The Ten Most Historic Towns
Aortli Carolina ha* ninny historic' (owns
within its boundaries. In this article
31г.
I^iwrence .selects ten which, according to
his opinion, arc» the most historic of all.
B.| R. C. LAWRENCE
OUR state possesses hundreds
of towns rich in historic sig¬
nificance, but as I can select
but ten as the subject of this arti¬
cle, I must of necessity forego any
mention of many places full of ab¬
sorbing interest to the historian. It
is but natural that most of the his¬
toric town are located on the coast¬
al plain, along the navigable
streams, for when first settled it
was long before the day of rail¬
roads; there were no highways, the
rude roads of the period were
wretched in good weather and hor¬
rible in bad; and the navigable
streams furnished the best and
only practical means of transporta¬
tion for the wealthy planters who
lived along the banks of these
streams. Whether you agree that
my towns hold the greatest signifi¬
cance or not. you must at least
agree that the places I have select¬
ed are rich in historic background,
both on account of antiquity in set¬
tlement as well as on account of
historical background and asocia-
tion:
MANTEO in Dare: On Roanoke
Island landed the first colonists to
settle Carolina; here was born Vir¬
ginia Dare, first white child born on
the American continent, whose fate
remained a dark mystery until
recent years when the scientists
down at Brenau College found on
numerous stones scattered through¬
out the South a full and complete
life biography of this famous char¬
acter. Here lived the two Indian
chiefs who were fast friends of
the English. Manteo and Wanchese.
From this island there vanished
from the earth every member of
the first colony sent out by Sir
Walter Raleigh, leaving behind
them no clue to their fate save the
one word "CROATOAN" carved
upon a tree - from which word
some historians have concluded
that they migrated into the inte¬
rior and became incorporated with
the native Indian tribes, and that
the survivors are to be found in
the Indians of the Robeson County
THE STATE. Junc S. 1048
section. But there is a paucity of
real proof on this subject. Dare is
the largest county in the state,
although most of its terrain is cov¬
ered by water.
NEW BERN in Craven: This
ancient city at the junction of the
Trent with the Neuse was settled
by the Swiss under Baron DeGraf-
fenried. and few places are richer
in historic interest. Here lived John
Lawson. Surveyor General of the
colony and our earliest historian;
here the first printing press was set
up; from here went forth Francis
Xavier Martin to become a Federal
Judge in Mississippi and later
Chief Justice of Louisiana, and who
after an absence of more than
twenty years wrote a history of our
state. Here was built by William
Try on. the Royal Governor, the
handsome structure known as
"Tryon’s Palace." said to have been
the most expensive building in
America at the time of its construc¬
tion; and it was the imposition of
the heavy tax levied to cover its
cost which was one of the prime
causes of the popular uprising
known as the "War of the Regula¬
tors." culminating in the battle of
Great Alamance Creek. Here lived
Governor Abner Nash; John Sit-
greaves. the second Federal Judge,
whom Jefferson said would become
a great lawyer "if he lives long
enough"; this was the native soil
of Richard Dobbs Spaight, the elder
and younger, both of whom served
as Governor, the only such instance
in our history; the name of Spaight
being further famous because of
the signature of the elder Spaight
to the Federal Constitution, and
because of the fact that Governor
Spaight was fatally wounded in a
duel fought by him with John
Stanly. This was also the home of
Francis Hawks, who wrote an au¬
thoritative history of the state; and
it has been the home of many other
eminent men.
BATH in Beauforl County:
There have been numerous Caro¬
lina towns which once flourished
but which have entirely disap¬
peared, such as the first county seat
of Onslow County which was de¬
stroyed by a hurricane and never
rebuilt on the original location:
and there are other instances of
former towns which live only in
the musty tomes of the Colonial
Records. Bath is still on the map.
but it has lost its former impor¬
tance; its population has declined
rather than increased; and it lives
in history because of the fact that
here was built St. Thomas’ Episco¬
pal Church, the oldest in the state,
an edifice still in use. Bath was
also the oldest port of entry in the
colony — a port long since closed.
WILMINGTON in New Hanover:
Here was located the only |)ort
capable of receiving ocean-going
vessels of deep draught; and it was
but natural that a city should have
arisen at such a location. Origi¬
nally known as "New Town." the
name was soon changed to Wil¬
mington in honor of Stephen
Compton. Earl of Wilmington. It
was the Patriots recruited largely
from Wilmington under General
John Ashe and Cornelius Harnett
who marched upon the residence of
the Colonial Governor, then locat¬
ed at Russelboro in Brunswick
County, and offered the first armed
resistance to British authority in
America; for, in open daylight and
without disguise, they forced from
the Royal Governor the resignation
of the hated stamp collector; ex¬
tracted a promise that no more
stamped paper should Ik- offered
for sale, and forced three British
sloops-of-war to leave the harbor.
This was the home of General
John Ashe. Congressman and Revo¬
lutionary leader; of Governor Sam¬
uel Ashe, for whom our county of
Ashe and city of Asheville were
named; of United States Senator
Timothy Bloodworth. who rose to
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