Demonstrations can be scheduled for groups. The visitor center is fully handicapped accessible, however the historic houses do have stairs. Historic Bath is open Monday – Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m., April 1 through October 31. November 1 through March 31 it is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday 1-4 p.m. It is closed every Monday and over the winter holidays. The admission cost for house tours is $2 for adults and $1 for students (tour includes both the Palmer Marsh and Bonner houses). For further information on Historic Bath State Historic Site, call (252) 923-3971, e-mail bath@ncmail.net or go to http://www.bath.nchistoricsites.org. For more information on Bath’s tricentennial celebration, a detailed schedule of events for the tricentennial kick off, call 800/999-3857 or 252/923-3971, e-mail info@historicbathnc.com or go to http://www.historicbathnc.com. This same information is also available at http://www.ncdcr.gov/, along with a downloadable photo of the Carolina Charter.

The Bath State Historic Site is governed by the Historic Bath Commission, a body of private citizens committed to the preservation of the town’s history. The commission was created in 1959, four years after the town of Bath celebrated its 250 th anniversary. In 1962, this site began giving public tours for the first time. The following year, Historic Bath became part of N.C. Historic Sites under the state agency later known as the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

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