Tar Heei. Towns
By Sheila Tumage
Bath
One can still find historic treasure fora steal in Britain’s first
seat of power in colonial North Carolina.
II Bath's most infamous son, Black¬
board. were to drop anchor in the
Pamlico Sound today, row up Bath
Crock a ways and wade ashore on
Bath's grassy town commons, he'd no
doubt feel right at home.
Sauntering along Bath's tree-lined
streets, the old cutthroat might recall ter¬
rorizing the forefathers of the men who
from all over the world. But Bath faded
into obscurity by the mid- 1 770s. saysGcr-
ald Butler, director of Bath's historic sites.
"Washington had become the major town
on the Pamlico," Butler explains. "Wash¬
ington was further inland and could bet¬
ter serve the population."
Ironically. Bath's commercial decline
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ensured its physical survival. For centuries,
wars and developers alike passed Bath by.
F.ven today change treads gingerly in
Bath, whose "newest” attraction is a
restoration of one of its oldest sites.
The Palmer-Marsh House, the political
and economic heart of colonial Bath,
burst into flames on December 10. 1989.
the apparent victim of faulty wiring. The
damage was such that we had to really
restore the house again." Butler says. The
entire roof structure was destroyed and
there was some second-floor damage. And
there's a staircase that was made out of red
cedar that's been replaced."
Once the smoke cleared, researchers
set to work, looking for bits of history
beneath the soot. "We did paint research
and established some of the original paint
colors." Butler says. "We were going to
have to repaint anyway, and so it was an
excellent time to do it."
The Palmer-Marsh House has tradi¬
tionally worn soft hues, from a gray-green,
to dark cream, to warm walnut brown. But
it turns out die original painters used only
three colors, inside and out. The walls
were soft white. The shutters and most of
the interior trim were Spanish Brown, a
popular color of the day. Buder says. A few
of the interior baseboards were painted
black. The house, which reopened last
summer, now wears its true colors.
The fire led to face-lifts for many of die
home’s furnishings, Butler says. “Wc lost
very little, but we had some significant
damage." lie says. During restoration, the
furniture, paintings and accessories were
housed at New Bern's Tryon Palace,
where they were also cleaned and mend¬
ed.
"Many of the pieces have been through
conservators and
arc really in bet¬
ter shape than
they were when
they left." Butler
says. The collec¬
tion (is) actually
in better condi¬
tion than it was
before the fire."
The fire also
led to a redating
of the structure.
Historians once
believed the
house was built in
1 744. "Wc now
date the house at
1751,” Butler
says. "But even
with that date, it’s
still the oldest
structure owned
by the state of
North Girolina."
The Palmer-Marsh House is part of
Bath’s historic tour, which also includes
the Van Der Veer I louse Museum and the
Bonner House, where craftsmen and
guides demonstrate colonial skills. St.
Thomas Episcopal Church, the state's old¬
est church, allows self-guided tours when
services aren’t being conducted. .And vis-
now patiently split
cedar shakes for
schoolchildren who’vc
come to tour the vil¬
lage's historic district.
Among the tour
guides, he might even
catch a likeness of one
of his 13 hapless wives,
one of whom, legend
has it. grew up in Bath
some three centuries
ago. One thing's lor
sure: Blackbeard
would find a treasure
of a tour in modern-
day Bath.
Bath is a village
sidestepped by time.
Founded in 1
70Г»
as
Britain's first scat of
power in colonial
North Carolina, the
village thrived, wel¬
coming trade ships
Bath s newest attraction is a restoration of one of its oldest sites , the Palmer-Marsh House.
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