Historic Edenton, NC
“The Prettiest Small Town in the South”
https://www.visitedenton.com
After leaving Pennsylvania, we were privileged to visit family living in northeastern North Carolina. The first colonization and settlement of the state took place in this region. Knowing my love of history, my uncle eagerly piled us into his truck, to visit historic downtown Edenton during our first full day in Gates, NC.
Edenton is located along the shore of a natural harbor on Albemarle Sound, which is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. This means it’s on the inland side of the Outer Banks region. Edenton was first settled by travelers from the Jamestown, VA area in 1658, making it the first permanent European settlement in North Carolina. Established as a town in 1712 it was incorporated in 1722. This town has the distinction of being the second capital of the colony from 1722 to 1743.
We were immediately struck by the beauty of the colonial architecture, the dignity of the town layout and the mesmerizing view of the waterfront at the end of the street in front of us. It was a very warm North Carolina afternoon, with blue skies and bright sunshine guiding us as we walked toward the Edenton Welcome Center, also known as the Barker House.
This restored structure commemorates Penelope Barker and therefore also serves as a museum. Penelope is recognized as “America’s first female political activist”. Following the famous Boston Tea Party in December 1773, Penelope organized the signing of “A Proclamation of Protest” in 1774 by fifty one patriotic women. This became known as the “Edenton Tea Party” and led to ridicule in London by newspaper cartoons depicting the women as “uncontrollable”. The British opinion of American Colonists was already rather low, and women were of course not supposed to be openly involved in political activities.
While visiting the Barker House we made several discoveries, some enlightening and humbling, and some that I can say got my blood pumping. We were astonished to find several links to our home area in western New York.
While perusing the colonial era furniture, paintings, clothing displays, etc., we were also looking over the items for sale. Many of the offerings were historical books, two of which immediately caught our attention. Both are personal accounts by former slaves regarding their life experiences and journeys to freedom. Misty and I both carry the desire to learn more about the truth of slavery that once existed in the United States. We didn’t hesitate to purchase “Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy; Late a Slave in the United States of America” as narrated by Moses Grandy and “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” written by Harriet Jacobs.
Harriet Jacobs was born and raised in Edenton. After escaping to the north, she and her family became active in the abolitionist movement, with Rochester, NY being one of the cities she lived in. This placed her in contact with Frederick Douglas and Amy Post, both of whom were prominent activists in our home region. Douglas and Post both attended the Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY. Although we have not fully completed either of these literary works at the time of this writing, both express some very difficult truths and are highly recommended.
Upon reaching the second floor of the museum, I made a second discovery, which truly excited me. Within a glass display case was a small handmade Confederate flag, the photo of a Union soldier; handwritten documents, a recent newspaper article, and information regarding the soldier. It turns out this small flag was taken by the soldier (with permission from a young lady) from an Edenton home in 1863. The soldier was Corporal Ira Nelson Deyo of the 85th New York Infantry Regiment. Corporal Deyo had shipped the flag to his home in Naples, NY, on the southern end of Canandaigua Lake. The flag was just recently returned to Edenton by his descendants more than 150 years later. This was a wow moment for me! I grew up near Naples and visited the area several times. This unexpected tie, so close to home, is very cool!
An interesting side note: many may not recognize the flag as being Confederate. This is in fact, actually the national flag of the Confederate States of America. The commonly recognized “Stars and Bars” flag was the military or battle flag carried by the Confederate armies to better distinguish it from the Union’s “Stars and Stripes”. They were very eager to prevent any confusion on the battlefield.
After stepping outside onto the balcony where we saw amazing views of the shoreline and harbor, we returned downstairs to pay for our books. While there a friendly local resident, after learning we were from NY, encouraged us to view a pair of Civil War cannons on display outside of the Barker House. Although I believe one of the cannons is a replica, the other was cast from bronze bells donated by Edenton during the Civil War. It was ultimately captured by the Union army in 1865, and as it turns out, this cannon was returned to Edenton on perpetual loan by Old Fort Niagara in NY. If you haven’t already read my account, we had just been to Fort Niagara about one month before this visit to NC. Once again, I was happily stunned to find another tie to home.
As we left the Welcome Center at the Barker House, we engaged in a delightful and very informative conversation with Edenton’s trolley tour guide. He was fun, lively, and very knowledgeable about the community. I am not surprised by his knowledge after learning he is a retired history teacher. I am sure his students did not find history quite so boring based on his personality. Unfortunately, we learned from him that most of the other sites in town were closing as it was late afternoon, but we still could follow the walking tour to see them from the outside.
Following his directions, we proceeded to walk a few blocks to see the historic Chowan County Courthouse, built in 1767, and the old Chowan County Jail built in 1825. The original jailhouse had been built in 1722. The courthouse in particular is stunning. I can only imagine what it looks like on the interior.
We then proceeded back toward Main Street, stopping for some photo opportunities when a wonderful local young woman stopped to ask if she could help by taking a photo of the four of us. We were warmed by her kindness and joyful willingness to be friendly and accommodating. She clearly loved her town and was another light on our journey.
We passed by the stately Cupola House on our way to visit the light house but did not stop for longer than to snap a photo. The Cupola House stands north of the shore of Edenton Bay. It was built in 1758 for John Carteret, Earl of Granville who was one of the last Lords Proprietors who, acquired territories south of Virginia from King Charles II.
The Roanoke River Lighthouse was built in 1886 and has been completely restored with the interior set up to be historically accurate to the time when two keepers would have resided there. Sadly, it too was closed for the day, but we were able to view the downstairs rooms through the windows. This lighthouse is called a screw-pile design. This means the piling has been screwed into the bottom of the river or sound to prevent strong storms from pulling them out. In the 1830s, a ship was retrofitted and anchored to act as a light station for the location, but the ship was scuttled during the Civil War. The need for a lighthouse remained, however, leading to this lighthouse being commissioned after its completion in 1887.
All in all, we truly enjoyed our visit to Edenton. It has both southern charm and historical elegance, beautiful views and a friendly community. If you should ever find yourself in the Albemarle Sound region of North Carolina, consider stopping by. I wouldn’t be surprised if you found additional surprises beyond the ones we experienced.
