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For history and charm on a manageable scale, visit three of the state's oldest towns, the small coastal communities of New Bern, Beaufort and Edenton.
By KAREN M. LASKI
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2002
In the small coastal communities of New Bern, Beaufort and Edenton, three of North Carolina's oldest towns, visitors can explore by trolley or on foot, sleep in old mansions masquerading as bed and breakfasts and indulge in the Tar Heel State's history.
New Bern, at the confluence of the Neuse and Trent rivers, was North Carolina's colonial capital. First settled by the Germans and the Swiss in 1710, it is named for Bern, Switzerland.
Tryon Palace is the town's most famous building -- just as it was in 1770. The 27-room, red-brick Georgian mansion was home to two colonial governors and four state governors. An alley of laurel oaks leads to the entrance courtyard, where visitors are greeted by a costumed interpreter and led on a 45-minute guided tour. Tryon is open daily except Mondays.
Tryon Palace reminds visitors of the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Va. Actually, Tryon's windows are larger, and a skylight sits atop Tryon's roof. Together, they make the rooms brighter and provide ample natural light for the cantilevered, hand-carved mahogany staircase.
"In 1770, Tryon Palace was considered the most beautiful house in America," says Polly Miller, one of the costumed guides.
This sumptuous building served as both a residence for two British royal governors and their families and as a meeting place for the colonial assembly known as the Lord Proprietors. "Sometimes they thought of themselves as the Twelve Apostles," joked Miller.
Superlatives follow in quick succession as she describes the palace: 3-foot-thick walls, 16-foot-high ceilings, hand-carved marble mantels.
Nothing seems to have escaped the keen eye of the first governor, William Tryon, who furnished the palace with his splendid personal possessions. English paintings, silk damask draperies, cut-glass chandeliers and fine porcelains reflect the fashionable taste of English aristocracy.
Behind the palace is a huge expanse of lawn stretching to the Trent River, where a series of concerts is scheduled each year. Palace visitors are welcome to roam the 14 acres of lush lawns, formal parterres, enclosed ornamental gardens and a kitchen garden of vegetables and herbs.
In 1798, four years after the state capital was moved to Raleigh, Tryon was destroyed by fire and lay in ruin, until Maude Moore Latham established a trust fund for its reconstruction. It took seven years and $3.5-million to rebuild, reopening to the public in April 1959.
Union troops occupied the city for most of the Civil War, sparing it from destruction and preserving many of the lovely homes seen today.
About an hour's drive southeast of New Bern is North Carolina's third-oldest town. Founded in 1790, Beaufort (pronounced BO-fort) still has a small fleet of shrimp boats, although its "fish town" label is mostly history.
Beaufort's slow pace and Southern charm seem a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of large cities. Equally attractive is the town's proximity to the water: Its main thoroughfare, Front Street, parallels Taylors Creek.
Visitor information is available at the Beaufort Association's historic site, a dozen restored buildings dating from 1732 to 1859. A narrated bus tour of Beaufort's 12-block historic district departs from this site on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from April through October. Those riding on top of the red double-decker bus are warned to watch for the occasional low-hanging tree limb.
Ninety-nine Greek Revival, Federal, Victorian and Bahamian homes proudly display blue shield-shaped signs indicating they are at least 100 years old.
"The name of the game down here is preservation," says guide Martha Barnes.
She patiently explains the architectural features of Beaufort's old homes. Red doors were known as "spirit" doors -- the color was meant to repel evil. Pale blue exteriors were thought to ward off yellow fever, common in earlier times.
So many homes are painted white that Barnes is often asked if it was the law. "No," she replies. "White is just a popular color."
As the bus passes the Old Burying Ground, Barnes explains two early burial practices: Many of these graves are bricked over and most of the gravestones are facing east. The former was to protect the graves from animals, and the latter was to ensure the dead were facing the sun when they arose on "Judgment Morn."
For a dollar donation, visitors receive a detailed brochure of the cemetery, deeded to Beaufort in 1731. Ancient oaks block much of the sunlight, creating a somber atmosphere for touring the 28 marked graves.
Among the more unusual tales of the dead is that of a young girl buried in a keg of rum. She had accompanied her father to London but died on the return voyage. Because her father promised his wife to return their daughter safely home, he refused to have her buried at sea. So he purchased a barrel of rum from the ship's captain and placed his daughter's body inside.
Another major attraction is the North Carolina Maritime Museum, which chronicles the state's seafaring history and is a must-see for boating enthusiasts. Museum curators now believe the legendary pirate Blackbeard's flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge, is sunk just outside Beaufort inlet.
The third colonial community on this circle tour is Edenton, a place the New York Times once called "the South's prettiest town." Located about 130 miles north of Beaufort, this quiet little enclave is home to about 5,600, a figure that hasn't changed much since tour guide Kathy Busby moved here 30 years ago.
Despite its size, the town prospered as a port for several decades before the American Revolution. During this period, much of Edenton's private wealth and public funding went into building fine structures.
Georgian, Jacobean, Victorian, Queen Anne, Federal and Greek Revival buildings are among its architectural treasures. Three are designated National Historic Landmarks, and another 15 buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Two-hour walking tours of the town depart from the Edenton Visitor Center on Broad Street, across from St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Huge magnolia trees planted in 1876 shade the numerous graves in the cemetery of St. Paul's. Ms. Busby relates that Clement Hall, who served as minister from 1744 to 1759, is buried under the church altar, and nine parishioners are buried under the floor. In those days, a simple request was all it took to fulfill one's last wish.
Walking toward the waterfront, our tour passes homes occupied by descendants of the original owners. The homes often have huge lawns and well-kept gardens; the care is obvious.
At a corner of Broad and Water streets stands the Cupola House. Dr. Samuel Dickinson purchased the house, named for its octagonal cupola, in 1758, and it remained in the Dickinson family for 141 years.
The last descendant, Miss Tillie Bond, sold the elaborate Georgian woodwork on the first floor to the Brooklyn Museum in 1918 because she needed money. A civic-minded group then saved the building from further cannibalization.
At the nearby Barker House, overlooking Edenton Bay, the tour group learns that Penelope Barker organized one of the first political actions taken by colonial women:
Ten months after the Boston Tea Party, 51 women signed their names to a statement declaring they would not use tea or purchase English cloth until British taxes were abolished. This came to be known as the Edenton Tea Party.
A fine collection of original and period antiques dating to the 1700s is displayed in the James Iredell House on E Church Street. Iredell was North Carolina's first attorney general and was appointed an associate justice of the first U.S. Supreme Court. His son and namesake became governor of North Carolina and a U.S. senator.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the following:
Beaufort Historical Association, P.O. Box 363, Beaufort, NC 28516; call toll-free 1-800-575-7483 or www.historicbeaufort.com. Guided walking tours of the Old Burying Ground are available June through September on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.
Chowan County Tourism Development Authority, P.O. Box 245, Edenton, NC 27932; toll-free 1-800-775-0111 or www.edenton.com. Walking tours of the town depart daily, except Sundays, from the Edenton Visitor Center on Broad Street.
Craven County Convention & Visitors Bureau, P.O. Box 1413, New Bern, NC 28563; toll-free 1-800-437-5767 or www.visitnewbern.com.- Karen M. Laski is a freelance writer living in Marshall, Va.